The Young Railroader's Most Daring Exploit

GROSSET & DUNLAP, Publishers, New York

Copyright, 1922, By
GROSSET & DUNLAP

The Radio Boys Trailing a Voice

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FOREWORD

BY JACK BINNS

Within a comparatively short time after this volume is published the
human voice will be thrown across the Atlantic Ocean under conditions
that will lead immediately to the establishment of permanent telephone
communication with Europe by means of radio.

Under the circumstances therefore the various uses of radio which are so
aptly outlined in it will give the reader an idea of the tremendous
strides that have been made in the art of communicating without wires
during the past few months.

Of these one of the most important, which by the way is dealt with to a
large extent in the present volume, is that of running down crooks. It
must not be forgotten that criminals, and those criminally intent are
not slow to utilize the latest developments of the genius of man, and
radio is useful to them also. However, the forces of law and order
inevitably prevail, and radio therefore is going to be increasingly
useful in our general police work.

Another important use, as outlined in this volume, is in the detection
of forest fires, and in fact generally protecting forest areas in
conjunction with aircraft. With these two means hundreds of thousands of
acres can now be patrolled in a single day more efficiently than a few
acres were previously covered.

Radio is an ideal boy's hobby, but it is not limited to youth.
Nevertheless it offers a wonderful scope for the unquenchable enthusiasm
that always accompanies the application of youthful endeavor, and it is
a fact that the majority of the wonderful inventions and improvements
that have been made in radio have been produced by young men.

Since this book was written there has been produced in this country the
most powerful vacuum tube in the world. In size it is small, but in
output it is capable of producing 100 kilowatts of electrical power.
Three such tubes will cast the human voice across the Atlantic Ocean
under any conditions, and transmit across the same vast space the
world's grandest music. Ten of these tubes joined in parallel at any of
the giant transmitting wireless telegraph stations would send telegraph
code messages practically around the world.

[Illustration: author's signature "Jack Binns"]

CONTENTS

I. Splin