NOTES AND COMMENTS

Radio Record, Volume I, Issue 22, 16 December 1927, Page 8

NOTES AND COMMENTS

(By

Switch

A recent broddcast by 5CI,, Adelaide, Was carried out from the Cave Gardens in Mt, Gambier. This town is in a unique position as regards drainage, at the rear of the Town Hall is situated a large open cave into which all the strects are drained. After heavy rains thousands of gallons of water are poured itfto ‘the cave and’ drain ‘away: immediately;. Up to the présent no one has been able to determine where the caves lead*to,; © 8 . | It is a good plan té use some sort of condenser and choke unit for the jJoudspeaker when more than 96 volts "B" battery is used for the last audio valve, ‘This, londspeaker nnit is designed to be used as a filter to keep the high current required in the plate circuit of power tubes out of the windings of the speaker. It not only protects the speaker from excessive high current flow, but improves the quality of reproduction because the constant D.C, strain is entirely eliminated from the speaker windings. A cable message recently reported that a two-way radio telephone service is now established between Holland and Java. It is now reported that the Java station operates on 40.1 metres. Short-wave set owners may pick up the conversation, but as it is probably in Dutch, it is not likely to prove interesting to New Zealanders generally unless an interpreter is at hand,

‘o> |) In Italy no servicing is given free by. the radio dealers, ex¢ept for defective sets, and even so there are still a great many cheap sets sold without Ruarantee in the smaller communities. Reliable dealers make repairs at cost, charging for labour and materials. Oue interesting advertisement in a radio paper offers, to those whose sets are in’ trouble, advice by mail for 2s. and verbally for 1s. Most radio novices do not understand | the abbreviations "R.F." ond "A.B." which are so commonly employed. RL. is the abbreviation for radio-fre-quency, which is any frequency (or vibration) in the radio range, i.e., 10,000 to 30,000,000 cycles per second or 10 to 30,000 kilocycles per second. A.I. signifies audio-frequency, which is any frequency in the audible range, i.e., below 10,000 cycles per second. A.F. Signals (sounds) can be heard by the unaided buinan ear; but RJ". signals must first be rectified, or ‘‘detected," by.an-audion (vacuum valve), or crystal ‘detector, aud then made audible by head phones or a loud speaker before they can be heard. "Tive-wire". methods characterise the Atherican radio business. A Yankee dealer recently stated:-‘We have a rule in operating our radio store which has been a big help to us: in’ getting more. business. This is to try to sell sotnething ‘to each old customer at least once each six months, We make these sales efforts by means of letters toithe old customers, phone calls and personal calls," ‘the management of 2BIy, Sydney, has just engaged Mr. Jack Cannot, the well-known comedian, as announcer and bed-time story-teller. Myr, Cannot will be widely remembered in New Zepland as pantomime "dame? and nuisical comedy comedian under Mr. J. C. Williamson aegis, THis favourite pastime is surf-swimming, and "Switch was in his company on frequent occasions in years gone hy.

Mohammedan priests in Svyanetia, Caucasus Mountains, look upon wireless as a "‘spirit speaker.’ A receiving set was recently publicly damned, and then thrown down the mountain side. A cone loud-speaker of large dimensions is unnecessary provided the small cone is properly designed and assembled and it is possible to get just as much from a conve eight inches in diamieter as it is from one several feet in diameter provided a good set is used and the power is applied at the correct point In fact the smaller cones lend themselyes much more readily’ {5 household use and may be operated with all musical fidelity without the least difficulty. Low tones and high tones will all be present without exage gerated overemphasis on the low tones which at one time reached the proportions of a fad in radio but has since passed on in fayour of real mimusic. A novel place for a family receiving set is on the Union Company’s coal "transport," Ilma, which is generally lying alongside the Railway wharf at Wellington. ‘The keeper has run an aerial from the top of the huge steel tower on the vessel down to a small mast just above his family’s living quarters. The Ilma is equipped with huge srabs- worked by powerful winches for picking up coal from’ one vessel and unloading it into another. She has no propelling gear, being moved like a coal hulk from one berth to an. other.

