RADIO AND ITS RECEIVERS

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 587, 13 February 1929, Page 14

RADIO AND ITS RECEIVERS

Conducted for THE SUN by R. F. HAYCOCK.

When Buying a Set

FEATURES TO LOOK FOR

Tone Quality Important

ONE of the fundamental needs of mankind is to escape, after the labours of the day, from the humdrum realities which have occupied attention during the working hours. Be it ever so interesting or important, the time comes each day when man tires of his toil. It is then that he needs relaxation—and the possibilities of a sojourn into the world of entertainment and amusement. At other times he finds an equal need for instruction and enlightenment. Down through the centuries man has sought means for this daily escape from the world of things as they are. He has searched for the passkey which opens the door to things which his ■working hours do not bring to him.

J>ADIO, most recent offspring of electrical science, combines within itself many of the elements of romance, novelty and human appeal, which are the object of his search. Its winged words or flying song speed to him through the unlighted spaces of the winter night, and neither hill nor dale nor flood can stay them in their path. There is a unique appeal in the very mode by which the radio message reaches mankind. And we believe that “age cannot wither nor custom stale its infinite variety.” As long as man reaches out, so long will the mode of travel of the radio message -niquely arD-xl to him Points to Consider To-day the entire realm of sound can be carried through the air; in the years to come, perhaps, the great field of sight will be added. The grave and gay, the whimsical and the serious, the thoughtful or the frolicsome—afl these are part of the entertainment radio brings into the home. Many seekers after the gift of radio, wrho have not yet shared in its benefits, ask themselves questions as to w*hat sort of receiving equipment Lliey need. The aain things to look for in a receiver are easily described in general terms, though in this field, as in all others, judgment and discrimination, together with some artistic

taste and training, are necessary for the wisest decisions. All receivers which are selected s’y'nld "xc-llent tone quality. It will avail a listener little if he secures a highly sensitive or conver ; ent receiver and yet from the brazen throat of a raucous loud-speaker there shall come unwelcome and uncT*arming sounds. The prospective iut «ner should devote the necessary time to an audition of the best stations in his vicinity on a receiver of the type lie proposes to use, in order that he may be sure that speech is crisp and intelligible with human naturalness of quality, and that orchestral selections are reproduced with a semblance of reality. The various instruments ox the orchestra should be distins Ch.e bass notes should be deep and full, and the.high notes clean-cut and clear. The volume should be adequate so that the climax of a great composition sh»ll not “fall flat.” Dynamic Speakers It is pertinent to say a good word here for the modern dynamic loudspeaker with its '"’cellent ca inabilities for producing both satisfactory qualify and adequate volume. It is a par-ti'-'lndy desirable type for rooms of considerable size. The receiver must be sufficiently

selective so that all the local stations can be separated from each other without interference or “cross-talk,” and that the more powerful distance stations (at least those at reasonable distances) should be receivable under moderately favourable conditions during the winter season. The sensitiveness of the receiver should be sufficiently great to enable the use of a moderate-sized aeria.l (or loop) even for the reception of somewhat distant stations on evenings when distant reception is up to the average, or beyond. Since the receiving set is to be .n article of domestic use, it should assuredly be arranged for convenient operation. It should display thoughtful care for the comfort of its user. Dials should be clearly visible and well illuminated turning should be i lini-control, volume control should be simple, positive and quiet, and operation from the power supply circuit should be provided wherever possible.

For the same reasons, the cabinet should be artistically designed to “tone in” to home surroundings and not unnecessarily to outrage the artistic sensibilities of either the feminine or masculine contingent. It is inded fortunate that many radio receivers offered to the public to-day can meet all of the preceding general specifications in an acceptable measure.

As radio nears .the latter portion of the first decade of usefulness to the world, through the medium of broadcasting, it offers in ever-increasing measure those gifts of song and speech which come to all from beyond the horizon.