Notes and Comments

Radio Record, Volume II, Issue 24, 28 December 1928, Page 30

Notes and Comments

By

Switch

A WELLINGTON listener complained to "Switch" the other day that although he was using a high-class crystal set with a two-stage amplifier, he was unable to get really loud reception of 2YA Wellington. The complainant was subjected to crossexamination regarding his outfit, and it was gathered that he was using only 60 volts B battery on his last valve. He was advised to increase his B battery: to 90 volts, dnd on the following day reported having taken the advice, and was well pleased with the marked increase in volume. "\A7HICH is the best circuit for embodying in a three-valve set?’ was the subject of an argument between two local fans a few days ago. Switch" was requested to give an opinion, and he posted the following reply : "Providing that correct parts are used and the constructional data is strictly adhered to, the BrowningDrake circuit would prove to be the most efficient three-valve set against ali competitors." . COUNTRY visitor informed that he gets a certain amount of fading in reception of each of the New Zealand stations’ transmission. Fading is so far incurable, being due to factors the most important of which is up till now beyond the ‘eontrol of radio engineers. The most widely accepted theory is that there are two waves-one through the earth and the other through the ether -radiated by a broadcast station, and that as these two waves occasionally get "out of phase" they conflict with each other and suppress their respective energy. Then there are more obA FRIEND who has just returned +* trom the Wairarapa declares that SY A’s wave is so broad that it can pe heard "all over the dials." It transpired that he had been listeningin on three Browning-Drake circuit sets at different listeners’ homes. The fault is definitely not in the wave of 2YA, as "Switch" was able to demonstrate. His aerial is almost ‘in the shadow of the transmitting aerial of 2YA, and yet he can cut 2YA completely out to get 3YA, Christchurch. Not a. whisper could be heard from 2VYA when the friend listened to 3YA, even when the latter’s intervals between items occurred. ONE power board engineer within 4 ‘hundred miles of Wellington has, through the use of a portable set, run to earth several serious power-line leakages which apart from creating interference with broadcast listening were a source of inefficiency in the reticulation system. His success has proved a boon to many listeners who on some nights found even 2YA Wellington badly ‘"mushed" by the elec{trical roar from a nearby leakage.

Lt us not fall into the mistake made in Australia. The Melbourne "Lis-tener-in" says:- . . "Tf there is to be any great increase in the number of broadcasting stations. Class A or Class B, one of the most important problems will be that of the selectivity of receivers. There have been indications in speeches made by Mr. Bruce to the effect that additional B Class stations will be established, and if these stations are operating in or near principal cities where stations already exist quite a number of the receivers in use will need altering or acrapping."

secure causes such as "absorption" by subterranean mineral belts. HE promised two-way telephone service between Australia and London is a lot closer than most people anticipated-possibly only three or four months’ distant now. A hint to that effect was dropped by the managing director of A.W.A. (Mr. Fisk) the other day, when commenting on recent tests with New York and Java. Those tests had only been conducted while Amalgamated Wireless was waiting a reply from the British Post Office to a request for two-way tests to prepare the ground for the regular service. Now that the British Post Office experts were ready to begin the experiments a start would be made as soon as schedules could be arranged. "IT am confident we will be able to begin at least a limited telephone service with London early next year," Mr. Fisk added.. HE Australian stations continue to be somewhat elusive for Wellington listeners. They are still decidedly weak up till about 11 pm. Thence onwards they gain quickly in volume, and by midnight are to be heard with fair loudspeaker volume. There is a still greater increased volume _ after midnight, and by 1 a.m. they are well up to workable loudspeaker strength. 2BL, Sydney, at present is generally received with the greatest volume in Wellington, followed by 2FC, Sydney, 8LO, Melbourne, 2GB, Sydney, and 4QG, Brisbane, in that order. The writer found 4QG comes to about second place about 11.45 p.m., but prior to that it is not so loud as 2GB. DTDURING the Wednesday night transmissions of 2FC, Sydney, during this month at 10.30 .o’clock (equal to 12.30 a.m. Thursdays, New Zealand time) foreign short-wave broadcast stations will be picked up and rebroadcast. On Wednesday, December 19, _ the station in Holland will transmit a special short-wave programme, which will be received in New Zealand at 12.30 a.m., Thursday, December 20. This will be rebroadeast by 2FC, Sydney. On Thursday, December 27, at 12.80 a.m., New Zealand listeners will be able to hear rebroadecasts from 2FC of 2XAF, Schenectady, ANN, Java, JHBB, Japan, REFN, Siberia, and the station in Holland. Unfortunately the hour of this short-wave rebroadcast will be rather late for the average Wellington listener, N enthusiastic admirer of the Sunday afternoon gramophone concerts by 2YA Wellington, has asked

the writer to urge the inclusion ol a couple of two-sided records of the new Italian operatic tenor, Alessandro Valente, who, despite his youth, has ereated a sensation in Italy. The records alluded to comprise operatic excerpts, turned out by the H.M.Y, company. A SYDNEY listener who was a guest f "Switch" on one evening last was astonished-at.the excellence of the 2YA studio orchestra. He expressed the opinion that it was second to none of the Australian studio orchestras, and that is saying a big thing.

