Notes and Comments

Radio Record, Volume II, Issue 20, 30 November 1928, Page 30

Notes and Comments

By

Switch

A ‘COUPLE of Wellington listeners called .on the writer the other day to answer certain questions regarding the privileges of taking out a listener’s license. It was necessary to explain to them that. a licensed listener can erect as many aerials as he likes on the premises covered by his license and can use as many radio sets as he cares to. The members of his family may operate any of the sets, but he is held responsible for any infringement of the regulations relating to howling valves. If portion of his premises is sub-Iet the tenants are not entitled to operate any of his sets without taking out an additional license, (THE majority of listeners are -not aware that if their loudspeaker, attached to a long cord, is passed into the premises of a neighbour the neighbour is required by the Government regulations to take out a_ listener’s Jicense. Failure to take out a’ license under these circumstances renders the neighbour liable to a substantial fine, SOME: Wellington listeners have. observed during the recent spells of indifferent reception of the Australian stations that the Japanese, on the other hand, have come through loudly. This is a radio freak which scientists may some day explain. ° [Hn Wellington radio trade is finding a steady improvement lately, and indications are not wanting. that this Christmas will prove better than the last. One trader told the writer that the trans-Tasman return flight and the general election broadcasts acted as a tremendous stimulus to trade and he sold out of certain lines which he thought were sufficient for another four months, A WHLLINGTON listener asked "Switch" to look over his aerial and earth equipment in order to ascertain whether everything was installed "according to Hoyle." The aerial was quite satisfactory, but the earth wire was of 16 gauge, and only wound around a water pipe, instead of being soldered to the pipe. No wire finer

than 14 gauge should be connected to the earth, The earth wire cannot be too thick nor too short. OT infrequently some distant station has been clashing with 3Y.A Christchurch, and the heterodyne whistle has misled some into believing that a howling valve was responsible for the interference. A few months ago 2GB Sydney slipped down on the wavelengths and mingled with 3YA’s wave, but the Sydney station was eventually restored to its correct wavelength. Just what station is. the new offender it is difficult to say. THE rebroadcasting by 2YA Wellington of oversea short-wave stations has made a decided hit among local broadeast listeners, Hundreds of listeners who have never heard the Russian short-wave station RIM. Khabarovsk, Siberia, were recently treated to an excellent rebroadcast of that station. Crystal set owners, jn particular, were intrigued with listering to the 6000-miles distant foreigner. NE of New Zealand’s most eminent medicos, who resides in Wellington, has lately been bitten by the radio bug, and has purchased a high-class receiving set and loud-speaker. His selection fell upon the latc ¢ American model which requires no batteries at all, but is connected by wires and a plug to a hot-point socket. WELLINGTON radio man has received the following note from a young Chinese who is an ardent broadcast listener and who resides upcountry :-"Dere Sur,-My redio is acting capably until I have taken one of the valves .ut to show it to a countryman of ine. By mishap I impacted it on the table and now the valve is unlightable. The radio set remains dumb, shall I kindly request your purchase for me a new valve, which is the same as my disabled valve.

