Over the Aerial

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 230, 28 September 1928, Page 16

Over the Aerial

* WIRELESS NEWS FROM FAR AND NEAR. g

If (By "PHONOS.") i

The latest figures, showing a grand total of 38,835 licenses of all types, is encouraging, though it is still below, instead of above, the record of March last. Devotees of listening will be disappointed that there are not, by this time, 60,000 sets in use in the Dominion.

One cannot help making comparisons between the Australian system of announcing the names of performers, and the recently adopted New Zealand one ot leaving the listener in ignorance, for a while at any rate, whether there is a person or a gramophone before the microphone. Frankly, the writer prefers the Australian system. It brings an intimacy of touch between performer and listener, and is worth the time spent on it.

Listeners will be interested to know that the New Zealand stations will be on the air again for the return flight across the Tasman, as they were when the west-to-east crossing was made. On this occasion better luck should be the portion of Mr. McWilliam, and we may hope that a good budget of news from the 'plane will be available. 3YA will make a special feature of the departure of the Southern Cross from Christchurch, where the send-off is expected to be a most enthusiastic one.

111 the annual report of the Anglican Broadcasting Association the New Zealand Broadcasting Company is taken to task for the attitude which it adopted towards the association regarding the latter's proposal to establish a transmitting station in Auckland. The proposal to establish an Anglican Church broadcasting station is far from dead, and a further effort for support is likely to see the project established, and a short wave service under operation. Full details may be available after the annual meeting, which is taking place this afternoon.

On August 31 there were 37.338 listeners' licenses in operation in New Zealand. Of these 12,700 were issued in the Auckland postal district, and 14.600 in the Wellington one. Otago claimed 2500 and Canterbury 7400. The most astonishing feature of the figures issued by the P. and T. Department is the astounding total of dealers' licenses which still appears. There are yet over thirteen hundred registered radio dealers in the Dominion, nearly 560 of them being in the Wellington area. There should be a steady and heavy increase of set owners from now on to justify their faith. i "MYSTERY" NIGHTS.

A correspondent .offers a valuable suggestion that may well be considered in connection with the forth coming repetition of our first "Mystery" night. For such special stunts to be worth while thev must arouse and main-

tain a widespread interest, lor as mere entertainment they are liable to fall below the usual standard of the weekuight programmes. At least the first one did. "Disappointed" writes:—

"I think I am expressing the feelings of many competitors m IYA "Mystery" night when I state that the sequel to the competition was most disappointing. In the first place it would have been some satisfaction to competitors had the correct programme of items abd artistes been advertised shortly after the competition. This could easily have been done as it was. of course, available apart from the decision of the judges. Instead, what happened?—a few lines in the paper four weeks after the competition giving merely the name of the successful competitor. I trust that the committee will give more consideration to intending competitors in the second "Mystery" night, or they can expect little interest to be shown by previous competitors."

The Bayfield school choir, heard during the children's hour on Thursday, is worthy of a place in in evening's programme.

Another quartet party was welcomed last night. New roices are appreciated, and will be even more so when they introduce anything novel in the way of presentation.

2FC is undertaking, with characteristic enterprise, a new scheme—competitions over the air. These competitions cover thirty-four sections for entrants, and, among other things, offer inducement to both local composers and locai writers. It is hoped that the dearth of suitable material for radio plays and sketches *vill thus be overcome. The finalists in the competitions will be heard before the microphone during the first week in December, and later the winners will appear at the Svdnev Town Hall.

"To Have the Honour," a comedy from the pen of A. A. Milne, will be given from 2FC on Wednesday next at 10."1 p.m.. New Zealand time. On Sunday evening, from the same station, there will be relayed the Sydney concert in aid of United Charities, whereat many of the best-known artist? in the X.S.W. capital will appear.

