Our Mail Bag

Radio Record, Volume I, Issue 20, 2 December 1927, Page 3

Our Mail Bag

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. | "T.R,H." (Ohakune Junction).-To ascertain kilocycles from wave-length, divide the wave-length into 300,000. To ascertain wave-length from kilocycles divide 300,000 by the kilocycles. _ ‘GLH. (Masterton).-fhanks for The list will be published again shortly in a revised form.The Tampa station can be omitted for general reception. The station you picked up is probably a Jap. Your report is being investigated. "EC." (Okaihau, Bay of Islands) — Communicate with Harringtons (N.Z.) Ltd., 42 Willis Street, Wellington, who are agents for the set you own, The "flickering"? valve is not the first om we have heard of, "RET." (Waikanae). — Evidently you do not understand that all valve sets of the type to which you refer employ both A and B batteries simul!taneously. ‘The A battery is necessary to light the valves, and the B battery supplies the plate voltage. "2H." (Waimate).-It is the common experience of owners of powerful sets to hear the patter of rain on the aerial. ‘This is attributed partly to the raindrops being charged with mitiute electricity. An_ insufficient number of insulators will increase the noise, as, during heavy rain, the insulators are completely drenched and a short circuit to earth is created. It is advisable to insert at least three insulators at ¢ach end of the acrial. "C.C.B." (Portobello).-A Bradlevleak should serve your purpose. The 201A Radiotron should make a good detector, Complaints. *"Pluzger Bill’? writes: Honoured sir, -I liave a complaint to make about your programmes! I don’t really know what there is to complain about, but I get s0 few opportunities of seeing my opinions in print that I simply must complain about something. Before I got my set I had no entertainment, but now that.I spend 2s. 6d. a month I expect a lot. It’s a lot of money (in 100 years it would total £150!). Now, shout my complaints: I think you should arrange things better, that is, XI meati-for instance-last night I tuned int to LYA, 2VA, and 3YA in succession, and, do you know, that at each station a lady was singing! Now, couldn’t you haye something different at each station at the same time? ‘Then, at 2YA, I listened in for fully a minute and didn’t hear a sound! Couldn’t the announcer keep up a running fire of remarks, etcetera, between the items? For instance, a few ‘‘ers," ‘‘ahems,’’ and 4 couple of coughs wonld do. You see, when I have the ’phones on in bed I’m liable to fall asleep during the intervals. Then there’s the race meeting broadcasting. Couldn’t Mr. Allardyce get more excited, hit the announcer occaGionally during the race, and then give his personal opinion of the connections of the liorse that was last the first day and first the last day. He might also repeat all the "good things’? he had heard of, and if you could arrange it perhaps we could ring him and get a few bob on. I’d be prepared to pay a sniall charge, provided, of course, my horse won. Then I do think you should | enlarge your editorial staff. From the | contributions and suggestions you rfeeeive, it’s very apparent that there’s tons of talent going the way of the signals that don’t eet to Taranaki. (Personaliy, I think the fading up there is dune to the wet weather; the signals go to earth via the raindrops.) Before corcluding, I’d tike to ask ‘"‘Megohm" a counie of questions: Can I use the elothes line for an aerial on washing days if my wife uses insulated clothes pegs? What would happen if I joined. tiy set to the electric:iron point? I’m sorry I had to complain, but I feel. better already. Summer Time Reception. + i, A. Whittan (Glen Oroua): After reading your very interesting article on the Bureau of Standards, I came across ati article referring to a paper published by the bureau entitled "A Study of

Radio Signal Fading." In view of thecomplaints regarding fading, a few extracts may be interesting to: your readers. It states: ‘fhe tests described in this paper indicate that the sonrces, or causes, of fading are intimately associated with the conditions of the ‘Heaviside’ surface (which is a conducting surface about 60 miles above the eartl1), | Daytime transmission is largely carried on by means of waves moving along the ground, while night transmission, especially for great distances and at high frequencies, is by means of waves transmitted along the Heaviside layer Waves at night are thus free from absorption encountered in the daytime, but are subject to great variations caused by irregularities of the ionised air at, or neat, the Heaviside surface. On account of disturbances of the electrical. condition of the atmosphere during mid- | summer, radio reception during day--light hours may be occasionally interrupted. At times, during the summer months, the ‘stravs’ may completely drown out the radio signals picked up by the set. ‘he idea that the addition | of sensitive amplifiers to the set will relieve the situation is erroneous. ‘The amplifier amplifies the strays along with | the incoming signals, so the amplified signal is often less intelligible than the signal received on a simple detector." Racing Broadcasts. "Hawke’s Bay’? : Why should anyone camouflage himself under the name of. "Sport" wheu there is no sporting instinct in his make-up? He presumes | te give his opinions on how sporting should be described. ‘That is pure bluff. | Men who know more about racing than he does praise highly the way in which the sporting atnouncer does his work. It is rather curious that the Broadcasting Comipany’s ‘‘star’ attist should be criticised in this way. But "Sport’s" letter discloses that he does not know what he is taiking about. (It would be "nuts’’ to have him at the microphone for a while if one wasn’t anxious to hear a proper account of a race.) No, there is nothing sporting about "Sport" when he attacks under cover of anonymity. It savours too much of venting a personal grudge. Half the criticism in the newspapers of those who engage in broadcasting comes from people who have a personal grievance and desire to "get even’? under cover | of a nom de plume. But no real sport would do it. Your correspondent makes certain seggestions which he says will enable the announcer to make the broadcast "interesting to others than those keenly interested in racing.’"? Personaily, I’m interested, but not very keenly interested, in races, so I’m one of those that "Sport" professes to be concerned about. I’ve always found the broadcasts interesting, and I’m supplied with as much information as I want. { do not want the announcer to ffl in the afternoon with oft-repetitions of horses, riders, positions at post, order of favouritism, colours, etce., "and keep on repeating,’’ just for the sake of talking, as "Sport" suggests. I, and thousands of other listeners, are quite satisfied that the racing announcer tells us ali we need to know, or that we want to know, and he tells it well. ‘Sport’ ‘need not worry himself about us. | That Classical Stuff. Achilles (Lower Hutt): Why, in the name of heaven, do the evening programmes consist wholly of "high-brow" stuff, which I think I can safely say 1s not understood or appreciated by more than 40 per cent. of listeners? I don’t claim to speak for hundreds, as some correspondents do, but within my small circle of friends there are about thirteen or fourteen radio sets, and the number listening in somewhere about 50 or so, and, believe me, Sir, not one of them enjoy the evenitig sessions. The powers that be in broadcasting do not seein to realise that it is popular music that is wanted, something light, and if they don’t know what that is, let them listen to the reception that artists get on Sunday nig its at the Opera House. They will then get a fair idea of what is meant by popular music. Once or twice I’ve listened-in in the afternoou, and {can assure you, Mr. Editor, if I was asked to choose what I would

