RADIO NOTES

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 586, 18 July 1933, Page 7

RADIO NOTES

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As usual, the concert -sessions from the YA stations during' the coming week consist chiefly of records. On the other hand, there will be some excellent entertainment from the Australian stations for those who like to keep late hours. 2FC will broadeast "The Belle of New York" to-morrow evening, and "The Life of C'hopin" on Friday. From 2BL on Friday there Will be a Humphrey Bish'op production entitled "A Pastorale." This station always devotes Saturdny evening to dance music. Those who enjoy this class of entertainment can always be assured of hearing the latest and popular numbexs played by the A.B.C. dance band. The Broadcasting Board has received many requests for a reappearance of Mr. Will Bishop. This artist will jbe heard from 2YA next Saturday night in "Fifteen minutes of foolishness at the piano." The AJR.C. are holding a special meeting at Ellerslie next Saturday which will be broiadcast on r.elay by 1YA' at interva-ls during the day. As far as New Zealand is concefned the Empire short-wave broadcasting station does not exist. Various experiments have resulted in improved recep.tiqn in Australia, but have not been of any assistance to reception in this country. The New York Times reports that the E1 Paso (Texas) Bar Association, at a recent meeting, strongly condemned the action of a judge who permitted the local station (KTSM) to install a microphone in his court during the hearing of a murder trial. When the proceedings lacked interest or during court intermissions, listeners were switched over to the studio for music and news bulletins. . Although a lot has been written about the new transmitting plant to be installed at Christchurch, it will still only be a toy compared with many transmitters in use in other parts of the world. Stations using 20 kilowatts or more are quite common while the latest news is that the Turkish Government propose to build a 500 kilowatt transmitter at Ankara. Where rope halliards are used, trouble is often experienced in keeping the aerial tight. The rope will slacken off in dry weather and will beeome quite taut on a wet day. There is an easy way in which to keep a constant tensdon on the aerial and one that does not require further attention when properly adjusted. Keep the lead-in end of the aerial fastened but instead of tying the rope supporting the free end, attach a counterweight and adjust so that it will jusL keep the slack out of the aerial wire. The weight required will vary slightly with different aerials, but the writer has found an ordinary brick very near what is required. A counterweight should always be used when the aerial is fastened to a tree, as it prevents any chance of a break in a bigh wiind. Owners of batfcery sets and some early model a.c. jobs can often improve selectivity by using an aerial tuner. A cheap and easy method of making is to wind 145 turns of 26 gauge enamelled wire on a 2in former, taking a tap at every 10 turns. At one end a series of taps may be taken out at every two turns to provide fine tuning. Two small battery clips can be used for making contact. A more convenient but rather more expensive method is to wiind 100 turns of 22 gauge d.c.c. wire on a 3in former and connect a .0005 condenser in series with it. Either tuner is conneeted between the aerial lead and the aerial terminal on the set. If using a condenser, one end of the coil should be taken to the stator and the rotor to the aerial terminal on set. To use, tune in the station required; then adjust the tuner for maxiimum result, afterwards making a final adjustment on the set. A little practice will soon show the best setting for various wave-leng.ths and the reading logged for easy reference. Vaseline should always be used to prevent corrosion on terminals of acid type batteries. Never use ordinary gre'ase. Unpleasant vibrations are often caused by the table or cupboard on which the set is standing acting as a sound-'box. This can usually be cured by standdng the set on a sheet of felt. Fitting four rubber studs, one at each corner of the bottom of the cabinet, may also remove the trouble. In fitting an electric pick-up, care should be taken to see that it tracks preperly in order to get the best reresults a,nd to prevent undue wear on records. The needle should line up directly over the centre of the turntable spindle.