RADIO FOR CHILDREN. The third meeting of the IYA Children's Advisory Committee was held in the studio of IYA on Tuesday. The Rev. L. B. Fletcher ("Uncle Leo" of IYA), was in the chair, and others present were: Miss Flatt (National Council of Women.i, Mrs. Bruce MacKenzie (Girl Guides). Miss Jean Begg (Y.W.C.A.), Mr. E. V. Hudson (Headmasters' Association i, Mr. .1. Meade (Boy Scouts' Association i. Mr. L. S. Abbott Miss R. Palmer (children's organiser), and Mr. S. J. Harden (station director). Apologies for absence were received from the Rev. George Coats and t!ie Rev. Mr. Busfiekl. The Racio Broadcasting Company forwarded a copy of a letter received from an official listener, bearing on matters in connection with the conducting of the children's session, which occasioned a good deal of discussion, but it was finally decided that the majority of points mentioned had already been dealt with by the committee, and it was felt that nothing further could be don- 1 . Miss .Jean Begg outlined a number of suggestions on items in the session, and commented that from reports she had received, the ' Trips to Various Interesting Tarts of Now Zealand" proved as interesting as any other feature of th;session with the children. It was decided to intn»luce once weekly a very short gramophone lecture recital at the end of the eiinurt'hV ses-

AERIAL WIRE AND OXIDISATION. Many people are under the impression that a brand-new aerial wire is more efficient than one which has been in use a for some time. This impression is the result of the popular belief that the coating of oxide which forms on copper J or brass wires when exposed to the air increases the resistance of such tarnished wire to high-frequency currents. Exhaustive tests, however, have proved that the theory is to all intents and purposes a fallacy. It is perfectly true that aerials do sometimes lose their pristine efficiency, but this falling-off in energy can generally be traced to an accumulation of dirt on the insulators, corrosion of the connection between aerial and lead-in, dirty, or loose connection at the lead-in terminal. It is a good idea to overhaul the aerial at least once a year, but it is not at all necessary to emery paper the wire! COTTER PINS AS TERMINALS. Radio experimenters in need of a plugin type of terminal for detachable parts of the wiring, will find brass cotter pins very useful. The cotter pins, of an appropriate 6ize, of course, are soldered to the ends of the wires. The ends of these terminals can be squeezed together with the fingers, insei'ted into any screw !or a plug-in type of connection. They [ will give good contact and offer a fair ' resistance to being pulled out.

sion, with the ides of stimulating musical appreciation in tne younger mind. Considerable discussion centred on the question of the children's programmes at Christmas, and it was decided to , conduct the children's session on Christ- I mas Day at 9 o'clock in the morning, instead of at 6 o'clock in the evening, and a number of interesting novelties for the kiddies were decided upon to take place at this session. The chairman reported that the unsolicited donations which had been coming to hand from various persons now totalled £8 17/11. and in accordance with the committee's previous resolution it was decided to allocate the amou:i' to the purchase of crystal sets for some deserving children. A case of this nature was brought before the committee. and it was decided to donate a set to the child i:i Question, together with the amonnt covering the first licence fee. The committee decided to meet again on December 4. THE UNIVERSITY DEBATE. Unfortunately ""Phonos" was unable to listen in to the debate relayed from the University on Friday la~t. but. in converse with a number who hoard it. he reaped quite a diversity of opinions. Most of these were appreciative, though one declared that the discussion was "like the curate's eqrg." The experiment might well- be continued by the presentation of brief discussions. particularly on humorous topics, for T.> I k . «>f all thincs radio, must be bright and snappy.

AI7CIENT HISTORY. The Jirst broadcast of a concert ia English waters took place in 1907, accordi'l? to information recently release! from ilie confidential tiles of the British Admiralty. As a result of experiment* by Captain Q. C. A. Craufurd, RJC., th® concert was broadcast from the warship Andromeda to the Channel Fleet, then lying at Chatham. This was in the dava of the old magnetic detector which registered the dots and dashes of the Mors* code.

I had several signalmen helping me," says Captain Craufurd. ""and -.vo chose the most musical of them to sing tha first song. "<-cd Save the King.' This ua« the first song ev-.r broadcast. We followed this up with Rule. Britannia,' •Trafalgar Day.' "On the Mississippi Shore.' There a Tavern in Our Town' "Three Blind Mice." and others. The Admiralty did nut want the general public to know of the invention. I -vras not allowed to vy * word about it. Ther thought it could l>e adapted with great profit for u?e in submarines.."' The range of the broadcast wa« about three miles