The Electrical experimenter

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54 THE ELECTRICAL EXPERIMENTER May, 1917 THE STORY OF FLASHLIGHT MAKING. All of us have undoubtedly found the electric flashlight extremelj- useful at some time or other, but very lew people are privileged to know just how the flashlight is made. One of the leading manufacturers of these useful devices recently con- interesting Exhibit Which Telis the Story light Making Grafically. Every Important Manufacture Is Clearly Shown. structed a display board containing the essential parts constituting a complete flashlight, the appearance of which may be judged from the accompanying illustration. It was used by the bureau of visual instruction of the University of California as a traveling industrial exhibit. The upper two rows represent the various stages of manufacture thru which a coat pocket style flashlight passes. The lower three rows show the progressive steps in the making of a tubular flashlight. A similar visual exhibit prepared by the same concern showed in a striking and educational manner, the various stages of flashlight battery make-up ; from the zinc plate to the assembled battery, consisting of two or more cells nestling comfortably in its paper carton. The Detroit Edison Companj' has made a number of tests with different methods of electrically heating cars stored in unheated garages. Various means of heating insulated and uninsulated garages have been tried and experiments made with nearly all of the heaters sold for heating the engine itself. The results of these tests are now being worked up, and they will probably be presented in a paper at one of the conventions during the summer. ELECTRIFYING THE AEROPLANE. (Coiitiiuiid from fagc /) ward the exact amount which is likewise shown in degrees. The scale is coated with Radium paint so that it is visible at night by its own light. One of the greatest problems of aeronautical engineering is that of making the aeroplane as safe as possible. Thousands and even hundreds of thousands of dollars have been spent in this direction and the nearest conclusion to this problem is the adoption of some automatic pilot, which will control the machine automatically in case the pilot is unable to get positive control of the machine. The only real solution so far to this problem involves the use of the gyroscope and the work done bv Mr. Elmer Sperry in this line gives much light to the solution. Fig. 5 illustrates the Sperry automatic pilot which relieves the pilot of the labor and drudgery in operating the controls of his machine. In tlie military aeroplane it renders it possible for the pilot to fulfill the duties of both pilot and iibserver. When dropping bombs it enables the pilot to bring the aeroplane laterally over the target, makes a reference plane of the aeroplane, which greatly increases the accuracy of bomb dropping, and creates a steady platform from which to fire and drop bombs. The equipment consists principall}' of three units—the generator, servo motor and gyro unit —which may be likened respectively to the heart, muscles and brain of the human pilot. The g)"ro unit which is placed in a metal case and shown in the background utilizes the gyroscopic effect of the four rotating gyros w'hich it contains, in maintaining a horizontal reference plane. .\ny departure of the aeroplane for its set relation to this gyroscopic reference plane causes an electrical contact to be made which completes a circuit of Flash- Stage of to one of the magnetic clutches in the servo motor. The case is equipt with a glass window to enable the operator to note the joperation of the four g\'ros. The power generated in the servo motor air turbine is now transmitted thru the engaged clutch to one of the drums over which the control wire passes. The generator which is seen in the foreground of the photograph supplies alternating current for driving the gyros and direct current for the servo motor clutches. It consist^ of a double armature, one winding of which is tilized for the generation of the alternating current and the other for direct current. It is driven by means of an aluminum propeller driven by the air current. The four leads are run from the rear to the generator. By means of a special set of clutches on the gyro unit, the operator can set the aeroplane to any position relative to the horizontal which he may desire, by simply pressing a button located convenientlj- on the manual control and moving his controls as tho no automatic nilot were installed on the machine. When the aeroplane reaches the desired altitude, the button is released and control is again given over to the automatic pilot, which will hold the machine in that altitude until altered by the operator. Complete and unhampered control may be instantly resumed at any time by pressing on the push button on the controls. WAR CONFERENCE WITH TELE- GRAPH AND TELEPHONE OFFICIALS. Messrs. Theo. X. N'ail, president of the .American Telephone and Telegraph Company: Xewcomb Carlton, president of the Western Union Telegraph Company; Charles P. Bruch. 'ice-president of the Postal Telegraph-Cable Company; F. B. McKinnon, vice-president of the United States Independent Telephone .Association, and X. C. Kingsbury, vice-president of the .American Telephone and Telegraph Com- panj-, were in conference with war department officials at Washington on March 19 to perfect plans to insure the government rapid and efficient wire communication. QUESTION BOX. {Continued from fcinc ^j) WAVE MOTORS. (769.) G. H. G., Detroit, Mich., inquires as to the efficiency and practicability of wave motors A. 1. We do not know just now of any successful installation of such wave power plants as described in the February issue of this journal and while the initial cost of installing such a plant is not so prohibitive, there has always been more or less prejudice against them, owing to the fact tliat the power developed is so irregular. There have been a number of attempts made by inventors to overcome this difficulty, but the fact of the matter remains that we have yet to see a practical installation of a wave motor on any large scale. The proposition to our mind seems to possess many practical and economic features, and it seems very likely tliat in later years a future generation may see the adaptation of wave motors to a very large extent. Vou may obtain copies of the patents issued on this interesting subject by communicating with the U. S. Patent Office, Washington, D.C., and with these before you, you will be in a better position to see just what has been done and what has been proposed in solving this problem. CONDENSER IN AERIAL CIRCUIT. (770.) Antliony S. Detrees, Hartford, Mich., asks Q. 1. Can a series condenser be used successfully in connection with a transmitter, to reduce the natural wave length of an aerial from 325 to 160 meters? A. 1. Yes. Q. 2. Would such an arrangement result in low efficiency in transmitting? A. 2. The addition of a condenser in series with the antenna circuit increases considerably the amount of losses and at the same time increases the decrement due to an increase in antenna resistance by the series condenser. ^2 VOLT LIGHTING PLANT. (771.) U. J. Grant, Apple Creek, Ohio, writes Wiring Diagram for 32 Volt Lighting Plant.
