RADIO NOTES

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 290, 2 August 1932, Page 7

RADIO NOTES

Kathode.)

(By

Conditions have been good during the past week, the YA stations coming thr.ough .with . plenty of pUnch after dark, though iYA is usually spoilt by bad heterodyning. Now that IYA has been overhauled, listeners should hear some .good programmes from the Queen City, as fading and distortion seem to be noticeably minimised. The quality from 3YA leaves much to be desired though no doubt the engineers will give this station their early.. attention. Bad static marred distant reception over the week-end, particularly those stations below 400 metres. The American stations have heen heard well during early evening hours and the Australians have heen coming over stronger than at any other time of this winter. ! » » * The Coverage Commission's report has at last been made public. No doubt it is the most comprehensive report ever furnished on a broadcast service, though most of the findings have been previously enlarged upon by investigators in England and Am'erica. If all of the recommendations furnisbed in the report are carried out, New Zealand will have a broadcast service comparable with most countries, excepting England. From the local listeners' point of view, the section dealing with a relay station at Tirau contains most interest, and it is hoped that investigations will prove a site nearer Rotorua to be the most effective. It is doubtful if a half kilowatt station at - Tirau would give a reliable service to local listen-

ers all the year round, as a high and heavily wooded range lies between Rotorua and the proposed site. Fading would probably be noticed at different seasons of the year and weak signal strength during day-time may cause local interference to predominate. * * * That some peculiar condition of the terrain north of Rotorua influences radio reception over short and medium distances has been known for some time, and observations taken in Rotorua seem to indicate that Ngongotaha mountain and the Mamaku range have rnore than a little attenuating effect on radio energy coming from the north. The "B" class station in Hamilton is received well on the northern side of the Mamaku range and rarely, if ever heard in Rotorua, yet a "B" class station in Gisborne is -frequently heard locally with good volume. The Auckland station, IYA, has never been well received in Rotorua, though this locality is excellent for over seas reception. The local transmi'tters have always experienced difficulty in communicating with Auckland or Hamilton, yet contact is readily ohtained with all stations south of Rotorua. Long distanee transmission is also readily accomplished fpom this locality and low power records have been frequently demonstrated by Rotorua amateurs. Of course one must take into consideration the short wave lengths used by amateur transmitters and the possibility of "skip distanee" effeets but the "skip distanee" range changes from season to season, yet signals from Auckland and Hamilton are always comparatively weak in Rotorua. To serye; Rotorua and- the Bay of Plenty, no doubt the best loca- : tion for a transmitting station will ' prove to be on the Rotorua side of the Mamaku range. Of course, before Tirau is finally decided upon as the location for a broadcast station, certain tests will he made, and some provision may be made for a better service for local listeners. There ip also the possibility that tests may reveal the suitability of Rotorua as the best sight of a pelay station. Un--fil those tests are made, local listeners may look forward. to a better service from the existing YA stations. + * * Theoretically, a single wjre aeria,! will receive best statipns which lie in the direction to which' it-points. If it is desirable to receive 2YA to best advantage, the aerial lead in should come in from the northern end of the horizontal span. If American stations are sought, the lead in should come in from the southern end. In practice it will be found best for aerials to run in a direction pointing east and west with the lead in coming from the eastern end of the wire. * * * The IYA station is always badly heterodyned by some Australian station and it is time either one or the ojthjer of ,the stations shifted frequency to overcome this "trouble. A slight alteration in lYA's wavelength would clear reception from th'at station. * * * Where listeners experience overlapping of the main Australian and' New