For Prospects and Recruits

Radio Record, Volume I, Issue 14, 21 October 1927, Page 2

For Prospects and Recruits

By

M.I.R.

E.

umns that receiving sets in New Zea_eeivers in New Zealand, and this popuTt has been suggested in these colland may be divided roughly into two groups, viz, those that will receive Australian stations’ and those that wowt. The Jatter group may be subdivided again into valve and_ crystal. Of course there are many other subdivisions, such ag those that only use ‘headphones and those that are capable of working a loudspeaker. . In the cities the greater proportion of licenses are for the crystal sets, but, as has been stated before, there is a surprising proportion of multi-valve relarity is maintained in the cities, It is proposed in this article to deal with some of the salient points of prac- ' tical importance to be borne in mind by those uninitiated into the mysteries. of radio when they decide to make the purchase of a set. In view of the fact that there are so many people interested in multi-yalye sets, and that theirs is the problem of most complex inter- ' est, they will be given due precedence, although at the same time our remarks will be of interest to all. The first question is how much is the -buyer prepared to spend? Suppose we endeavour to convey the necessary information to lend to the formation of a perspective on this point. COMPARISON WITH GRAMOPHONE ' If the purchaser is only concerned with the musical entertainment which . a radio set will give, he should view _ the problem from an angle of comparison with the cost of some other musi‘gal producing instrument. Obviously the gramophone appears the most natural comparison. A decent gramophone costs £20 at least, without accessories, in the shape of records. A selection of records satisfying to the average individual would amount as a minimum to . thirty double-sided records, or sixty musical pieces, costing at least 7s. 6d. per record, or a total of £11 5s., which makes £33 5s. as a grand total. Probably the total cost of the average individual’s gramophone and_ records would amount to at least £50, becanse a proportion of records would cost ten to twelve shillings each, and thirty records is a low assessment of the total stock generally found in a gramophone cabinet. It is to be noted in passing that the usefulness of the gramophone is limited to the records available, and if a gramophone is ever noticed lying

idle, and inquiries are made, the ex: f planation given is always the sanie: "Fiverybody is sick of the records we’ve got and new ones cost a lot. Besides new records get played to death and soon scratched." The majority of homes have pianos. A piano such ‘as discriminating persons would put in their homes approximate £100-in fact, a really good piano will cost very much more. So also do pianolas. There are hundreds of New Zealand homes to-day where there are pianos which are mere--ly ornaments. ‘The story here is the same incidentally. ‘So and so used to play it, but since they have left home it is never touched." WHAT RADIO WILL DO. A good radio set costs much the same as a gramophone, and a very good one as much as a piano. ‘This grade of apparatus, of course, is capable of doing wonderful work and will bring the listener in New Zealand into touch with at least a dozen stations and give the listener a choice of as many items per day as the gramophone user has in his whole selection, and in view of the fact that the items are ever changing, the interest in the ‘programmes and the set is sustained. | The complaint here is fairly frequently met with also that ‘the programmes are not worth listening to and we are tired of radio."" However, if you visit the samé party a few hours later you will find it in full swing, and again comes the stereotyped remark, "We wondered what was on to-tight and switched it on! No, we wouldn’t be without it for the world!" It is a good axiom to follow, that when buying anything electrical, don’t buy. anything cheap. It is false economy. Also, don’t buy anything that is not a ‘stock’ line, so that replacement parts may be readily obtainable. Buy therefore from good houses or their recognised agents, so that redress may be obtained if the goods are not up to standard or give dissatisfaction. Tt is remarkable how the aver#ge per'son buys wisely and cautiously when

