2YB New Plymouth, to Operate Shortly

Radio Record, Volume II, Issue 31, 15 February 1929, Unnumbered Page

2YB New Plymouth, to Operate Shortly

= probably will not be long > now before. "Station 2YB, New Plymouth," will be a wellknown call-sign on the air. For some time past the Broadcasting Company has had in hand the construction of a small transmitting plant for installation at New Plymouth. This plant is now about completed, and an hour’s test carried. out from the studio at 3YA, on Tuesday evening, was very successful. The little plant, which is of 50 watts, with a wave length of 244 metres, was evidently intently listened to by people in New Plymouth, one enthusiast telegraphing his report on the ~eception: "Byen better than 3YA." The New Plymouth broadcasting station is to be controlled by the North ‘Taranaki Radio Society, which is a live enthusiastic body. It will provide the studio, and arrange local concerts, and incidentally, the new station will be used for testing the possibilities of rebroadeasting 2YA. It is hoped in this way to secure a better broadcast service for the people of New Plymouth than they have hitherto enjoyed. NEW PLYMOUTH has always felt that it has fared badly in respect to broadcast reception. It would seem, apparently, that while Mount Egmont Las been such a blessing to Taranaki, making it 2a land to flow with milk and honey, it has impaired, owing to its screvuing effect, reception of 2YA in New Plymouth. As the mountain could not be ‘moved, the North‘ Taranaki Radio Society considered ways of getting around it. The society, therefore, proposed erecting a receiving station on a flank of the mountain, with a relay line to a transmitting. station in the town itself.

The enterprise displayed by the society struck a responsive chord in the Broadcasting Company, which then offered to lend a small transmitting plant for use in New Plymouth. This is the plant that is now nearly ready. It has been assembled from parts of other plants which the company had on hand, and consists mainly of equipment from the old station, which was taken over by the Radio Broadcasting Company. "THE North Taranaki Radio Society has arranged for its studio to be located in Collier’s Music Warehouse. The society has organised itself thoroughly with the view to efficiently carrying out the pre-

liminary work, and for afterwards carrying on the service. Small committees have been appointed with specific duties, the society recognising that small committees rather than large ones are the secret of success. The Broadcasting Company will install the plant, and has also undertaken to provide an operator to work the plant. The company will also be responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of the plant, and for the cost of power. Beyond that, the company has no liability. The society provides the studio, the aerial system, landline, and studio equipment. HE transmitter as at present reconstructed by the Broadcasting Company’s chief engineer, is designed to deliver from 50-100 watts energy to the antenna. The main oscillating circuit is of the Colpitt type, working into a tank. circuit, which is capacity coupled to the antenna system. Modulation is by the Heising method, two modulator tubes of a similar type to the oscillators being used. The filter and choke units are mounted in the lower portion of the framework. Above these are the tuning circuits, consisting of the necessary: inductances and condensers, and above these again are the tubes. A stage of audio amplification is incorporated in the transmitter to give sufficient energy to operate the modulators. Built into the transmitter is a monitor rectifier, whereby a check can be kept on the quality of the transmission delivered to the antenna. . The speech amplifier is somewhat smaller than that used for the main broadcasting stations, consisting of two stages of amplification. Incorporated in the amplifier is. a ‘‘mixer’? whereby three microphones or two microphones and a pick-up may be swung into circuit as desired, without the use of switches.