NOVICE wrote "Switch" recently asking whether it would be an advantage to embody two crystals, in parallel, in his set, and he said he had seen an Hnglish factory-made set with two crystals intalled in it. The signals would not be so strong with two crystals operating in parellel, and the English set operated only one crystal at a time. The other crystal could he prought into operation immediately by the movement of a switch, in the event of the first crystal failing to function at any time. FrRoM time to time we hear of some schoolboy or schoolgirl being knocked down and killed or maimed by a passing motor-car, through the juvenile rushing out on to the roadway when playing in the street. A Chicago radio "uncle" has inaugurated a "Kerb is the Limit" Club among juvenile listeners, and has already signed up 345,127 boy and girls members. R. J. H. OWEN, ex-president of the Amateur Radio Society of Wellington, who is on a visit to Hngland, writes that he will be leaving Home for Wellington on February 15 by the s.s. Rangitikei on her maiden voyage. Mr. Owen. has been thoroughly inves- tigating broadcast matters in England, and will have something interesting to tell his friends on his return. Perhaps Mr. Owen may be induced to broadcast an address on the subject from 2YA, Wellington, ‘in addition to his promised description of "his experiences to the Wellington Society. LADY asked "Switch" the other day whether her daughter, aged 17 years, could obtain a listener’s license, or were licenses granted only to males. She is a widow and there are no menfolk in the household. On being informed that the fair sex are equally eligible to hold a listener’s license, the lady seemed agreeably surprised! HCL: Adelaide, which formerly rattled, the diaphragms of our loudspeakers, and has for many months been at the best a mere whisper to Wellington listeners, has lately been relaying dance programmes by land-line from 3LO, Melbourne. The initial attempt proved such a success that the relaying is now going to be a regular feature of the Adelaide programmes. 5CL and 3LO are now owned by the same organisation. (COMMUN ITY singing seems to have died a natural death in Wellington, owing, it is understood, to lack of financial support, and this is to be regretted, if even only from a broadcast standpoint. 8LO, Melbourne, broadcasts two community singing sessions every week. The community singing is performed in a Melbourne city theatre between noon and 2 p.m. on Mondays and Thursdays. A feature of these gatherings is the special music given by the 3LO station and dance orchestras. HOSE listeners in Wellington who are able to be home between noon and 2 p.m. and operate multi-valve ‘sets, have an opportunity of hearing either 2YA Wellington or 3YA Christchurch during the present Christmas gifts purchasing seasou.

8YA is particularly welcome on Wednesdays, when 2YA is silent. The Christchurch station, per medium of *- an average multivalve set, fills the house with music, and there is not 2 trace of fading by that station in the day-time. ; NEws comes to hand of the merging of the Freshman and the FreedHisemann radio companies, two famous American concerns, who are prominent manufacturers of the new all-electric receiving sets. Both concerns have distributing agents in New Zealand. N owner of a short-wave receiving set informs "Switch" that owing to the proximity of his aerial to that of 2YA, Wellington, he is unable te reach out for distant stations while 2YA is on the air, and he asks for 4 remedy. Probably nothing can be done to overcome the difficulty as the "proximity interference" will persist under all well-established methods of dealing with interference. The only thing to do is to suspend short-wave listening until 2YA is off the air. BIRD-FANCIER came to "Switch" recently with a novel suggestion for a "stunt" which has not yet been attempted in this part of the world, and that is the broadcasting of the song of "roller" canaries. He sug- gested that through the local poultry and bird-fanciers’ society, the owners of "roller" canaries could be approached to give a turn at the studio of 2YA Wellington. Those who appreciate the performances of these wonderful feathered songsters would weicome the "stunt," he said. RAINED "roller" canaries. can be readily induced to sing when re-_ quired, as is demonstrated at they shows where they are judged on per--formance. 38LO, Melbourne, formerly borrowed the famous laughing jackass (giant kingfisher), owned by a lady, which laughed to order and delighted many a listener with its inimitable outpursts of hilarity. So far as "Switch" knows, "roller" canaries have not previously broadcasted in Australia or New Zealand. We, of course, all heard the English nightingale gramophone record, and it proved most effective. HE prize dramatic and humorous poem competition about to be conducted by the 2YA Musical and Dramatic Committee, strikes out on new broadcasting enterprise. What is also urgently needed is encouragement to New Zealand musical composers. It is a strange fact that the competition societies of this country do not offer special classes for musical composition, and broadcasting has an opportunity of getting in first. New Zealand, too, has reason to be proud of its two famous composers. Mr. Alfred Hill and Mr. George Clutsam, who have both gained world-prominence. ADIOC plays have so far not been popularly applauded in New Zealand. There may be two main reasons, the first of which is that the majority of listeners desire the evening sessions to be devoted almost exclusively to music, and secondly, the radio play requires special technique to "get across" the air, unless they possess unusually brilliant dialogue. "Switch" has, nevertheless, enjoyed some two-charac-ter sketches he has heard from 1YA, Auckland, in which Mr. J. F. Montague (Auckland Comedy Players) has fig-

