Discussion

Commander Taylor in the present paper and in several recent and interesting papers, has described methods of reducing static strays and also foreign station interference. In some instances he has described his results in terms of a ratio giving the advantage of one system over another. The subject is one of very great interest. In his own papers and in others which have recently appeared, the results of work were given in a form which I am unable to interpret quantitatively. I wish, therefore, to suggest for the consideration of the Institute a method for the quantitative comparison of receiving systems so far as concerns their ability to reduce static or interference. As it happens, the method, which I am suggesting is one which I devised in the early part of 1916 when, for two or three months, I was employed in studying receiving circuits. I make no claim, of course, that this is the optimum system for the quantitative comparison of receiving systems or static and station interference. I feel, however, that so much is now being written and published on these matters that it would be of great advantage to the Institute to consider seriously the adoption of some simple and standard method for expressing the results obtained.