RADIO AND ITS RECEIVERS

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 167, 5 October 1927, Page 14

RADIO AND ITS RECEIVERS

Conducted for THE SUN by C RADIO IN HOSPITALS ( Through the courtesy of Sister Rose of “Awanui,’’ the P. and T. Department, and the New Zealand agenti, the writer was able to test the beneficial effect of radio as a means of passing away ' those dull hours which invalids ex- , perience. The set installed was an Operadio, which, complete in its neat case and with a single control, was ideal for the purpose. Both phones and a speaker were used, and the latter could be turned down without distortion to such an extent that it could not be heard outside the patient’s room. The results were all that could be desided. Many otherwise weary hours have been spent in relaxed enjoyment, and the effect on the patient . has been most beneficial. Another point emphasised by the experiment is that we could do with more hours of broadcasting. That space of time, from 4.-30 p.m. till the evening news session or children’s session might well be filled in in some way and would serve a big want. That blank space and a midday session are the next improvements needed in our service. THE ART OF STAGE BROADCASTING One of the difficulties of broadcasting from the stage is that the actors are continually on the move, and are consequently at varying distances from the microphone. Moreover the number of instruments in the orchestra and the difference in volume between a solo and a large chorus present difficulties in picking up. Noticeable advances have been made in American methods of late. Any sort of stage performance from grand opera to musical comedy, can now be broadcast in a manner that enables all its component parts to be given proper emphasis. In one instance no fewer than sixteen microphones were used, and the, music was passed through a special blending panel before proceeding to the 1 transmitter. 2FC, Sydney, has done much pioneer work in this | direction* and it is generally consid- , ered that the engineers of this station , have not a great deal to learn from i overseas in this respect. > In this respect, also, Mr. L. W. | White did a. lot of work at the old ; IYA, when the first relay—that from i the Lyric ’theatre—was put on the air. » Those whose radio experience goes ' back this fs,r will remember that this ' relay compares more than favourably , with many of the present ones. One feaii ture in parti£ulfc.r was the fact that the > extraneous noises of the theatres ' were largely cut out; this being acj complished by the use of relatively in1, sensitive microphones which neglected > all noises or jpoUnds, which came from any distance, except of course those of exceptional volume. Many of the ! picture theatre relays are marred by i the laughter that goes on. This is i inevitable, but could be reduced in i volume by the careful use of special | microphones. Another feature which is spoiling the efforts of the broadcasters i is the very objectionable habit some i people have of trying to shout mes- • sages to their friends from the dance | halls. The operators at IYA are not i always quite quick enough to cut out in time, but there should be no need for this sort of thing. One would have thought that horse-play and radio would not come together; but this is a wonderful age. . A RADIO MYSTERY In a quiet sectiofn of a suburban road in Sydney a resident walking along the road heard at voice behind him. It appeared to come from the telephone wires, and he distinctly heard and re-

C. M. Taylor, B.Sc., A.M.I.R.E. cognised the* voice of the 2FC announcer. Following the announcement came the item itself, about weak loudspeaker strength. There were no houses in the vicinity where a radio set might be installed. The weather conditions were stormy with thunder, and a little rain was falling, but these facts do not seem sufficient to account for the phenomenon which, like a similar case in England, where -an arc light acted as a received and regularly gave out the programmes of BBC, has left the radio experts thinking. LANGUAGE AND BROADCASTING The report of the Royal Commission on Wireless in Australia, in addition to making numerous recommendations on wireless policy, also contains many suggestions on important details connected with broadcasting. One of these is a suggestion that the A class stations should be required to employ announcers who are proficient in the correct use and pronunciation of the English language. From the effect of the language of the announcer on his own listeners it is only one step to the effect on foreign listeners. The conditions in Europe, where hundreds of broadcasting stations using many different languages are all in operation in a relatively small area, is being watched with interest by students of languages. Listeners in Great Britain can pick up without much difficulty the transmissions front stations using every language in Europe. It is stated that this fact is already hdving a vast effect in increasing the knowledge of the people of Europe of the language of adjacent countries, and as broadcasting is further developed, this effect will undoubtedly become world-wide. It seems certain that within a year or two hundreds of short-wave international broadcasting stations situated in all parts of the world will be working so that all listeners will have excellent opportunities of study in foreign languages. And. it is essential that foreign students (and also ones at home) should have the best enunciation and pronunciation possible. BURIED AERIALS FOR RECEPTION British amateurs have had considerable success in picking up, with buried aerials, the short-wave broadcasts from 3LO and 2FC. The measure of success claimed by those who employed buried areials for receiving the Australian stations seems to have been far greater than the British Broa.dcasting Corporation has given the Australian stations credit for. This use of buried aerials is by no means new, and the writer had the experence of using one at the home of Mr. Levy in Wellington, where all the Australian stations ; were picked, up on excellent volume : and with a very reduced interference ! from static and induction noises. The result of experimental work in this 1 respect seems to indicate a considerable loss in efficiency, with the use of ; the buried aerial, though there are. one ! or two types on the American market I which claim efficiency equal to the out--1 door aerial. But if this were so, we would surely see a much wider use of ; them. The excellent results obtained ; on the short waves seem to indicate ■ not so much the efficiency of the varied aerial as to pronounce the well-known fact that a short piece of wire makes 1 an efficient short-wave aerial, and it is most likely that it is the lead-in down to the underground system that is giving the results, and not the buried aerial. GERMAN EQUIPMENT ON THE MARKET In the last few months an interesting minor feature of the Australian and

