RADIO AND ITS RECEIVERS

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 249, 11 January 1928, Page 12

RADIO AND ITS RECEIVERS

Conducted for THE SUN by C. M AVOID AERIAL CONTACTS An outdoor aerial must not touch anything unless it is an excellent insulator, and the fewer points it touches, even though they are insulators, the better the aerial insulation and the more energy comes to the receiving set. KEEP BATTERY CONNECTIONS CLEAN Loose or dirty battery connections often account for some of the noise heard in a receiving set. The terminals on a storage battery are coated with lead to withstand corrosion from the spray of electrolyte, but nevertheless they oxidise quickly. NEW WAVE-LENGTHS This subjtscf, which is evergreen in radioland, is cropping up again in Australia, and the delay in opening up this subject is due to the Washington Conference, according to the P.M.G. in Australia. There will be nothing of a revolutionary character, so that there is no danger of the sets in present use being unable to cope with any chcanges that may occur across the Taspian. The tendency will be downwards toward 300 metres for A class stations and toward 250 metres for B class stations and relay stations. HOW ANNOUNCER MET ONE OF AUDIENCE A man was buying a newspaper from a boy in Pitt Street, Sydney, a few days ago when another hailed him as an acquaintance and struck up a conversation. The first man was puzzling his brain as to the identity of the other when the second suddenly remarked, “I’m sorry, old chap, but I can’t recall your name.” “It’s Halbert—Lawrence Halbert,” was the reply. “Well, I’m blessed,” said his “friend.” “I recognised your voice and thought you were an old pal of mine. So you’re Lawrence Halbert. Why I hear your voice over the radio every night.” They had never met before but the enthusiastic listener knew the voice of the popular announcer the moment he heard it. Another striking incident was recently reported from the United States. An announcer of a wellknown radio station wished to cash a cheque in a town where he was unknown. He satisfied the bank teller as to his identity by means of his voice which the. banker knew from listening to the station. A RADIO FAD “Grid-Bias” in the “Evening Post” speaks plainly with regard to a fad in aerials which is becoming pronounced in Auckland suburbs: “In various places in New Zealand —two of which the writer knows are Christchurch and Shannon, no doubt there are many others—there has been an epidemic of a fad for fixing big copper spheres at the ends of the aerials. The result is striking in appearance, but the ball has no value at all in improving reception, and is a sheer waste of money. Whatever the enterprising salesman says, the actual fact is that there is nothing to beat a plain single wire, well insulated.” AERIALS AND LIGHTNING Recent hot weather and an occasional thunder-storm have again given rise to fears tkat the presence of an aerial on a house may increase the danger of the house being struck by lightning. There are, in fact, a number of people who are disinclined to instal a receiver because they fear that the aerial may “attract” lightning. At first sight it appears that there is some ground for this fear, and that a wire suspended above a house may prove a danger in a storm. After more than 25 years’ experience, however, records have shown that there is no increase in the lightning hazard to buildings with aerials installed, and that if a properly protected aerial has any effect at all it serves as a safeguard to the building rather than endangering it. The reason for this is that the aerial acts as a lightning conductor, and its presence on the building has the effect of discharging slowly an electrically charged cloud or body of air in the neighbourhood before the electrical pressure can rise high enough to cause a direct lightning stroke. This action of the aerial depends on it being "earthed,” as it is necessary for the aerial to provide an easy path by which electricity collected on it can leak away to earth. If the aerial is not effectively earthed, then a high pressure charge will collect on it in storms. A dangerous shock may b© obtained by touching the aerial lead in wire, and the pressure on it may rise high enough to discharge in the form of a spark more than an inch long to some body connected to the earth. For this reason effective protective’ devices should always be installed on the aerial. The fire underwriters’ regulations provide that it must be fitted with an approved lightning arrester. A lightning arrester consists of two metal plates placed in a position with a. very small air gap between them. One of these plates is connected to the lead-in wire, and the other is connected to earth. Charges which collect on the aerial in stormy weather can then leak away to earth by forming minute sparks across the air gap, and, should a direct lightning stroke on the aerial occur, the discharge can pass direct to earth across the arrester-gap. As an additional safeguard an earthing switch can be fitted to the aerial. The standard form of earthing switch is a small, single pole knife-switch on a small porcelain base. The aerial lead-in wire is connected to one terminal of the switch and the earth wire is connected to the other. Then, when the switch is closed, the aerial is brought into direct electrical contact with the earth. In this position, of course, the switch will short-circuit the receiver and render it inoperative. Care must therefore, be taken to ensure that the switch is opened before attempting to use the receiver.