-- — ured. The writer has not had the privilege of meeting Mr. Montague, but he always relishes his sketches. @ MONG "Switch’s" numerous radio friends he has discovered few who’ mid any pleasure in listening to the werage lady elocutionist on the air. ‘ew of these ladies, very few, infuse ‘natural touch into their work, but fish on in a sing-song fashion much wi the same lines as the school children olliow. It may be nervousness due to inicrophone fright" that makes the cork of many slipshod. Others are 50 overwrought and frankly melodrahatic. A true dramatic sense seems icking among many of these lady ocutionists. There are two or three Kdies in Wellington who can deliver #2 goods, but they seldom face the ,-erophone. "QWITCH" would like the 2YA Mu- ~ gical and Dramatic Committee to suer prizes as encouragement to lady docutionists. There is talent available, nd it only requires to be brought out. She dramatic stage has from time to sme received valuable recruits from few Zealand. Miss Marie Fix and Riss Isobel Wilford, both of Wellingdn, are now playing prominent parts » the London stage. The Allan Wilkie hakespearean Company also includes vo or three New Zealanders.

i; CORRESPONDENT forwards the ~ following :-"Broadeasting should +yvare of giving us more than homeomiithic doses of high-brow lectures on fe e radio. Arthur Brisbane, writing in » Chicago ‘Herald,’ says: ‘Highty i rah-rahing Americans will yatch. Notre Dame play football Aeainst the Army team. How many the 80,000 would sit in the cold stening to a debate on some highly moral or scientific subject? What, thould you say, is the average intellecfial level of this age?’?" Yes, what is it? AL, BROADCASTING station gets : somé curious correspondence in is daily mail bag. Lately the New Bouth Wales Broadcasting Company ‘eceived a letter, written in a laboriwsly. infantile hand, asking that Stajon 2BL, during the usual Sunday xorning musical programme, should Nay "Melancholy Baby," followed by fa item described as "Sunshine." The ijall correspondent further requested hat her sister---the baby of the fam-'y-‘Emily Ann," aged 18 months, aight have a few words addressed to nr by the announcer, at lunch time, iS she was having trouble with her jst teeth!" The announcer on that xasion is not a deputy uncle for noping, and he rose nobly to the occaEne

4 SET of high-class valves were "* shown to "Switch" the other day bhich, although their filaments lighted, Oye ‘practically | "dead." The owner id they were perfectly good one ight, and on the following night they fused duty. On cross-examination confessed he had momentarily ouched his "B" batteries with his "+A" battery cords, but he had not burnt out the valves. It was thus evident he had "paralysed" his valves through carelessness. They were, for- ' tunately, all restored by burning them for several hours with the "B" batteries disconnected and the filaments turned on brightly. This was a lucky recovery, a8 in many cases when this

treatment is applied it is found to be ineffective. — | 6sQ.AND" (Lyall Bay) writes that he had difficulty in obtaining a satisfactory "earth" until he used a chemical combination which he buried in the ground. This proved a distinct -advantage in somewhat sandy soil, he Says. A LETTER comes to hand from an American electrical company stating that it is not possible to "reactivate’ a.c. valves. The ordinary radio valves can be given a new lease of life by the process of "reactivation," and instruments are sold for that purpose. The ac. valve, however, is a different proposition. "RADIO is being neglected by the school system,’ James McLafferty declared in a recent talk over KGO, Oakland, California. "Many of the boys employed in radio shops are working because they could not obtain the information they wanted at school." A petition is being circulated in Oakland, in.an effort to have a course in radio technique and mechanism added to the school curriculum. The Oakland Mothers’ Club and prominent business men throughout the city have given their approval, and KGO is offering support to the movement.

A WHLLINGTON enthusiast who formerly operated the old threecoil regenerative set, now truly obsolete, found an unexpected market for a rig range of tuning coils among the wireless operators of steamers visiting Wellington. He was glad to quit the lot at a low figure as they were otherwise a dead loss, and the operators were pleased to get the coils at the figure. WELLINGTON listeners in certain areas are still troubled by interference from some amateur (possibly unregistered), who transmits during regular broadcasting hours. There is a rod in pickle for this individual, for, unless he desists, he will be tracked down and prosecuted. WELLINGTON listeners who have complained about being unable to hear 7ZL, Hobart, will realise that the Tasmanian station cannot be expected to come in with anything like loudspeaker audibility when it is known that its power is rated at only 600 watts, which is less than 800 watts according to the New Zealand system of rating. The Hobart, station, however, will almost immediately operate with a power of 2500 watts, successful tests having already been carried out.

ELLINGTON -i..sners have discovered that the "daylight saving" scheme, although it is a matter of only half an hour, has assisted in rendering the Australian stations almost impossible until too late an hour at night to afford much entertainment. The seasonable protracted daylight has added its quota to the difficulty, and on top of all this, the sunspot eruptions seemed to have contributed further to the weakness of. the transTasman stations. Radio traders are experiencing complaints from new purchasers of high-priced sets that they are not bringing in the Aussie stations as well as expected. Dealers have a hard life what with sunspots, summer reception, static, ete.