Miss Helen Dickinson of New York, shown seated here at the table, might not have won any spelling bees, but in 1924, she was a crusader against radio interference. The regenerative receiver, like many of the one tube radios featured on this site, contain a regeneration control, and by turning up this dial, the receiver becomes more sensitive. But once it reaches a critical point, the set breaks into oscillation and becomes a transmitter. It causes an annoying squeal to be heard through the headphones. But to the dismay of the neighbors listening to the same station, it causes the same squeal to come over their receiver.

For this reason, Miss Dickinson took it upon herself to rid the airwaves of this scourge, and got her neighbors to sign a pledge to be more careful, and thus not be “Sqeal Hounds.” Here, her neighbors are lining up to sign the pledge. For those wanting tips on how to avoid interference, the February 1924 issue of Radio Age, from which this photo is taken, gives tips on doing so.

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