Notes and Comments

Radio Record, Volume II, Issue 52, 12 July 1929, Page 12

Notes and Comments

By

SWITCH

RR ! PoE newly-formed Australian -Broad- ‘& easting Company (Fullers Theatrea, Eitd., J. Albert and Son, and Union Theatres, Ltd.) will broadcast their first programme from Sydney on Wednesday, duly 17, under contract to the Common. wealth Government. Not only in Australia, but throughout New Zealand, a "lively interest is being taken in the ‘change of control of the Australian pro‘grammes, Many thousands of New Zeaand listeners tune-in the Australian stations nightly, and a large proportion of them are keen tritics, ; HHH new Australian programme seri . vice will, for a while, be heard from -28NC and 2BL, Sydney, 3LO and 3AR. -Melbourne. T'wo other stations of considerably greater power are to be erected ‘shortly, but the sites where they are to ‘be installed are not yet announced. Mr. ‘Oswald Anderson, studio director of 2F'C "Sydney, has been appointed general man‘sager for New South Wales of the new Australian Broadcasting Company. Sev.eral other well-known figures in the Australian broadcasting world will also be "engaged by the new company. /IPHE new Australian Broadcasting Company cannot hope to escape the usual fate of broadcasting companies- .

abundant criticism. A Sydney listener writing in the Sydney "Wireless Weekly’ has commenced the ball rolling. This is what she says:-‘We do not doubt for one moment that the programmes are going to be ‘something out of the box,’ but nevertheless we would like to whisper a word of advice. A little classical music will be greatly appreciated, but-not toa much of it. Jazz, on the other hand, can never be overdone, because there are always new numbers every week, whereas classical music is just one worn-out melody after another. Anyhow, we leave it to Mr. Doyle." AN advertisement in a Sydney paper announces that the new Australian Broadcasting Company will spend £5000 on their first week’s programme, and that world-famous artists are now on their way from England and America. The new company’s income is insufficient to maintain weekly programmes costing £5000, but it is good policy to open up with a brave showing. [Ts a recent issue of "Wireless Weekly" a statement was published mentioning that Mr. George Saunders (Uncle George, 2GB Sydney, formerly of 2BL Sydney), would be associated with the management of the Australian Broadcasting Company.

A letter from the Theosophical Broadcasting Station, Ltd., however, points out that Mr. Saunders’ engagement with 2GB does not end for some time. The Sydney journal hastens to correct any ‘wrong impression which may have been ‘made.. Mr. George Saunders is one of the best announcers in Australia, and his voice is familiar to thousands of New Zealand listeners, \ SINCE reference to loudspeaker Feception with a simple crystal set without any amplification was mentioned in these columns a number of listeners have added loudspeakers to their crystal sets, so that 2YA Wellington now entertains whole families where previously listening: in was effected only with by one or two at a time. "Switch" has received the thanks of several listeners for his advice on this subject. One listener who was not doing as well with a try-out of a loudspeaker as he expected, took the writer’s advice and raised his aerial by seven feet. The said listener reported that "it made a whale of a difference." HH eraze for "new" circuits which for years characterised amateur interest in radio is dying a natural death. BHven in Wellington home-constructors are very few who are continually scrap- ping their sets and building them up with "new" circuits. Mr. Ross A. Hull,

