RADIO NOTES

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 314, 30 August 1932, Page 6

RADIO NOTES

"Kathode.")

THE WEEK'S NEWS , NOVEL FAN TYPE AERIAL FOR REDUCTION OF INTERFERENCE NOISES IN THE SET

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The past week h°s been fairly good for reception of the YA stations, though static has been lhore or less present. The Australian stations have " been excellent on most evenings, and quite up to} normal strength, though static has been heavy after 10 p.m. Several American stations were logged with plenty of volume, though fading has been very noticeable on trans-Pacific reception. KFI, KGO and KMOX were the best dx stations heard. During a talk from 3YA, Dr. A. G. Denham quoted the following from Pasteur: — "Two opposing laws seem to me now in conflict. The one, a law of blood and death, opening out each day new methods of destruction, forces nations to be always ready for battle; the other, a law of peace, work and health, whose only aim is to deliver man from calamities which beset him. The one seeks violent conquests, the other the relief of mankind. The one places a single life above all victories the other saerifices hundreds of thousands of lives for the ambition of-a single individual. Which of these two laws will prevail God only knows. But of this we may be sure, that science, in obeying the laws of humanity will always labour to enlarge the frontiers of life. I believe that science and peace must triumph over ignorance and war, that nations will unite not to destroy but to instruct one another, and that the future will belong to those who have done most for suffering mankind." From day to day, radio is doing much to relieve the "suffering of mankind and is labouring to "enlarge the frontiers of life." British ships posted as missing has declined from 29 in 1920 to 3 in 1931, and this improvement is attributed to the increasing use of wireless. Wanted. — A translator to connect to radio sets for translating Japanese stations. The fan type aerial is a novel one and well worth' trying in localities where interference and static is bad. Fifteen to twenty wires from 10 to 20 feet long are hung vertically about 12 inches apart, and are brought to a common point to form a fan. Where the wires point at the common point they must be soldered together and a small brass ring is ideal for this purpose. Merely wrapping the earth wire round a pipe is useless. The contact must be positive and the only satisfactory way is to solder the connection or use a good earth clamp. It is surprising the number of aerials in use in Rotorua that are really inefficient. In two cases, "Kathode" found the enamel had not been scraped off the wire before joining to the aerial terminal of the receiver, and another listener had simply twisted the lead-in wire round the horizontal span without removing the insulation. Complaints of poor reception in another case was found to be a poor earth contact. A piece of electric wiring conduit had been driven into the "-ground and well watered, but the enamel had not been removed, therefore no contact was made. The earth wire was also heavily enamel led and no attempt had been made to remove the insulation. Good, clean metal to metal contacts are essential for good results, therefore it is wise to inspect these small but imp'ortant items every few weeks. Mr. L. Barnes, manager of 1YA has been spending a few days in Rotorua. On his return to Auckland, Mr. Barnes will attend to the extension of operating hours at 1YA. Noisy valves are not uncommon, especially those of the pentode type. If noise persists after the aerial has been remqysd, a new detector, or pentode output valve should 'be tried before blaming the receiver. Frying and ..crackling noises usually point to a partially broken down resistor. Th'e American KOIN has been heard fairly often lately. It is an old friend and was often picked up when battery receivers were popular. Another old friend was KFON, Longbeach, and later known as KFOX. This station has not bsen heard for some time, though it uses greatly increased power. Some of the B class stations heard during the week are: — 3YB, Melbourne; 2GN, Golburn; 3BL Geelong. American stations heard are: — KFI, KGO, KOIL, KMOX, KMTR, WOA, KOIN and KPO.