New Zealand wireless markets has been the appearance of German apparatus in increasing quantities. This increase in the quantity of German equipment on the market is typical of a condition which is arising in most parts of the world. In the last three years the Germans have been engaged in extensive research, and have produced much apparatus of a novel form. The German valves, especially, have many unique features. The multivalves incorporating all the units of complete amplifiers are particularly interesting, as also are the vacuum tube grid-leaks, which have the virtue of being constant under all conditions. The receivers, many of which are highly efficient, mostly use coils of the plugin type on account of the long-wave stations in Europe, but the general appearance leaves much to be desired in comparison with British and American receivers. Recent export figures show the determined effort being made by the Germans to capture part of the export trade in radio.

EXPORT TRADE FIGURES 1925 1926 America .. £2,040,000 £1,813,000 Great Britain 1,280,000 1,266,000 Germany '.. 1,478,000 1,581,000 Germany being the only one to show an increase. EMPIRE COMMUNICATION When the powerful British station at. Rugby, which is used for transmitting official British Press news all over the world, largely for propaganda purposes, and also for various postal services, was opened about two years ago, experts declared it to be obsolete. The ground for this assertion was that the use of a very high-powered station working on a wavelength of nearly 20,000 metres, was opposed to all modern practice, and that a small station using a short wavelength would have given much better results. This is shown to be rather doubtful, as the Dutch station, PCJJ, is not consistent with its 250 kilowatts of power. Although postal engineers indignantly denied that the Rugby station was out of date, results have shown that it can

never be received in some parts of the world, while in others signals are often unreadable on account of static. A partial admission that this is so, and that the British Post Office is likely to employ small short-wave stations more freely than in the past, is provided in a message just received from Rugby. This message states that an interesting wireless experiment is being undertaken iby the Post Office. There are certain areas in different parts of the world where wireless signals transmitted on long wavelengths can be received only with difficulty, while in other places such signals can only be received at certain hours. With the object of ascertaining to what extent short-wave transmission may be capable of reaching such areas, the British official Press will be transmitted for two months on long and short waves simultaneously. The call sign of the existing long-wave station at Rugby, namely GBR, will be used, and the long wave will remain as at present. The short-wave station will be on 22 metres at noon, Greenwich time, transmissions and on 37 metres at 8 p.m. and at midnight. RADIO AND ITS RETAIL MARKET One reads much about the backyard radio dealer, and the effect he has on the legitimate dealer. Such a sensationally rapid growth as radio has enjoyed has naturally brought in its train many marketing problems and complexities. Electrical, automobile, hardware, departmental music and many other class of businesses have “gone into radio.” This transition stage is not permanent, but merely a passing phase. Radio is finding its natural retail outlets through those merchants who can put behind radio retailing the qualities of foresight, management, selling instinct, and the sense for public demand, which make for success in all other forms of retailing. Addecf to this must be the recognition that radio is still a specialty and requires specialty selling methods to produce profitable turnover. Radio is the newest, most modern product of scientific manufacturing. It has no precedents to tie it down —no set chan-

nels to follow. It is attracting the most versatile and experienced mar- , keting brains in the Dominion. It must have behind it thorough .scientific sales promotion methods, and extensii e, well-directed advertising. Its logical outlet is therefore governed not so much by trade, t ut by the character of the merchant. Being the livest retail product it naturally drav*s to it tne livest merchants, and these are the ones who will be with us in the years to come.

NEW APPARATUS

The most interesting set to arrive in New Zealand is the Raleigh. This set is the first British Empire built set to be imported into this country which can equal the American sets, and even beat them in efficiency and appearance. The sets are built in Canada, and THE SUN has had three on test, the 5-valve compact model, the 5-valve console model with built-in speaker, and a 6-valve single control model. The 5-valve gave excellent results on Australian stations, nine being logged one evening, and the selectivity is very satisfactory, 3YA, with a very slight background of IYA, 2 YA, 2FC being absolutely clear, as was 4QG, but the latter required more careful tuning than the others. The 6-valve is the set supreme; it is selective and the power is so great that it became necessary to use 4 volts oil the 6-volt valves. The Australians came in at 5 o’clock with the volume one is accustomed to expect after 10 o’clock. The sets are specially adjusted in Canada for Mullard valves, and the 6-valve set takes only .6 amperes, thus giving a high degree of economy with its exceptional efficiency. The path of the home constructor is being made almost too easy, as is evidenced by the new Browning-Drake foundation units, which are the latest output of that well-known corporation. The unit includes base board drilled and fitted with valve sockets, coupling clips and fixed condensers in place, an engraved and drilled panel completes the unit, so that in conjunction with the tuning kit the home constructor can make hi's set complete in an evening, and be proud of the result.