an Australian expert, who has returned to Sydney after some years spent in the United States, utterly condemns the foisting of more or less imaginary "marvellous" circuits on to the radio public. He remarks :-‘‘The established radio journals in America have succeeded in recent years in quelling the ‘amazing circuit’ school of radio writers, but it is pitifully evident that English and Australian readers are still feeding contentedly on the same grade of tripe." "TAIDLD" (Wellington) sends particu‘lars of his electro-dynamie loudspeaker -and A battery charger, the former requiring 6 volts to energise its field. He wants to know whether he could employ’ his battery charger for operating his electro-dynamie loudspeaker without procuring a transformer to step his household 230 volts electric supply down to the necessary 6 volts. The bat-tery-charger he mentions will do the work efficiently and with perfect safety. "Switch" happens to have employed the combination himself. LL New Zealanders who can pick up the Australian stations will be interested in the announcement that on Saturday night, July 20, 2BL Sydney, by arrangement with Messrs. J. C. Williamson, Ltd., will broadcast the full performance of the musical comedy, "The. Desert Song," from the theatre in Sydney. This . Will be 2BL’s final night under the old management, and those artists who have been: associated with 2BL since its beginning .will also contribute to the programme on that night. R. BASIL KIRKH, who describes the All Black football matches for the short-wave station 2MH) Sydney, relayed by 2YA Wellington, recently was award--ed first prize for the best broadcast story of mistaken identity. Next in order were -Mr. ©. N. Baeyertz (formerly of Wellington), Mr. C. R. Hall, Mr. P. Conigrave, and two competitors going under the pseudonyms of "The Storyteller" and "Bringa." The last-mentioned, who is a ‘well-known. authority on the Australian aboriginals, often broadcasts. Mr. Basil Kirke. sometimes broadcasts accounts of the boxing contests in Sydney. "THE New Zealand Government radio regulations very rightly prescribe a substantial penalty for any listener who

causes interference with other listeners by permitting ‘his valyes to howl. Unfortunately the howling valve nuisance is * still rampant in some areas of Wellington and other centres, but is frequently due to mere ignorance on the part of those responsible for the trouble. The Commonwealth Government have the following note printed on. each listener’s license, a plan which could be copied in New Zealand with considerable advantage to broadcasting :-‘Apparatus operated under this license must not cause interference, by means of regeneration, with nejghbouring receivers. Interfer-\ ence is taking place if a ° continuous ‘note’ or ‘whistle’ is. heard. If this ‘note’’" or ‘whistle’ changes when the wavelength of the receiver is altered the cause of interference is in the receiver, and reaction must be-reduced until no ‘note’ or ‘whis.. tle’.is audible. If-the ‘note’ or ‘whistle’ does not change, the interference is due to some external source." Myiepay community singing, which was so immensely popular in Wellington, suddenly collapsed. Not a few regretted its demise, and it only requires some competent person to give the lead and it could be revived with all its oldtime popularity. For a considerable time broadcast station 83L0O Melbourne ‘has kept community singing going in a eity theatre. An Australian writer says:

-"The value of the broadcasts of community singing is not confined to the two thousand and more who regularly fill the theatre. The numbef of listeners who are unable to attend, but who can, and do, participate at a distance, is surprisingly great. One does not need to think long to visualise the effect in hospitals, homes for the aged and infirm, as well as in private homes. They may not join in the singing round the loudspeaker, but they can, and do, enjoy the singing, and wistfully dwell on the many memories the | singing of old-time melodies brings up. 3 QNE of the worst causes of electrical leakages discovered in Wellington some time ago, was loose tramrail bonds. Each rail:is connected to the next rail by a copper: band to maintain an electrie circuit. Through certain causes these bonds sometimes become loose, and make only.a poor contact, and an electrical spluttering results. When the weight of the next tram presses on the weak spot it is apt to tighten up the connection, and so the spluttering ceases until another tram comes along and loosens it. TTHERE is a vaudeville artist, Mr. Rupert Hazel, recently appearing in Wellington, whom scores of us have heard from 83LO, Melbourne on many occasions. There was a very human touch about an episode which Wellington lis‘tteners heard from 3L0, Melbourne, in connection with Mr. Hazel, some time back. His parénts were evidently listening in. Dunedin. He called out greetings to them:from 3L0, Melbourne, and said he was. just about to go on tour. One can well imagine the pleasure of the parents at hearing their son addressing them from so far off. Wonderful wireess! ISTENERS in Wellington are getting 4YA, Dunedin, on a powerful harmonic down about 232 metres. The harmonic is about half the volume of the original, transmission. If the harmonie could be "eut off at the meter" the transmission on 463 metres would greatly increase in volume, as there is a good deal of leakage in such a powerful harmonic. "Switch" can discover no harmonic from either 1¥A or 3YA.