Radio Round the World

Radio Record, Volume II, Issue 25, 4 January 1929, Page 5

Radio Round the World

hi- i. G. PEK, the well-known Wellington entertainer, appeared at liigton entertainer, appeared == at studio, 8YA, during the Christmas season. Mr. Peek has appeared several times before the "mike" at 2YA, and has received complimentary messages from all over the Dominion. Just recently word was received that his "turn" was picked up and recognised by an old friend who is now a resident of Tasmania. Many listeners will be interested to know that this performer is identical with "George," who appeared very often before the "boys" «it Trentham, as principal comedian of that smart little show the "Purple Courtiers." j rpuL Manawatu Radio Club is in a strong position financially, "and," commented a speaker at the recent annual meeting, "if the club were wound up to-morrow it would probably return members 15s. for their 5s. subseription." Of the five hundred odd ‘members, more than half of the members of the Manawatu Radio Club are resident in the Palmerston North borough, but among those who pay subscriptions are members in Marton, Pahiatua, Mketahuna, Dannevirke, Woodville, Foxton, Shannon, and, in fact, all the neighbouring towns and districts, while the club has one paid-up member liviag in Sydney. ‘HE demand for quartz crystals for controlling the frequency of radio transmitters is supplied mostly from:

He Brazil. The present price is, about 12/a pound. To be acceptable to the Naval Research Laboratory, America, they must be single crystals weighing at least two pounds, and must show growth lines on at least two faces. They must be free from imperfections such as internal fractures and inesions of foreign mattet. They must be absolutely clear wheu viewed in ransmitted -light. 5 IW modern studios have been provided for the Copenhagen (Denmark) station. There are now. four studios where formerly there were only two. It has been found that different types of performances require different types of studios, and in this respect the new studios have been brought right up to date. To absorb the sound a special preparation of compressed sugarcane has been utilised, These quarters comprise twenty-two rooms, each of which is designed to give the best broadcasting effect, both from a technical and an artistic point of view, ~ PUBLICITY statement from RusMin reports that there are 67 broadcasting stations now in operation in that country, serving a quarter of a million listeners. Because of the great area involved, Russia will naturally

require many broadcasting stations, although the number of receivers in use is still discouragingly small. Increased public interest promises considerable growth in the future. SYDNEY man lately received from his son in the country a radio receiver which had been sent to him for a present, together with a letter explaining that not a word eould be heard on the machine. He took the receiver out of the cabinet and found a big spider jammed under one of the yalves.. The spider was dead and the corpse had set up a short cireuit, preventing the set from operating. The spider had been captured by that interesting insect called the mason bee, which has a playful habit of paralysing his victims and storing them up as food for the newly-hatched young ones. Not long ago station 2BL was held up’ for half a minute through a moth being electrocuted and creating a "short" at the transmitting station. The Brisbane station 4QG was once thrown out of action in a similar fashion. HE devastating hurricane which recently swept over the West Indies and then flung its force upon Florida has emphasised once more the importance of amateur radio. With the

whole world tumbling about people’s ears, motor-cars blown over in the streets, cable and telegraphs uprooted and wrecked, there remained only one simple certain means of communica-tion-and that was wireless. It has been the same in all these calamities recently, and before it passes into a commonplace let us pause for a moment to give credit to the fuct that the radio link has alleviated the loss of life enormously, and without it the catastrophic effect of these great eyclones would be incredibly greater. |e a recent bulletin issued by the U.S. Radio Manufacturers’ Association, it is stated that 20 per cent. of the sets in use in the States have been built by what they call over there "custom set builders," or what we might describe as skilled amateurs turning thei spare time to the making of sets for their friends and those recommended to them by satisfied users. Many of the so-called radio nuts and circuit hounds of a few y's back have found in their hobby not merely a fascinating pastime, but a means of embarking’ in business on their own account, and many of them are enjoying incomes of 10.000 to 15,00 dollars a year (£2000£3000). ALREADY great dissatisfaction is being manifested in scientific

circles regarding present methods of televising. For some time it has been realised that before _ television can be really successful a radically different system must be developed. With this aim in view, experimenters the world over have been working steadily. In America there are among this cluss of experimenters two that are engaging public attention -the scientists of the Bell Laboratories who are investigating a new system of two-way television, and a young experimenter in San Francisco who is busying himself with radiovision without mechanism. This system is different, in that the spinning disc, a feature of modern radio vision, is to be dispensed with. An apparatus calculated to cost at the most £20 is to be the means of bringing television to the homes of thousands of "lookers in." However, this is yet future. ‘ A new record in radio reception has been established by the Canadian National Railways in receiving English short-wave transmission on a moving train. The Continental Limited, moving eastward from Vancouver to Montreal, had installed on the observation car "Fort Osborne" a special

short-wave receiver capable of being used for the short waves and the general broadcasting bands. While the Continental Limited was in the station at Vancouver at 8.30 pm.,, Pacific Time, the operator picked up 2XAD Schenectady. On the journey towards the east, various short-wave stations were heard, but that best received was 5SW, Chelmsford, England, which came in while the train wis passing Favel, 1219 miles west of Montreal, and situated between Sioux, Lookout and Redditt, Ontario. The operator held the English station for 15 minutes, and then took up a popular programme. The time of reception was 4 p.m. Central Time. FoR : months past experiments with loud speakers have been made in the Vienna Central Criminal Court, but so far with little success. There are now four microphones in use in the largest Court, one before the Judge, and the others before the Public Prosecutor, the defending advocate, and the accused. Jive loud speakers are placed on the lamp chandeliers and two in the public gallery. But like most Courts of Justice, t.ose of Vienna have not good acoustics, and the microphones will have to be fortified to make audition completely successful. The prisoner,.especially, is difficult to hear, which is natural, for he may be supposed to be speaking under stress of emotion, and often reluctantly.