Mr J. G. Dixon Was Familiar With Radio When "Marconi" Was A Watchword

Taupo Times, Volume XIV, Issue 40, 25 May 1965, Page 12

Mr J. G. Dixon Was Familiar With Radio When "Marconi" Was A Watchword

One person in Taupo who was familiar with radio when the name "Marconi" was a household word thinks some of the fun has gone out of radio listening. He is Mr J. G. Dixon, who has worked as a technician in an early Napier radio station and has repaired radio sets since the late 1920's. He spoke of broadeasting in those times as a much more homelv affair when the stations were privately owned and most of them were only on the air for a few hours a day.' He said stations were erected in places to suit the convenience and comfort of the owner. He knew of one station in Masterton ' i where the operator had the transmitting equipment in his bedroom and it was his practice to place a record j on the turntable then scuttle through to the sit- ! ting room to stand in front j of the fire until the piece had finished. The limited demand for . records in those days, and | the few records available, |

made operators familiar with items on both sides of the discs in a short space of time. Mr Dixon said any operator in the country hearing a record broadcast from another- station immediately knew what was on the other side of the disc. From the listeners' point of view, radio in the 1920's and early 1930's had something of the hit and miss about it. Mr Dixon said re- | ception was reasonable, but | listening could be expen- | sive. Radio valves cost about £5 each in the 1920's and some radio parts were difficult to get. The early radios relied on battery for power and later the crystal set became a favourite with the enthusiast who wanted to see how many New Zealand stations he could "(lrag in" 011 his set. There was also the challenge of t.rying to receive overseas stations on valve sets. Mr Dixon said it was quite a thrill when he was able to pick up America when he was in Napier in 1931.

After being in radio work for a short while, Mr Dixon went to England where he attended the Mareoni School of Radio. He said television was in the experimental stages at the school, but even then it showed proniise as a medium of entertainment. The nistory -of broadeasting in this country can be divided into four phases of development over £[ period of 40 years. PTom 1921 to 1925 radio was in the experimental stage when the i emphasis was more on | communication than entertainment. By 1931 the stage of a national broadeasting service had been j established and by 1935 the next stage of the New Zea- 1 land Bi'oadcasting Board, a stStutory public body, had been reached. The final j stages eame in 1936 wheo administrative control of : broadeasting services passed from the Board to a Government department under the charge of a Minister of: the Crown. In 1962 it was handed over to the Broadeasting Corporatjon. .