May, 1917 THE ELECTRICAL EXPERIMENTER 55 Q. 1. I would like to have a wiring dia- Rram for a iZ volt isolated lighting plant with the following apiiaratus ; i^ K.W. generator, 32 volt 00 ainpcri-hour storage battery, switchboard with voltmeter, zerocenter ammeter showing charge and discharge, circuit-breaker, regulating rheostat for generator and proper fuses and switches. A. 1. The accompanyiVig wiring diagram gives the connections of a complete 32 volt lighting plant. Q. 2. What is the wave length of my inverted "L" type aerial, composed of one wire 400 feet long, 70 feet high at one end and 40 feet at the other, with 30 feet leadin and 20 feet ground (.\'o. 4 copper wire) ? A. 2. The wave length of your antenna is 617 meters. DYNAMO QUERIES. Cleveland, Ohio, (772.) George Ledly, desires to know Q. 1. Can a 12 volt, 9 ampere dynamo, such as the "Electro" Hercules charge successfully two 6 volt, 100 ampei'e-hour storage batteries in series? A. 1. Yes. They should be connected in parallel, however. Q. 2. Can a 25 volt, 4 ampere dvnamo be run in series with four 6 volt 100 ampere storage batteries to produce 50 volts? A. 2. Yes, providing that the batteries are fidly charged. It would be advisable to employ an underload circuit breaker in the storage battery side so that they will be disconnected when they are in a discharged condition, thus preventing the charging of the battery by the dynamo in an opposite direction, in this way preventing the places from being ruined. CRYSTALOI A Permanent Wireless Detector Ideal Construction OF GREAT SENSITIVITY Type O. Price. $3.50. Postage. lOc. The Trade-Mark of Efficiency in wireless transformers is the word "Thordarson" on the maker's name-plate. There must be a mighty good reason why so many expert operators are satisfied only with a THORDARSON WIRELESS TRANSFORMER Rotary Adjustment The Crystaloi Detector has enjoyed a popularity far greater than any other Detector known, it has an established record of 5000 Miles and is indorsed by over 10,000 satisfied users. It reduces static at least 50 per cent which makes it especially attractive for this time of year. Write us to-day for full information — No charge. Perfected by C. H. Thordarson whose high tension transformers have won the Gold Medal at the St. Louis and Panama-Pacific Expositions. Sold completely assembled. Five sizes, J o to 2' 2 K.W., 10,000-20,000 volts, any cycle desired. Write for Special Bulletin and Prices Thordarson Electric Mfg. Co., The Variable Shunt (marked by arroW) isan exclusive Thordarson feature enabling the operator to attain perfect resonance by reg' ulating the air-gap. Locked in position by eccentric cam. 506 SO. JEFFERSON STREET CHICAGO, ILL. The New Turney Head Set With Adjustable Pressure Head Band Positive Friction Adjustment 3000 OHMS Bakelite Ear Caps Patent Applied for Pd.»T cn rice 9>7.50. One Pound Mailinij Weieht Made to U. S. Navy Specifications Weight Nine Ounces Lenient Back- Check Immediate Deliveries The popularity of this set has far exceeded our expectations. To see it is to buy it. There is not a head set on the market that can compare with it for Sensitivity— Workmanship Finish and Design. We have sold over 600 sets in two months. There is surely a reason for this remarkable demand. Order a .set today for 10 Days Trial. ^ ou can not fail to be delighted. Full information on request. Send Five Cents in Stamps for Oar Catalog - Everything We Make Is In It Eugene T. Turney Company, Inc., new^york crrv You benefit by mentioning "The Electrical Experiment et^' when writing to advertisers.
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