EMPIRE BROADCAST

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 147, 12 September 1927, Page 9

EMPIRE BROADCAST

BREAKDOWN OF PLANT Bj/ Cable. —-J*re,ts Association.—Copyr ght R-Jod. 9.5 a.n. LONDON, Sunday. fifty bre akflistless Australians sat ia the Columbia Gramophone Studio winching the microphone and vonderinjg who her Mr. Gerald Marcuse's first Empire broadcast was reaching Australia. Then came a tragic breakdown. condenser suddenly failed, ct using the geii3rator to blow out and the plant, which hitherto had stood the severest tests, was mute for 50 minutes. It was something of an achievement by Mr. Marcuse and his two assistants to rig an emergency supply trom the public mains. The breakdown, however, necessitated cutting down the programme by half. As all th€ items were picked up by valve sets in the South of England, strong hopes are held that most of them got through. Mr. Marcuse is not dismayed, end says he will continue pioneering;. He is sanguine of ultimate success.—-A. and N.Z. Wireless amateurs who were expecting to hear the Empire preflramme to have been broadcast by Mr. Gerald Marcuse, the English experimenter, from his lowwave station, 2MM, last evening, were disappo nted. After beinij on the ai» for seven minutes, the station broke down, and remained silent in spite of all efforts to continue with the programme. Mr. A. Collins, of 2 Auburn Street, Jakapuna, heard 2NM shortly after °ls p.m. ye sterday. The recept on Aas very weak and erratic. After ihe opening anr ouncement, Mr. Marcuse switched over to the Columbia gramophone recording studios, from wh ch tho programme was to be given. C ipFrazer, of the British Broadcast'll? Company, spoke for a few minutes the Empire broadcast. Half-way through the opening item the station broke down, to come on again for a moments and then disappear entirely.

An Australian amateur intercepted a Morse core message from an EngIjsl transmitter to a New Zealand listaner stating that a breakdown had occurred. This news was broadcast by the Sydney station, 2FC. Mr. W. H. Robinson, of Basque Ro.d, Eden Terrace, heard 2CE, Sydney. calling 3A1,, Rangiora. This station confirmed the news about 2NM. he English station, which is on 53 metres aid uses a power of 1,000 *atts. has been heard in Auckland before, both direct and relayed from 2F<;\