DIFFICULTIES ON THE WEST COAST

New Zealand Listener, Volume 19, Issue 491, 19 November 1948, Page 5

DIFFICULTIES ON THE WEST COAST

Sir.-We live in a very difficult locality for radio reception, lots of high power lines all about us (and seven right over our house), and there ere times wher no programmes can be: listened to, not even those of our own 3YZ, which is only five miles away. There are some things about reception that I would like someone to explain. First, what has become of the shortwave station ZL3? Before it was. opened I heard it very clearly and @t good volume, but not since. When it was being opened, we couldn’t hear it direct, but it came over very clearly, relayed through an ABC station. It oftén happens that we hear an amateur plainer than other;New Zealand stations-why? When things are most difficult the best we can get is something on shortwave from the ABC, Re OR. F (Paroa). . (The points raised in this letter were referred to an officer of: the 9 Bpwincaripg ng commen "Your correspondent appears, to be especially badly: situated. for broadédst station recepticn. S operating, regularly bétween 7.0 p.m. and 9.0 p.m. daily, broadcasting .the: Radio New Zealand programme to Australia and the Pacific. Shortwaye stations, including ama- teurs, achieve their coverage by sf. ther different form of ‘wave th that on which the normal . or "rely. Shortwave coverage is. achieved by ‘sk ve’ reflettion, of the wave’ radiated ten itter. The. waves. are. r f onised or conducting layer in the atmosphere and returned to ground level at a considerable distance, some hundreds of miles, from the transmitter. The ‘ground wave’ from, shortwave stations dies out very rapidly and. gives no useful coverage compared with the normal broadcast: station. Thus there is a zone surrounding a shortwave transmitter in which practically no signals are received. The radius of this zone is commonly known as apt ‘skip distance.’ "--Ed.)