RADIO AND ITS RECEIVERS

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 771, 18 September 1929, Page 16

RADIO AND ITS RECEIVERS

Conducted for THE SUN by

R. F. HAYCOCK.

ON THE AIR THIS WEEK IYA AND 2YA FEATURES TONIGHT Tliis evening, at IYA, Madame Mabel Milne will give a further talk on ‘•Health and Diet.” The Auckland Artillery Band will contribute to the concert session, including in its numbers the overture "Light Cavalry,” by Suppe. A new combination, Mrs. Betty Bell and Mr. Dan Flood, will present a humorous item, and the sketch “The Pact.” Mr. John Bree, the wellknown Auckland baritone, will sing “From Oberon in Fairyland” and “For You Alone.” TOMORROW Tomorrow evening, at IYA, Mr. X. M. Richmond, 8.A., will continue the W.E.A. series of talks, with the subject “The Modern Age as the Modern Woman Sees It.” The Auckland Comedy Players will provide Conan Doyle’s play, "Waterloo,” which was presented at 4YA some months ago. The studio orchestra will include in its items "By the Lake of Geneva,” a descriptive suite by Bendel, and dance music will he continued until 11 p.m. Mr. G. W. Otterson will give a lecturette at 2YA entitled “Thomas Bracken and His Works,” which will be followed by a concert arranged by the Wellington Commercial Travellers and Warehousemen’s Association, who can be depended upon to provide listeners with an evening of more than usual interest. FRIDAY The news session at IYA on Friday evening will include two lectures, one on Rugby football by Mr. Frank Sutherland, and one by Mr. W. G. E. Wheeler on “Esperanto.” At 8 p.m. the long-promised Waitomo Caves concert will commence, contributing artists to which will be Miss Millicent O’Grady (soprano), Miss Nina Scott (elocutionist), Mr. Owen Pritchard (humorist), Mr. Len Barnes (baritone), and Mr. Cyril Towsey, the studio pianist. Much interest centres in the relay from this well-known tourist resort, and particularly in the acoustic properties of the caves. “Travelling Home Across Canada” is the subject of a travel talk to be given by Mr. V. Hutchinson at 2YA. The ensuing musical programme will feature the Ariel Singers in grand opera, and musical comedy selections. Mr. W. Roy Hill (tenor) will sing “Quests o Quella,” from "Rigoletto” (Verdi), and Miss Jeanette Briggs and Miss Ngaire Coster will present excerpts from “The Lily of Killarney.” Humorous sketches will be played by Madame Eugenie Bennis and partner, and Mr. J. M. Caldwell (bass) will sing “The Vulcan’s Song.” Orchestral items will include several operatic selections. SATURDAY The usual Rugby football relay will take place at IYA on Saturday, and the evening concert session will include the latest popular vocal hits by the Snappy Three, and popular ballads by Sergeant W..H. Hallahan. Contralto solos rill be given by Miss Phyllis Hazel, and humorous items by Mr. Dan Flood, while the orchestra will contribute light instrumental selections. At 2YA Mr. Chas. Lemberg will conduct the usual Rugby football relay from Athletic Park. During the news session Mr. A. W. Free will give a lecturette on “John Howard, the Pioneer,” and the vaudeville programme following will be contributed to by the Melodie Four, Mr. Will Halgh (ventriloquist), Mrs. Mildred Kenny’s Steel Guitar Trio, and Mrs. Winifred Birch-Johnston, who will sing comic songs and give whistling soros. PICTURE BY WIRELESS LONDON TO SYDNEY The tests which Sydney and London short-wave radio stations are conducting in connection with sending photographs by wireless were heard by Mr. I. Meltzer, of Herne Bay, last night. When the actual picture was being transmitted a dot was heard about each second. The picture sent was one of the Prince of Wales, and Sydney told London it was not quite so good as the picture sent earlier in the day.

ROUND THE WORLD RADIO PROGRAMMES FOR ALL COUNTRIES VARIATIONS IN TIME Citing the successful transmission of the King’s thanksgiving services from London to Australia and the United States as an example of progress, C. W. Horn, newly appointed general engineer of the National Broadcasting Company (U.S.A.), believes that the day is in sight when America will he rebroadcasting programmes all around the world. Mr Horn, who recently returned from Europe, said the American introduction to this era would be through the broadcasting of special events rather than by the regular exchange of programmes. “Taking the case of England,” said Mr. Horn, “for example, an obstacle to the exchange is the five-hour difference in time between America and there. For instance, they would be interested in our sporting events, notably prizefights. If we broadcast a fight at 10 or 11 o’clock at night, as is usually done, it would be received in England between three and four o’clock In the morning, -which would naturally prove quite a drawback. As things stand now it is mechanically possible to rebroadcast a great European event in this country. “As for the routine programme, after the novelty wore off, there would be the question of how much the English or those of another nation might care for our programmes, or we for theirs.” Mr. Horn said the European broadcasting systems, as compared with America’s, represented a difference between rigidly controlled Government ownership there and a highly competitive system here. There the public is given what the Government thinks it should have and in America the listening audience receives what it demands. There they must pay a licence fee, but in America no charge is made for listening, and it is altogether a good-will proposition. “Monotony is the enemy of radio,” Mr. Horn said, “and if I made any criticism of European programmes, I would say It is their monotony They will have solid hours of heavy musical programmes, heavy lectures or educational talks. However, they have their hours for dance and lighter music. It is not fair to them or to ourselves to say which countries have the best programmes because that would involve a difference in the temperaments of the nations. But here 1 will say that the European transmis sion is good, but their receiving sets are not up to our standards. This is due to the low purchasing power of some of the countries.” AERIAUSMS It isn’t often that a radio announcer “drops a brick” as large aB the one I have culled from American sources. It appears that the announcer had to stop a musical programme in order to announce a death. Having done that he went on to say that Mr. was on his way to visit the sick man, but arrived too lat He then added, without a pause. “The next number—‘The Wind Blew Through His Whiskers Just the Same!” « « a For a large receiver, it is generally better to have separate grid-bias batteries for the H.F. and L.F. stages, to obviate the necessity for long leads trailing across the set. * * * Generally speaking, a grid-bias battery should not be expected to last for more than six months. * * * A common cause of crackling noises is bad contact at the plug or socket of the battery. ■» • * They have been making a rare fuss in the U.S.A. about the fiftieth anniversary of the invention of the electric lamp—by Edison. The lamp was invented by the Britisher, Joseph Swan, and Edison improved it. They have issued a special postage stamp to rub in this mistaken idea, just as the Soviet did in order to put Popoff on the map as the Inventor of wireless. NEW “THREE-VALVER’ ’ SUCCESSFUL TRY-OUT ON WEEK-END A keen radio enthusiast who recently tried out a new “Junior A.C. 3” set for Messrs. Select ir Radio, Ltd., writes as follows of his pleasant experience: “The first time 1 put It on was on Saturday afternoon and I found the description of the football match from 2YA coming in with almost the same volume of IYA (In the evening I had to detune). Not only was the volume great, but the set handled it with undistorted tone. In fact, in that respect it compared most favourably with my electric "six,” which has two power valves in ‘push-pull.’ “The circuit comprises a regenerator detector with two stages of audio and is built around a Philips powerpack consisting of an A transformer to break down the 230 A.C. voltage to the necessary four volts for the filament and a B and C eliminator. “The valves used are two E 415’s and a 40 C in the last audio stage, and two Philips transformers are incorporated. There are three controls, a single ‘Pilot’ dial and condenser, a knob to control regeneration, and another knob which works a very efficient ‘wave-trap.’ ”