Notes and Comments

Radio Record, Volume II, Issue 6, 24 August 1928, Page 25

Notes and Comments

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PHAT grand opera is wonderfully popular with all classes of the community has been evidenced by the attendances of stage presentations in New Zealand. ‘this gives a very broad hint to compilers of broadcast gramophone sessions. YUNDAY afternoon sessions are particularly suitable for the inclusion of grand opera records. The writer has met many listeners who would vote for grand opera for th? whole programme. At all events a leavening of grand opera would be widely welcomed. HROUGH the medium of the gramophone records, the world’s vocal stars are brought right into the home, by radio, and a diversity of programmes is offered by radio which is quite beyond the pockets of the average gramophone owner. PERHAPS 2YA, Wellington, could devote a whole evening session to grand orera records which are now abundantly available. The operas would be heard on a vocal, artistic. plane, high above the standard of the opera companies which occasionally pass through New 4Zealand. GOOD radio set and loudspeaker will reproduce broadcast gramo-. phone records with incomparably better tone and more realistic acoustical effect than the average highgrade gramophone. Therefore, the broadcasting of grand opera records creates far greater pleasure for listeners who have good radio equipment. HE testing of some of these smaller stations must cause a deal of amusement among Wellington listenters, judging by the chorus of howling valves which surrounds the

"wave" of the stations. Anyway, these tests have one gratifying result inasmuch that they attract howling valves away from those stations which are offering real music, "HE Melbourne "Listener-In" says: "The upshet of the conference between representatives of the Commonwealth Government, the G.P.O. and the ‘A’ Class stations held in Sydney recently was that the Prime. Minister has made an announcement of what appears to be a definite policy under which the Government will take complete control of wireless broadeasting in Australia, with all its privileges and problems The Australian daily papers have already published some informative and a good deal of speculative detail about the proposals, but it is impossible to say when definite steps will be made to take over ‘the plant, equipment anil mechanical means of broadcasting.’ Meantime the present programmes will be maintained." A PROSPECTIVE city radio listener asked the writer how many broadcast stations could be heard in Wellington with a good outfit on an average night. The ‘nquirer consented to observe a test. The stations which gave sufficient loudspeaker reception to prove entertaining were:-2YA, Wellington; 1YA, Auckland; 3YA, Christchurch; 4YA, Dunedin; 2BL, Sydney; 2FC, Syd-. ney; 2GB, Sydney; 2UE, Sydney; 3L0, Melbourne; 8AR, Melbourne; 4QG, Brisbane. This made a total of eleven stations which provided good entertainment. As a stunt JOAK and JOHK, Japan, were brought in on the loudspeaker and were worth while if only for the novelty. The Jap music was freakish and soon became monotonous. WHILE eleven stations were sufficiently ioud and clear to afford entertainment, other Australian stations were heard, but owing to regular cycles of intense fading they were nce' 2-joy to the musically inclined. *

5CL, Adelaide; is weak as compared with previous winters. WHE Japanese: stations JOAK, just below the ‘wavelength of 2Bh, Sydney, and JOHK, on a corresponding wavelength, compared with that of 4QG, Brisbane, are coming in loudly every evening now. The other night the writer thought he was receiving Japanese grand opera from JOHK. A chorus of Japanese ren chanted in unison, unaccompanied by instrumental music, but the occasional tolling of a bell produced a weird effect.. Generally the erashing of a tin can accompanies the Japanese choral singing, but the man who customarily beats the tin can was apparently having a night off. } OAK, Tokio, put on some dainty Japanese soubrette items the other night, or if they were not soubrette items there was a brightness atout them suggestive of such. The Jap. girls have strangely . shrill voices, but they possess a flexibility which is surprising to us Western barbarians. Both JOAK and JOHK are putting out a tremendous lot of talk stuff. One feels curious as to the . aature of the talk. The writer is looking around for some tame Jap, to interpret the Jap. talk from JOAK and JOHK. A. NUMBER of radio enthusiasts were discussing the recent frequency tests by 2¥A, Wellington, the other day. One man put the position aptly «as ‘follows: "A loudspeaker should be more than a mere musical instrument; it must be all musical instruments in itself. Supposing you were listening to the 2YA orchestra, your loudspeaker should reproduce the tone of each of the. twelve instruments faithfully, otherwise the music will be lifeless or distorted. Not only should the loudspeaker reproduce the deepest pitched notes of the double-bass and the shril. pitched notes of the piccolo, but the notes of each should have their characteristic overtones to give the characteristic sound of each instrument. Think it over." :

A COMMON mistake is to test the voltage of batteries when they are idle. The correct method is to test batteries for voltage while they are in actual operation. Some dry "B" batteries show a healthy voltage when they are not connected up to the set. but when the strain of operation is applied the voltage drops considerably. ‘THE English loudspeaker manufacturers are now taking up the exponential horn, and one of the bestknown loudspeaker-making firms in Great Britain is turning out 4 speaker which incorporates the better points of the exponential horn, and also includes an exclusive sound reflector p: ‘ciple. A RADIO company with business premises in Adelaide and Melbourne employs its own aeroplane for delivering sets and parts to outlying towns. It is proving a big advertising stunt, although a costly one. [*: by any freak, a New Zealander hears a little station on 280.6 metres on a Sunday evening he will be listening to 8RI, Melbourne, a ten-watt transmitter which sends out gramophone records on alternate Sunday evenings. 3RI is owned and operated by the Victoria Railways Institute Radio Club, a progressive body with some keen radio enthusiasts. Its limited power is not likely to permit of trans-Tasman reception on a wavelength of 280.6 metres, but freak happenings do occur at times when the ether is inclined that way.

