Notes and Comments

Radio Record, Volume III, Issue 7, 30 August 1929, Page 11

Notes and Comments

B

SWITCH

-- "SiWwrnoH" has been asked to express his opinion on the quality, of the programmes now being .broadcast by ‘the four. A class stations in Sydney and Melbourne, under the new Australian Broadcasting Company’s regime: The writer has no hesitation in stating that there is a-marked allround improvement. There is now far more variety in the. class of. entertainment, and. the: personnel of the perWhether in "popular" .contributions or classical numbers,.the performers are of a generally higher standard. Famous artists not previously heard are now being -broadcast, and such events as last Saturday evening’s broadeast.of the wonderful concert by the New South Wales State Conserva-: torium of 75 musicians, with solos by famous artists, bears evidence of the coferprise of the new regime, ‘HERE appear to be certain zones, such as around Wketahuna, where 2YA, Wellington, is received with. distortion, although the. "big yoice" is rally hedrd superbly far..and = wide. 2YA is picked up at Christchurch with such clarity and rebroadeast by 3YA that it is difficult sometimes to realise that one is listening to a rebroadcast instead of reception direct from 2YA. In Hketahuna through some obscure reason 2YA, Wellington, is undoubtedly distorted. The United States: Government Bureau of Standards has proved that this distortion may be due to interfering ground waves. .When 2YA was:on reduced power some time ago reception of that’ station was distortionless in Eketahuna.:* This may inicate that the ground waves were then Yer insufficient strength to occasion the interference causing distortion. MANY listeners will have observed that their sets are more senstive on a certain a: of their tuning dials, For instance, some listeners consistently receive the shorter wave stations better than the longer wave stations. Others find that those stations on a medium wave-length come in best. This "peak" finds its origin in the radio frequency amplifying stage or stages of a set. In some cases the makers have overcome this by a device sometimes called an’ "inductor," which is adjustable and _ acts like a vernier tuner. The writer’s set is equipped with such a device.. A WELLINGTON radio technician sounded a warning note to those listeners who contemplate importing their own A.C. sets from America. The standard electrical supply in the UnitStates is 110 volts, while that of enV Zealand is 230 volts. If a pur- ‘ taser orders his set to be adapted to the higher*voltage he should be sure that the chokes and condensers are also suited to the increased voltage. The local radio technician had examined a disabled set which had broken down through the makers not altering the : chokes and condensers to suit the New Zealand 230-volts standard electric supply. Only the input transformer was suited to the increased voltage. most polite gentleman, not previously heard by "Switch," was . describing a wrestling bout in Sydney, \ per medium of 2BL, the other night. When one of the. contestants -was kicking the other on the chin to escape from an awkward hold, the announcer sail: "-is jolting his foot, if I may be permitted to say so, against -’s chin." Really,.one must be- careful

not to offend these modern gladiators for they have been known even to "jolt" the referee with their fists. CERTAIN Wellington hostess recently conceived the excellent idea of giving a radio evening. None of her two dozen guests was familiar with broadcast listening and most enjoyable entertainment was provided with a de luxe receiving set and electro dynamic loudspeaker. 2YA, Wellington, 83YA, Christchurch, and 1YA, Auckland, provided the items of the evening. With the aid of the programmes published in the "Radio Record" the guests were offered a wide selection to choose from, The hostess informs "Switch" that the evening proved @n incomparable success and her guests went away delighted with the entertainment which, to them, was quite unique. [Zz is not generally known that New Zealand ranks third to the United States and Canada among all countries in the world for the number of telephones per 100 of the population. In New Zealand there is an average of nearly ten telephones per hundred persons. The time may not be far distant when the same enviable distinction will be attained in the number of broadcast -listening licensees in this country. RAMO" (Wellington) sends along a plea for the oceasional inclusion in broadeast programmes of what he describes as "that delightful item ‘Good Night,’ written around the bugle call ‘Lights Out.’" "Switch" recalls this record being heard from various Australian stations. It came through ‘from 2UB, Sydney, one night last week, as the concluding item. Joe Aarons’s jazz band used to ‘play and sing this item as the final number when they . were under engagement to 3LO, Melbourne. This reminds "Switch" of the tuneful foxtrot "Meadow Lark" which ra the full limit of popularity on the air from the Australian stations, but has seldom been heard from the YA stations. BEGINNER who has a decided aversion to radio masts because "they spoil the appearance of one’s property," sought "Switch’s" advice recently on the advisability of running an aerial inside his roof when he purchases his nine-yalve A.C. set. It was explained to the beginner that an outside aerial is about three times more powerful than an indoor makeshift, and that there was no reason why a couple. of well-stayed, neat, aerial