obtaining articles which he is pot the slightest bit familiar with, When it comes to radio there seems to be a sort of mesmerism creeps over the wits of many people, possibly because the novelty of radio has not worn off, and people find themselves loaded with a box of mystery which finally develops as many troubles as a sec-ond-hand car which has been salvaged from a fall over a cliff and been given a coat of paint to make it look innocent and pretty. ‘he accompanying accessories are very often a bigger source of trouble | than the set, but comments on this subject will follow later. BUY FROM GOOD SOURCES. Too much cannot be said in favour of buying only recognised makes of receivers and makes which are backed by recognised agents and dealers. ‘The buyer should face this question. Would it be judicions to buy a motor-car which did not carry service with it to the extent of ability to buy spare parts in ‘three years’ time? The same applies to radio exactly-differ-ent designs of sets require different types of spare parts. A spare part of the same name for one set will not necessarily suit another, although it may fit it. Neither will a spare part for one make of car necessarily suit another make, although it may slip into place, If a spare part is wanted for the set, or advice regarding the set, go to the man the set was bought from, or write to the main distributor or manufacturer; but this presupposes that the outfit has been bought from a firm which is assured of having representatives vailable in three or five years’ time to give service. ‘The comforting thought, that there will always be an "expert" to assist in days of trouble, should not carry any weight. Even ‘experts" have their limitations, and usually they are expensive in the long run, becanse "experts’? are numerous in New Zealand to-day, and their limitations are their main characteristics. ee ee

| The Royal Commission which has just handed in its report on radio in Australia has gone so far as to recommend registration of those counted as competent to give advice und act as dealers, and to only issue registrations to those who pass an examinaon. Moral: Buy a set with a recog: nised name, just as you would buy a car of a recognised make. Fit the set up and adhere strictly to mantfacturer’s specifications. I¢nore advice given by anybody who is not a recognised agent of the maker, or distributor, and if in doubt at all, write to the main distributor or manufacturer. It takes a while to write this advice,, but less time to read it, and it will ‘take less time to decide to carry it ont. The results will repay the set owner handsomely, and the potential purchaser will appreciate the make of car is seen repeatedly in trouble, tion to be able to take advantage of ‘such circumstances by having. the backing of real service behind his set. } Another aspect of this Ciscussion is the fact that radio sets have their ills, just lik® anv other machines. If a make of car reasondbly well known is seen stuck up on the roadside, it is not ccunted as evidence that that. particular make of car is no good, Naturally, if that particular make of car is seen repeatedly in trouble judicious inquiries will inevitably reveal ‘the fact that there are certain defects which are weak points in the particu-. Jar model seen in trouble. Undoubted‘ly those’ defects will be cleaned up in the next model. So it is, or should be, with a radio set. A radio set ont of commission is unfortunately the call for general condemnation of the particular make by imany people at present in spite of the fact that hundreds of that same model are selling elsewhere and giving absolute satisfaction. A failure on the part of the demonstrator or dealer to make good the trouble in reasonable

> time, of course, would give every reason for giving consideration to the purchase of another make. A radio receiver is only a mach ine, the same as a vacuum cleaner, sewing machine, or a wheel-barrow, and obeys no known laws. Its principles of Operation are well known to the initiated and there is nothing mysterious about it. Admittedly very little is known of the medium whereby the signals from the transmitter are conveyed through space, These signals play all sorts of freakish tricks and the receiver (or transmitter) gets blamed for them. Under a standard set of conditions a receiver will always give the same results if it is a good make. If comparing: two receivers, set them both up with the same type of accessories and put them on the same basis so far as battery power is concerned. Make the comparison by changing the aerial as quickly as possible from one receiver to the other, ‘There is no other way to make comnarisons. ‘It is quite impossible to take five minntes even to change from one receiver to another and then decide that this receiver gives stronger or better-toned signals than another, becanse in the intervening period of changing over, the station may have alkred its power or faded, and in any case the memory cannot be trusted to give a decision regarding strength or tone. A decision that such and such a receiver is better than the one heard last week is worse still, but the worst of all is comparine Mr. So and So’s B-valve receiver with this d-yalye receiver when there is absolutely no basis. for comparison. Who could heat a gramophone of one make one week and compare it with another of a different’ make the next week and make a satisfectary comnarison, esneciaily if a band piece was heard on one and a soprano singer on another ? If a decision cannot be come to by bearing models of good makes. arrange for a comparison even at home hetween the machines which are fancied. ‘The simplest way and hest is to choose a make of machine of which it has been ascertained manv are heing bought and nick’ a model which suits the pocket. Bv virtue of the machine being a good make satisfaction must be assured hecause the distributor of a good make must see to that himself.