NOTWITHSTANDING the advent of the cone-type loulspeaker, Wellington listeners continue to buy the good old horn-type. A local trader states that he has a regular demand for the English horn-type speaker even after comparative tests with conetypes. (THERE is a rumour that a 20,000 watt water-cooled valve is to be embodied in the transmitter ot 7ZL. Word is also going around that 3AR,

Melbourne, is to have a new transmitter with an increase of power. Whether the arrangement by- which the Commonwealth Governmen. is to take over all the A class stations will effect the above plans is not indicated. Me. CHARLES MACLURCAN, the well-known Sydney amateur transmitter, has returned to his home after a lengthy visit to England. He made many friends in Wellington a few years ago when he journeyed to san Francisco by one of the Union Company’s mail boats to test the practicability of short-wave communication across the Pacific. Mr. Maclurcan has brought back from England = several picked specimens of quartz erystal to control the wavelength of his private transmitter. N2Ww Zealanders are beginning fo sit up and take notice of television, put in its present crude form the thing is best left alone. Careful and competent observers state that television will not be probable in this part of the world for another six years. The only receiving equipment that has proved anything like efficient costs too much for the private individual, and the .whole outfit may have to be scrapped at any time in the light of radical improvements probable from time to time. :

RAPIO engineers in Australia have been endeavouring to work out a scheme by which Kingsford Smith and his comrades would be able to transmit a spoken account of their flight to New Zealand while they are crossing the Tasman. The weight of a trans: mitter suitable for speech is the main obstacle. If the thing could be managed it would add tremendousiy to the interest in the flight, as 2YA, Wellington, could nick up and rebroadcast the words spoken from the airplane. N.T." (Wellington) asks: "Which °* do you advise as the most suitable for adding to my crystal set for reception of 3YA, Christchurch, one stage of audio or one stage of radio

frequency amplification" Radio frequency is necessary for long-distance reception with a crystal set. One stage of radio frequency amplification should give crystal reception of 3YA, Christehureh, providing the aerial and earth system is good, and the correct type of valve and circuit are used. The location of the listener’s aerial is frequently an important factor also. The many up-country listeners who get the long-distance stations is a revelation to city dwellers. For example, Mr. Claude P. Grey, of Shannon, brought in 2FC, Sydney, on a recent morning at 8.30 o’clock, New Zealand time, with full loudspeaker volume. At 11 a.m. he had the small Wanganui station coming in with tremendous vim. Mr. Grey is still operating his five-valve (dull emitters) American-built set, with which he has long since established a reputation for DX work. |

(THOSE listeners who tuned in 2FC and 2BL, Sydney, on Tuesday evening of last week had the pleasure of hearing Dame Nellie Melba in "La Boheme" at Her Majesty’s Theatre, Sydney. Certain areas in Wellington happened to be affected by a powerline leakage which completely overwhelmed 2BL, Sydney, but it acted only as a "background" to 2FC, and consequently the diva’s glorious voice was heard without any serious interference from the latter station.

NEWS of new "wonder" valves is always read with alacrity by broadcast listeners. A Continental valve manufacturing company’s latest product, a power valve with an amplification factor of 100 without distortion, has made its appearance in Wellington. It has three grids, and is designed expressly for the last stage of audio. No change in the wiring of a standard receiving set is necessary for the new valve. Ali that is required is to run an extra wire from the plus terminal of B battery. to a screw connection provided on the side of the base of the valve. The B battery potential required’ ranges from 50 to 150

volts. The filament current 1s .lo amps at 4 yolts. The valve will be available shortly for 6 volts. [HE little "C" battery which is essential for good production of .tone in all sets employing audio amplification has a wonderfully long life as there is no current drain from it. A Wellington listener has had a "C" battery in operation for 138 months which is still functioning adequately. It shows only a fractional drop in voltage as compared with its condition when purehased. All dry batteries, whether 6A" «B" or "O" will "die" even without being used, while lying idle. Some have much longer lives than others, and it is difficult to assess the "shelf life’ of a battery. A mystery of the ether is its strange lack of conductivity on some occasions., and this gives rise to considerable anxiety as to the efficiency of their sets

on the part of beginners. On @ recent Sunday night the Australian stations were not audible at all in some areas in New Zealand, while in more ~ oured localities they were a mere isper from loudspeakers. As is usu®@ly the case, beginners blamed their valves, batteries, aerials, and what-not for the falling-off of the Australian stations. Some even pulled their equipment apart to test the parts. The nearest telephone should be sought to communicate with a fellow-listener in order to ascertain whether he is experiencing similar results. HE present winter has been abnormally poor for long-distance reception, althongh there has been comparatively little interference from static. Some of the old-timers will remember winters which afforded as much as three times the volume which has been obtainable lately from the Australian stations. A peculiar feature of the recent weakness of the Australian stations is that each is affected differently on succeeding nights. 4QG, Brisbane, may be easily the ivudest on some nights, while on other nights 2BL or 2KC ,Sydney, will be in the ascendant. Then, again, 8L0O, Melbourne, will sometimes show a marked improvement, while the Sydney and Brisbane stations are weaker than usual.

(THOSE \vho operate crystal sets will find that the volume of reception ean be inereased or decreased by the amount of pressure applied by the catwhisker to some crystals. A little experimentation will prove interesting and may improve reception.