Excuse please my riting, and I thauk you now for your good heuartedness for getting for me a new valve and I will send you the money when you rite how much." A LITTLE while ago "Switch" vielded to the request of an Indian hawker to be permitted to hear his set. The Indian’s eys stured with amazement when band music from 2YA, Wellington, emitted from the loudspeaker double forte. The dusky party was half afraid to look inside the set, but he regarded the loud-speaker as innocuous and handled it bravely until he got his fingers across the speaker terminals. He received a smart shock, which so seared him that nothing could induce him to go within 10 feet of it afterwards. One wonders what the Indian told his compatriots in Tory Street, that night, about radio. 6 ‘SQWwitCcH" entertained a young ‘ Chinese, who had been educated in New Zealand, with a _ couple of hours’ broadcast listening. His greatest delight was listening to the jabberjaw coming from the Japanese station JOHK. The Chinese retaliated on the following day by bringing his gramophone and two-score of Chinese records to entertain "Switch." Unwilling to offend the susceptibilities of the young Oriental, "Switch" .submitted to the ordeal of listening to those forty Chinese records. There were wailing sopranos, howling tenors, guitars, dinner gongs, and one-stringed fiddles in galore; still, it was music-of a kind. LSTENERS who were so thoroughly entertained by the- interesting lecturettes on Shakespeare last year, by Mr. Allan Wilkie, the eminent Shakespearean actor, may have another opportunity of further lecturettes by that gentleman within a few months. "Switch" has received news from Mr. Wilkie that he will probably commence another tour of New Zealand with his Shakespearean Company about the end of January. Possibly Mr. Wilkie may be induced to face the microphone at each of the New Zealand stations on his "off nights’--Sundays, as previously. \ R. ALLAN WILKIE has long since established a world’s record for the continuous production of Shakespearean plays, and New Zealand can share the honour with Australia for having made this possible by supporting his efforts to popularise the plays of the greatest playwright of all times. "Switch" is sanguine that Mr. Wilkie’s cultural lecturettes will again be heard from the New Zealand stations early next year, when he _ will present some new aspects of Shakespeare’s genius. oO , **QWITCH" was requested by a Wellington listener to hear the poorness of the reproduction of 2YA, Wellington, from the latter’s set, only a few days ago. There was undoubtedly a nerve-racking blasting from the loudspeaker, and no manipulation of the dials and. rheostats could cure it. The loudspeaker was overhauled and it proved to be in good order. A voltmeter and ammeter were touched across the "CO" (biasing) battery, and the eause of the trouble was immediately manifest. The "OC"

battery. was dead. A substitute was installed, and perfect reproduction followed. HE following question was put to "Switch" by a _ recent caller: "Should my aerial end close to my masts or is it better to so insert thy insulators as to keep the aerial s@eral feet away from the masts?" ‘Bue best practice is to keep the aerial thot, closer than five or six feet away frou the masts otherwise there is a certain umount of leakage to earth per medjum of the masts. This is the reason why the lead-in wire should be kept well out from the side of the house until it enters the building. an £50 Columbia Gramophone Radio Competition conducted by the New Zealand broadcast stations proved quite a treat to Wellington listeners, who on all sides are acelaiming the gramophone concerts given in connection with the competition. One enthusiast remarked, "I’ve got a gramophone, but I must confess I couldn’t afford to run the unlimited repertoire put on by the broadcast stations. The reproduction by radio, too, cannot be beaten." ME. WALTER FULLER, of the wellknown vaudeville firm, who has lately returned to resume his residence in Wellington, after a lengthy stay in London. brought back an HWnglish-built broadcast receiving set which he ‘used at Home. Mr. Fuller, who is a most enthusiastic listener, informed "Switch" that although he could get only 2L0, London, in his London home owing to having to use an indifferent indoor aerial, it was a different matter when he took his set to a friend’s 4 place outside London. There it was" attached to a good outdoor aerial and stations from Spain to Austria, Germany and France were brought in on the loudspeaker. ONSTANT D.X." (Karori) has dropped a line complaining that the announcer at 8YA, Christchurch, is sometimes addicted to speaking in a soft, confidential manner, and his voice is almost inaudible on, such occasions. "Switch" has since checked up on 8YA and found that at times the announcer does not raise his voice sufficiently, but generally his delivery is forceful and clear... No announcer yet heard by "Switch" is a hundred per cent., but 3YA's announcer is quite up to the average as a rule. BROKEN aerial was shown to the writer last week which came to grief through being attached to a rope . halyard. Wet weather caused the rope to contract, and the aerial carried away from one of the insulators. The best halyard is galvanised stranded wire, similar to that used for clothes lines. Care should be taken to avoid the wire halyard chafing against any other metal, otherwise it . will soon cut through. t., 4 AN aerial run between two houses and not higher than them ts at disadvantage owing to the screenings effect of the buildings. A listener in Newtown discovered that by removing his aerial from between two houses to a’ position 20 feet above both the volume from his crystal set increased about ‘fivefold. He was advised to. take this step, but had -doubted tfs efficacy. Beginners are sometimes difficult to convince. os . a