Radio Round the World

Radio Record, Volume II, Issue 47, 7 June 1929, Page 4

Radio Round the World

PHILLIPS Glowlamp Works, Lid., ' now employ "20,000 workers on the production side of their business, which, with the addition of staff and workers now engaged throughout the world, constitutes a total of 35,000 people. A 9 KW broadcasting transmitter has been installed at Belgrade for the Yugo-Slavian broadcasting authority. The official inauguration took place on Sunday, March 24, in the presence of a representative of the King of Yugo-Slavia, members of the Cabinet, and other high Government officials. The station was reported to be an unqualified success. ‘AN interesting experiment in simul- , taneous broadcasting was carried out recently in Australia, when an interview from Melbourne with an artist at the broadcasting station 2FC, Sydney, was put on the air. There was no perceptible lag between question and answer, despite the distance of over 600 miles between the stations.

[THE rate of licenses in Victoria is 8.17 to every 100 inhabitants; the net rate in the Commonwealth is 4.69, which is considerably greater than South Africa, New Zealand, and is almost as high as Germany, which is estimated to be 4.85. The United States in radio popularity leads the world with approximately 6.48; Hngland is second with 5.82. HE official figures have been issued showing the number of licenses in force in the Commonwealth at the close of the month of April. Good increases are shown in each State, with the exception of Queensland and Western Australia. The increases for April were as follow: New South Wales, 1390; Victoria, 1461; Queesnsland, 15; South Australia, 244; Western Australia, 23; Tasmania, 140. The total is 296,317. {t has been said that the separate development of broadcasting and kinematography has been responsible for the great success of both, and that had earlier experiments with combined

sound and sight been more successful, the film as we at present know it might never have been evolved at all -that the many film "stars" might never have found an outlet for their partciular types of genius, which lie in telling a story in pictures without the use of the spoken word, and sometimes without the use of the printed word. [HE new development in wireless picture transmission means that pictures can now be wirelessed all over the world within a few minutes of the photograph being taken. The photoelectric cell transmitter as the new apparatus is called, has been elaborated and improved by Captain Fulton, the inventor of the Fultograph system. A demonstration of this new system was recently given by Wireless Pictures (1928), Ltd. and proved eminently satisfactory.

'THERD are now twelve B.B.C. school advisory engineers, who spend two or three months in a particular area paying daily visits of investigation to schools and other places where there are wireless sets installed. Of course, good reception is essential if the B.B.C.’s educational broadcasts are to be of any value. It looks as though the B.B.C. is going all out in catering for schools. And this has given rise to a good deal of criticism as to whether the B.B.C. should supplement the educational authorities by spending listeners’ money on providing edueational broadcasts.

N face of severe competition the Marconi Company has secured the contract for the supply of a 60 kw. aerial energy, broadcasting transmitter for the Swedish Government to be erected at Stockholm. ‘This installation will be operated on the low-power modulation system, with deep and distortionless modulation. It is modelled on the high-power transmitters. which are now being manufactured by the Marconi Company for the British Broadcasting Corporation, and is worked direct off a three-phase public electric power supply.

HE Marconi Company has received authority to proceed with the manufacture of a short-wave broadcasting transmitter for the Italian Broadcasting Company. This company has had considerable experience in the tech‘nique of short-wave broadcasting through the operation of the short-wave broadcasting station at Chelmsford (5 S.W.). The Italian station will to a large extent follow the design of 5 S.W. and will enable the Italian Broadcasting Company to carry on a broadcasting service for the Italian colonies. Italy will thus be one of the first countries to make special provision for its colonies in its broadcasting organisaon.

THE recent two-way communication between 3AR and 2FO recalls the premier successful attempt between these two stations some two years ago. Arrangements were made for pressmen in Victoria to interview Mr. George

Carney, the famous BEnglish comedian who was then on a visit to Sydney. Mr. Carney was equipped with headphones and sat in front of a microphone in the studio of 2FC, Sydney, while the Melbourne pressmen were each given the same facilities in the studios of 3LO, Melbourne. The 3tessmen, after being hailed by Mr. addressed a series of questions‘to the comedian in Sydney, and Mr. Carney not only answered these questions, but carried on a running fire of humorous remarks and also sang several songs during the transmission. Both stations 2FC and 3LO not only broadcast the actual speech which was taking place in their own studios, but in turn they rebroadcast the two-way conversa~ tion-each from the inter-State source, making it available simultaneously to listeners in both States.

A RUMARKABLE prospect of what may happen by the bringing of the "talkies" to the fireside was afforded by the private showing of the "Home Talkie," a British invention which is really a simple electric attachment between an ordinary gramophone and any existing type of home kinema-projectO7-It can be made for less than £5, and the synchronised sound and picture can be set going by the simple means of switching on to @ domestic electric light. The result, as shown by Mr. G. V. Dowding, the inventor, was not great art, but the synchronisation was perfect-one saw an orchestra playing what one heard and people dancing to it. By this device it will be possible for people to make their own gramophone and kinema records for a few shillings, and see themselves dancing, singing, or speaking.

ANOTHER demonstration was successfully carried out from 5OL, Adelaide, when a solo selection from Victor Harbor, South Adelaide, was sung to the accompaniment of &@ piano played at Tanunda, 100 miles Germany, and those projected for the near future, are to be fitted with wooden aerial masts instead of the usual steel ones hitherto used. decision is the result of the sygeess of Munich’s station with this t of aerial support. It was found that the previous system resulted in the radiation of only about 20 per cent. of the energy fed into the aerial system.

B®TISh Talking Pictures announced recently that the State-supported kinematograph organisation of Italy have decided to adopt the British Talling Pictures system of producing and reproducing talking films. An agreement has just been signed to exploit this system throughout Italy. Luce, the national topical film company, the leading firm of Italian music publishers, are also parties to the agreement. A company ,has been formed with a preliminary capital of £150,000 to install the British Talking Pictures apparatus throughout Italy, and production of talking films by the new company and the Hnte has begun in Rome,