most care to hear, my choice would | fall on the gramophone record, because until it reaches the microphone the‘ item is more or less perfect-per-fect recording, perfect , singing, compared to some of the atrocious stuff we have to listen to sometimes! I sometimes think that wireless artists have au idea in their heads that because folks are listening to them thousands of miles away they must shout into the ‘mike’? to make their voices carry, with the resultant pblasting and ‘"‘mike" rattle that no power tube or adjustable loudspeaker will eliminate. { guess that about completes my criticism of 2YA, if you can call it criticism more than condemnation, but I had an idea that the B.C.C. might see it. Someone made a suggestion the other day that they be given a few Scottish airs. I notice that they get a whole evening of it next week! So it appears that the company (Broadcasting) does read the ‘‘Record." Programmes Like London, "Wellington Radio Enthusiast’? writes: "You are heartily to be conimended for the splendid programmes now being, broadcast, which must surely fulfil the wishes of tlie large aud varied body of radioists! Recently we have had a radio enthusiast from the Old Country staying with us, and at the conclusion of the programme the other evening.we asked her how it compared with the concerts in Hngland, She replied: ‘That is just like an English concert-it made me think I was back in London." Proposed Anglican Station, G. McB. Salt (Auckland Listeners’ League).-I have been insiructed by my executive to take exception to au atticle dealing with the broadcasting of 1eligious services, which appeared in your journal of the 18th instamt. It is stated that tle Broadcasting Company will protest against the granting of a license to the Anglican Broadcasting Association, the reason given being that the purpose of the Act would be departed froim, and that chaos would result. This, however, is a fallacious assumption, provided that the new station is placed out of town, as should have been the transmitting plant of 1YA. With a suitable location, and the wave-length of 231 metres allotted in the license already granted to the association, there will be no difficulty in separating 1YA and the new station, on even crystal sets, Further, the likelilood that "every sect in New Zealand would seek a license" is practically nil, and the ‘Record’? is unable to point to an instance where such a position has arisen in cities where broadcasting stations for religious purposes have been erected. As my executive understands the position, the new station will broadcast programmes on week nights, and, if such is the case, it is incorrect to state "that very few people would benefit from such an arrangement." Alternative programmes would be available to local and Dominion listeners, and, surely, this should add greatly to the popularity of lis-tening-in, and possibly obtain more revenue for the Broadcasting Company. The company has frequently denied that it desires a monopoly of broadcasting, but when a station of

high power, capable of competing with, and producing, programmes of a standard equal to, if not better than, programmes from its ow1i stations, it protésts against the granting of a license. This has happened before, and my executive would be glad to be assured that it is not the precedent of breaking the monopoly when the ‘"Record" fears, In this case it is for the "Record" to publish some valid reasons against the operations of the Anglican Broadcasting Association. I am instructed, also, to inform you that the following resolutions were carried unanimously at the last meeting of the executive of the Aucklaud Listeners’ League :-"'That the executive deplores the fact that in two or three nights each week the programmes broadcast from IYA are materially below the standard of a few months ago.’’ ‘That this executive is of the opinion that the children’s sessions at 1YA are being conducted on the wrong lines." In elaboration of these resolutions I may state that the programmes at 1YA lack variety, and suffer from a surfeit of vocal and’ orchestral music. On numerous occasions four or five artists provide the whole programme. The children’s sessions are not giving satisfaction, Members of my executive state that their children have no desire to listen to them, while the comparatively few letters received by the Aunts and Uncles is a further indication of the unsuitability of the entertainment provided. No reflection is cast on the abilities of the child performers. In maty cases their artistry is a sheer delight to the adult listener. Children, however, av> unable to appreciate the rendering of classical musical items or recitations of extracts of the remarkable satire of Stephen Leacock,