masts ‘should constitute a disfigurement to any- property no more than would a flagpole set up on the lawn of a house. The inquirer was converted from his strange aversion. N last week’s issue of the "Radio Record" one‘ "Kauspanka" (Hastings) gives some interesting particu-. lars of the wavelengths and power of the various Japanese stations, according to a card he had received recently. Let us compare the wavelengths he gives with those published in the "N.Z. Radio Listeners’ Guide" of 1929-30:-N.Z.R.

The wavelengths given in "The N.Z. Radio Listeners’ Guide" are endorsed by Australian and American lists. If Kauspanka’s list is the latest, changes of wavelength have probably been made in the case of four of the Jap stations-quite a feasible suggestion. REGARDING the Jap stations, what puzzles "Switch" is his regular reception, nightly, of a Jap station on about 770 kilocyeles, which comes in loudly. The announcer’s call letters more frequently -sound like "J OAK" than "JOHK." ‘The ‘latter. may be what the Jap announcer is endeavouring te pronounce, but several times lately his pronunciation came through as "JOAK." To the surprise of "Switch" he has several times heard the same items being broadcast simultaneously by that station and another Jap station just shorter in wavelength than 2BL, Sydney. According to Kauspanka the latter station is JOAK (which is seemingly correct), . _

/ and "JOHK has been rebroadcasting © JOAK. ‘This would account for the call letters "JOAK": being heard from JOHK, . WELLINGTON listener whose . aerial swung as loose as the ayerage clothes line was surprised when he found long-distance stations fluctuating in quick jerky cycles during the recent southerly gale. He blamed his batteries, but they stood up to an ex-. pert test. Then he had a new grid leak fitted, but the fluctuations persisted. He asked "Switch" to glance over his outfit, and when he was persuaded to tighten up the aerial reception became normal, os oS (QOCASIONALLY _ the Wellington. Radio Society distinguishes itself by passing some more or less stupid resolution, but this sort of thing generally gets past when there is not a sufficient number of members of the executive present to block it. The motion suggesting that the Broadcasting Company, should liimt each artist toone item per programme is a case in« point, ‘There is not a broadcast station in Australia, let alone in New Zealand, which would adopt the suggestion, and,’ furthermore, the subject is one which ° too intimately concerns the business aspect of the Broadcasting Company to warrant its serious consideration by the company. , ‘ HE relay and rebroadcasting of the Hastings Radio Society’s concert from Hastings was another triumph for the Broadcasting Company. Not only was reception from 2YA, Wellington, | exceptionally Clear, but the other YA stations heard by "Switch" reproduced . the eoncert with superb effect. — At the recent Wellington Radio Dxhibition a novice expressed surprise at the sensitivity of the latest a.e. sets, having "read somewhere that the new batteryless sets were not as sensitive as the’ older ‘ battery-type sets." Since then he has purchased an a.ec, set, and has a verified list of 29 broadeast stations in his log.’ A lot of "moonshine" was circulated about the a.c. sets at first, but the better class of this type are running rings around battery-type sets. . HOS who keep a careful check on the frequencies of the various stations must have noticed that station 4QG, Brisbane, has raised its frequency again (dropped in wavelength). This station is now rather close to JOHK, the Jap. which "Switch" finds comes in best of all the Japanese stations. 4QG is not as loud as it used ‘to be, although it is coming in, with good volume. Le

Station. Kauspanka’s Listeners’ ‘ List. Guide. ‘JOAK 845 metres 875 JOBK 400 metres 885 JOCK 870 metres 360 JOFK 353 metres 353 JOGK 880 metres 880 JOHK 390 metres . 3896 JOIK 861 metres 361