| Mr. W. Dick, musical director of 2BL, Sydney, says that among recent callers at the studio were a middieaged lady and: her husband. The lady was from New Zealand, had sung from. one of the stations there, was in Syd--ney for a week, and wished to broadcast in order to let New Zealand hear her. More surprises, when she learnt. that our programmes are prepared a month in advance. A radio trader in Connecticut, U.S.A. Says:-‘We find that the majority of radio fans in our territory like ‘to hear band music aud we ‘cash in’ on this situation with good *results by placing signs in our show windows each week telling what stations will have band music during -the week and just when such music cau be heard." The attractions both commercial and | pleasant -of many country towns aud cast." Already the numerous enquirdistricts are deait with on two even--iugs each week by 8AR, Melbourne, in papers rightly and pithil; written by the editor of the newspaper asseciated with the particular town being "broadies from metropolitan dwellers anxious ‘cabinet design and in many . other Ways, is decidedly noticeable. Receiy‘distinct selling points this year-en-loudspeaker reception (in Masterton) of KIP'KB, Milford, Kansas, U.S.A., on 241.8 metres, using 1500 watts power. the result that they have heen quictto change dead-end jobs in the city for the more spacious life in the country show Clearly the great influence for good to which radio news, properly handled, may exert, } The foreman carpenter on a Syduey_ building has brought his crystal set to work, having hung an aerial off the flagpole of the building. He has no loudspeaker, but in the tunch hour performs the function of that instrutient himself for the edification of his work mates. The latter enjoy it so well that they are talking of clubbing together to buy a valve set with speaker, New York "Radio Retailing" says: "That the industry is groping toward perfection in engineering principles, ers and speakers, particularly, this yeat, are designed with a greater eve value than in the past. And the quality of reproduction has advanced br leaps and bounds. Sets have three gineering perfection, external beauty, exquisite tone.’’ A New Zealander listener advises the ‘Radio Record’’ that te -obtains Strangely enough, this is the same wave-leneth as that of KFON, Longbeach, California. "Switch" would like to hear from those listeners who have picked up KI'KB, Milford, Kan. sas. A New Zealand listener, who betieved he had picked up KRC, Shanghai, China, has been advised by the Kelloge Switchboard and Supply Compauy, owners of the station, that it operates on a wave-length of 3838 metres, and that the power input into the aerial is only 150 watts. It appears that KRC was not putting on the type of programme reported by the New 7Zealand listener. Au interesting romance has developed from the recent broadcasting ‘by 8LO, Melbourne, of the Sunday school anniversary service from the Pleasant Strect Methodist Church, Ballarat. During the sermon the preacher referred to the presence of one of the senior members of the church. Away in Mordialloc an old sweetheart heard the name, and entered into correspondence with the lady mentioned, with ly married at Ballarat, where they lave made their home. Normally "C" batterics should read 8 and 44, or li, 3, 44, 6, and 74 volts, depending on which type you have. Test yours with a meter toward the. end of an evening’s entertainment, noting the voltage you should get, from the voltage printed beside each terminal on the container. If it has. fallen to 8$ volts, when it should be 43, gct a new battery. , Sonictimes when a loud-speaker is’ placed on top of @ radio receiving set the vibrations from the loudspeaker cause the internal elements of the detector valve to vibrate in sympathy, and a kind of howl or whistle will De, heard. In this event the loudspeaker should be placed away from the set,. some sets will how! even when the. loudspeaker is pointed towards it. The obvious cure is to turn the mouth of the loudspeaker away frum the set. Radio salesmanship is an art in America. One big trader says:-‘The only way in which the handling of radio can be made a success is by having salesmen who know aid understand it, and a service department that can render prompt and efficient service. In our radio department we have two expert radio men who know it in and ont, up and down, and one of these is always on the floor where he can be consulted by the other salesmen or the customer whenever necessary, Then we hold a ‘school’ for our entire staff of salesmen once each: weels when talks are given by one of the radio experts or perhaps a representative of some radio house who happens to be in the city, In this way every man-and womar-gets a good working knowledge of radio and can sell it whenever it becomes tiecessary."