. TAYLOR, B.Sc., M.I.R.E. RADIO BREVITIES In the past three years the radio industry has risen from the 34th to the 12th in the big manufacturing business of the United States. * • • Recently a school teacher said to her class, “Good morning, everybody. How are you all to-day?” One little boy in the corner of the school room replied, “Teacher, I know where #ou heard that.” A device for broadcasting through one’s own receiver has been invented. This should enable the fans to talk back and save postage. Think of the conversation the women can have. * * * The French housewife’s fight against unsightly loud speakers is causing makers to disguise them in all sorts of artistic ways. The sounds of the radio set issue from a small marble fountain in a corner of the room in one radio set put on the market in France. * * * A radio-aviation dispatch service will be completed next year on the Brus-sels-London route. Installations are being made at Ghent, Strombeck and Evere. When the system is completed, constant communication will be maintained with all places properly equipped, aviation schedules will be expedited and risk of collisions between airplanes will be reduced to a minimum.

The mica condenser, as used in receiving sets, has practically an everlasting life, for .the reason that it is used at voltages far below its safe limit.

The big problem which now faces this country is what to do with your burned-out radio B batteries. Discarding them is not as easy as losing old razor blades. One conservative human living near us almost solved the problem, but lost money on the deal. He painted a two years’ supply and presented them to his child as blocks for Christmas. After the first crash little Johnny wound up at the hospital.

The height of ignorance is reached when a housewife hangs out the Monday wash on father’s aerial. Father gets a wet reception when he comes home from the office. At least, it’s fairly clean. * * * 2BL’S SESSIONS

One or two rather important alterations have been made by 2BL, Sydney, in times of the morning and evening sessions in order to prevent unnecessary overlapping of Sydney’s two stations. These, changes have been made only by 2BL, in order that better allround service may be given to listeners.

The early morning session begins at 8 o’clock and concludes at 9 o’clock. This gives a continuous service from both stations from 7 until 9 o’clock. The evening session has been altered also. The country session will be transmitted at 6.30 instead of 7, and from then musio and lectures will be given until 8. This means that there will be no simultaneo us broadcasting of market reports, and that listeners will have the choice of dinner music from both stations from 6.30 p.m. until 7 o’clock. The new hours were inaugurated last week. Another inovation of 2BL, which commenced last Saturday, was a complete evening of dance music every Saturday night from 8 o’clock until midnight. This has been introduced in the belief that on this evening, when dances are the thing, the arrangement will be most popular, but the station will be pleased to receive criticisms of the innovation. IYA NEWS

The Radio Broadcasting Company has an excellent sports announcer in the person of the director of station IYA. Mr. Stringer, on the final day at Ellerslie, was quite the equal of the official sports announcer, and had the advantag€> of knowing many of the local racegoers, and his descriptions between the races were fresh and interesting. One might even presume to propose that the company put the expenses of its sports announcer into local programmes, and let its station manager do the job. Another case of hidden talent was shown on Sunday evening, when a lady, Cinderella from the sound of the voice, opened up the station in the best possible style—in fact, in a style which is the first to equal the long-forgotten J. M. Prentice, whose strangely enough, has not been heard from Australian stations since he left New Zealand.

When is IYA going to take a leaf from 2YA and give us some band music?

