Radio Round the Worla

Radio Record, Volume II, Issue 36, 22 March 1929, Page 5

Radio Round the Worla

i Di ii i Ri il ib bhi Dh hii, A CONTRIBUTOR to "Popular Wireless," writes :-‘‘Ireland, that-land of freedom, has apparently been a bit too free, for according to a letter in the ‘Irish Independent,’ the hand of the wily advertisement-monger is at work, eorrupting Irish broadcasting with a boost of-ye gods !-baking-powder. Worse, the baking-powder manufacturer is a "foreigner," which, I suppoge, means ‘Englishman.’ " in and around London "x and even in the provinces, when the last mail left Home, were seeking a definite clue to the origin of an unknown broadeaster who had been interfering with 2LO. A few days previously, many listeners complained of an amateur station working on 2LO’s wavelength, which was not only causing interference with the _ programmes but which was broadcasting matter which had been described as blasphemous and obscene. It was thought that these vulgar transmis sions emanated from a station somewhere in the centre of London, although it was also a theory that it is a highpower station operating in the North of England. According to the London "Daily Express," a listener in North London said that one evening he was .listening-in to the Children’s Hour from 2LO when he thought he would switch "over to a German station and, as he ~ was switching over, he heard someone singing "Linden Lee,’ in a manner . which seemed to indicate that it was not from one of the regular st.tions. ON December 16 the wireless telephone service between Buenos Aires on the one side and Berlin, Hamburg, and Frankfurt on the other, was opened to the public. The charge is £9 for the first three minutes, plus £3 per additional minute. This is a bold experiment, for the distance involved is much greater than between London and New York. It is understood, however, that excellent speech is possible, and that the expectation of big business runs high. o& ' HH British Broadcasting Corporai tion evidently does not agree with whe pessimistic assertion credited to a leading politician that by the end of 1930 broadcasting will have shot its bolt. On the contrary, the B.B.C. is spending half a million in hard cash on a building that will not be ready for occupation till the beginning of 1931. To this building the headquarters of broadcasting from Savoy Hill to Portland Place, Oxford Circus, will be transferred as soon as possible. The site, with an area of about 20,000 sq. ft., is in the form of a peninsula facing south, visible from Oxford Circus. The western facade will dominate Portland Place, and the eastern front will face Langham Street. : JRECENTLY the New South Wales \. Broadcasting Company, Limited, was notified that.Mr. Robert Cox, of Cundle, Manning River, had reached his 100th birthday. A call was given over the air, in which congratulations were given to Mr. Cox on passing his century, and it was pointed out that in

i di i i__ l_ _ _ ____ _ _ ii ie ie a i aae cricket, reaching 100 was always looked upon as an outstanding event, but in real life it was indeed an achievement. The hope was expressed that Mr. Cox’s innings would continue, and it was stated that if he maintained his present form, young Hammond, Bradinan and Jackson would have to look to their laurels as century-makers. VOLUNTEERS have been called by the New South Wales Broadcasting Company, Limited, for a description of Sydney at the end of a rope dangling from a crane on one of Sydney's tallest buildings. It is thought that someone with a power of description could give listeners a thrill if he described his. own sensations, and incidentally the wonders of Sydney, as he was hauled up, yard by yard, to the top of the crane. AN engineer, resident in Johannesburg, reports having _icked up some television from 2XAF, Schenectady, New York State, a distance of nearly 7000 miles. ‘The engineer was using a home-made television receiving set. This feat is phenomenal, considering that television reception is regarded as impracticable at long-dis-tance.

‘TOULOUSE, the ancient capital of part of Gaul when Caesar’s legions conquered the country, paid a compliment to its early invaders when its radio station broadcast a message in Latin. Thus one of the oldest tongues was conveyed by the newest scientific means. Latin scholars were invited to transmit their impressions in Latin . T has just come to light that when William Backhaus, the pianist, was at 2FC, Sydney, he positively refused to leave until everything in the studios and control room had been expli!.ed to him in detail. Percy Grainger, the Australian pianist, had similar characistics; but they were confined to a study of every musical instrument in the studio. He finally chose the xylophone, and practised on it for twenty minutes. FIRST the ocean newspaper and now the ocean illustrated paper. Pictures have been successfully transmitted by the Fulton process through Rugby to the Olympic in mid-Atlantie, and printed in the ship’s paper. This is undoubtedly a great stride forward, and soon there will be no place on earth where a man can escape from the busy world. DITORS of the "South African Wireless Weekly" have little faith in human nature. There have been no prosecutions of pirates for some time in South Africa; and the paper wants to know why. Pirating is reputed to be rampant in South Africa. "THE tendency in Canada is for "console’ sets-in other words, radio sets like furniture. This is an expensive departure, and the real radio enthusiast in New Zealand is, generally speaking, satisfied with-a.set that. will

stand on a small table and look nice. There is, however, a steady market for "console" sets in New Zealand for those who can afford to pay for "furniture." T is reported that an English congregation listens in to the evening broadcast from Westminster Abbey. Listens in is not the right word. The congregation takes part in the service, Singing the hymns, kneeling to pray, and following the Bible readings. The vicar has been a wireless enthusiast for twenty years. RADIO enthusiast writes to the London Press on "the brotherhood of radio" as follows:-‘At one time J collected postage-stamps, but other collectors used to envy all my unused specimens. Then I tried photographyand lost all my friends when they saw my "studies" of them ! Finally, I took up radio-and found every other "fan" a friend in need, ready to help and advise and assist, just as happy over my triumphs as over his own! Why is radio so friendly?’ The New Zea-

a i i i i hi hi Di land listeners are similarly inclined to help each other, and what listener cannot recall the readiness with which another listener has come to his aid when asked? GHATS for 1000 visitors will be provided in the largest studio of the British Broadcasting Company at London. The building, which is to cost £400,000, is now scheduled to be completed in 1930, and will centain nine studios, one for picture transmission. ~ ONDON radio journals give publicity to a report from Oslo, Norway,’ to the effect that the police have been called in on the biggest license-dodging case ever heard of. According to the returns of the authorities, there were some 62,800 licenses, of which about 27,000 were not renewed. In addition to this, it is estimated that there are at least 20,000 listeners who never took out a license. Roughly speaking, about 50 per cent. of listeners are now evading payment. The difficulty of rounding them up lies in the fact that they are widely scattered on lonely farms, ete. Se oe