WIRELESS WHISPERS.

Putaruru Press, Volume II, Issue 59, 11 December 1924, Page 3

WIRELESS WHISPERS.

FASCINATIONS AND DIFFICULTIES.

"Broadcast.”)

(By

Here we will sit and let the sounds of music Creep in our ears; soft stillness, anti the night, Become the touches of sweet harmony. —Shakespeare. “ and let the sounds of music creep in our ears.” Although it is generally acknowledged that radio exercises its greatest influence on the home during the winter months, yet music lovers feel ill-disposed to pay the price of remaining indoors to continue its pleasures. Happily( with most receiving sets, there is a remedy for this, and that is to use a loudspeaker installed on the verandah or in the summer house, from which the joys of radio reception may be obtained. Observing the placid manner in which the average man accepts wireless telephony as o:ie of the commonplace facts of life one cannot but remark that the difficulties and fascination which wireless afforded the early experimenters have become eclipsed by tx.e ease with which the modern valve enables long distance reception to be affected. In the early days of wireless, not only were the difficulties experienced in the amateur world, difficulties which to-day are easily overcome, but even the professional engineer and operator had more than he could wish for, in spite of the resources at his command. It will, however, be admitted by those to whom wireless is no new study that the ladder they have climbed has been made less steep by the fascination that lured them on. THE GENTLE ART OF TUNING. There is a great deal more in tuning a wireless set than most people think. Some men and some boys are artists at the business, whilst to others it means nothing more than rather a haphazard moving of knobs and handles until the desired signal is obtained. Even expert knowledge does not always bring the power of handling a receiving set to the best advantage.

Many enthusiasts who, though excellent as regards the construction and design of sets and though possessing an extensive knowledge of the theory of wireless, are yet unable to get the best out of any instrument that they are handling. Some sets may appear unstable, unselective and far from sensitive when handled by one man, whilst when another takes charge it will behave as though it were an absolutely different set, bringing in distant signals with good strength and showing no tendency to self-oscillation. The secret of getting the best out of a set lies in the possession of a full knowledge of what you are doing when you make any adjustment and the ability to make the very small movements of the controls that are called for. STEPPING STONES TO SUCCESS. Success in radio is certainly dependent upon gradual and logical progress. The man who sets out to build an elaborate and intricate receiving set without first taking the trouble to learn some of the more elementary principles of wireless, is very much like the man who is in such a hurry to reach the other side of the stream, that he omits to take due advantage of the stepping stones provided. Radio, like every other hobby, wants understanding, and the easiest and most economical way of acquiring knowledge is to make systematic use of the radio press publications now on the market. Every genuine radio “ fan ” makes a point of obtaining- a good magazine which contains the latest methods of utilising radio instruments. All the difference between succesa and failure m building- a home-made set lies in/ the correct values of the components and their arrangement. In buying a pair of telephones the purchaser should always buy a wellknown brand. A few shillings saved m a cheap set of headphones is «- en _ eratly many wasted, without mentioning the distorted reception resultsobtained.