An interesting suggestion comes from Wellington—i.e., on account of summer time, to start the evening programme at 8.30 p.m. instead of 8 p.m. The half-hour from 8 p.m. till 8.30 p.m. could be filled in with gramophone music or relays from picture theatres should be possible. STATION KGO REBUILT

As this station is frequently heard during the winter months a short description of improvements will be interesting to the DX seeker. KGO will commence the new year with many new entertainment features, the mechanical innovations and a completely redecorated s*tudio. The frequency of KGO is now crystal controlled. This monitor of the freqeuncy of transmission signals has be,en installed at large expense. In the adoption of the crystal quartz oscillator for KGO, the General Electric engineers are using the most accurate method known for maintaining frequency. It will now be impossible for the station to, vary more than onetenth of 1 per cent, from its assigned wave length of 384.4 metres. Some of the new condenser types of microphones have already been installed at the station. This microphone is used by KOA, Denver and WGY, Schenectdy, both General Electric sta.tions, WJZ, New York and the pioneer broadcaster, KDKA, Pittsburgh. Engineer Walter D. Kellogg reports that the latest type of the condenser microphone reduces the effect of extraneous noises caused by mechanical vibrations where the broadcast takes place.

With the new condenser microphone, organ music can be broadcast successfully. It is impossible to “blast” this instrument and the quality of transmission is greatly improved with its

BATTERY TERMINAL CLEANING To clean storage battery terminals it will be found that ordinary house-

hold ammonia used full strength will remove any acid, corrosion and dirt which has formed. Corrosion, due to acid spray when charging, can be prevented by first cleaning terminals with ammonia and then covering with a thin film of vaseline. AUSTRALIANS HEARD IN U.S. 2BL is frequently heard on the Pacific Coast, as is also 2.YA Wellington. A letter from San Pedro, California, from a listener to 2BL during a boxing relay is interesting. “I grabbed the telephone,” he says, “and called up radio fans in Los Angeles, Hollywood and San Pedro and let some of them hear the second and third rounds. I would have given 500 dollars to have put this fight over from our big station KFI. It would make history.” PRINCE A LISTENER The Prince of Wales has had a powerful set installed at his ranch at Calgary and according to American papers he became, on his last visit to Canada, a real enthusiast. “He likes the moving syncopation of wailing saxophones, strumming banjos and plaintive violins and h© wants every delightful tune to come over the air without missing a note.” SPORTING BROADCASTS It has been mentioned over the air and by the Press on several occasions that the broadcasting of a sporting event does not materially affect the attendance. There is certainly no evidence that the attendance has dropped because of the relays, and, again, it would be hard to state definitely that the increased attendances at various meetings has been due to the fact that breadcasting has been permitted. There are too many other factors to be taken into consideration, such as interest in the event, a perfect day, and lack of other attractions; but the general feelir~ is that the effect is certainly beneficial in creating interest, and thus affecting future attendances. In Sydney it fs considered that the relays act as a decided stimulus to sports crowds. No greater example of the improvement in attendances caused through radio can be obtained than the wrestling bouts, which most listeners have heard from Sydney, stations, and which have long been a feature of the winter Saturday evenings from 3LO. When wrestling first made its real appearance, the public looked askance, and reckoned it hardly worth witnessing. It came to many conclusions as to the conducting of such clashes, and generally refused to attend. During 1927 wrestling events have been broadcast from the stadium (will uncles and aunts from IYA please note the past tense of the verb “to broadcast”?) Much thanks were due to the efficiency of that broadcasting that wrestling attained the hold it did. The public listened, was struck with the excitement that such events generated, and decided that it would be better off seeing for itself. CRICKET IS DIFFERENT

Cricket is broadcast from the Sydney cricket ground on every big occasion, and occasionally from Eden What difference does it make to the attendance? None, simply because cricket is not a game that can bo adequately described through the air. But it can serve the purpose of stimulating interest. The broadcasting of a game can give a fair indication of whether the finish will be close or whether any outstanding performances are taking place. For example, how many cricketers would be tempted to Eden Park on their way home if they knew that Mills or Dacre was within a score of a double century in a Plunket Shield match? Such a possibility drags many spectators to the ground, and furthers the interest iin radio and in cricket.