Notes and Comments

Radio Record, Volume III, Issue 12, 4 October 1929, Page 13

Notes and Comments

SWITCH

~~, a Me ©. DRUMMOND, announcer at 2YA, Wellington, again displayed his versatility when he gave an admirable ringside description of the wrestling match between Alley and Dkiund at the Wellington Town Hall last week. Mr, Drummond added interest to his work by describing the various holds instead of merely giving their technical names. This made the bout far more interesting to several hundreds of listeners who ‘were unfamiliar with the wrestling terms. SOoNER or later hotels in New Zealand will adopt the plan of scores of American hotels, which have a central receiving set distributing broadeast reception to the rooms of the guests. A- new system was recently demonstrated in New York by which the steel framework of the building was utilised for conducting radio pro&rammes to the guests’ rooms, instead of the usual network of wiring. The demonstration was conducted by a retired New York X-ray experimenter. A SURFHIT of political speeches from the yarious Australian statlons in connection: with the Commonwealth Parliamentary elections has made many New Zealand listeners very thankful that political speeches in this country are banned. One could listen with interest to, say, one speech by the Commonwealth Prime Minister (Mr. Bruce), but the practice hecomes obnoxious when lesser luminaries are heard night. after night. {VN 2GB, Sydney, the Theosophical Society’s B class station, added its quota to the broadeast political speeches last week. One. had to seek here and there for music from the Australian stations, and not a few must have felt relieved when an Australian announcer said: "That concludes Mr. So-and-So’s political speech from such-and-such a station. We will now proceed with our musical programme." Unfortunately these speeches were often so protracted that it was approaching midnight before the music was permitted to go on the air.

"THE Japanese station on a frequency a little higher than that of 4QG, Brisbane (or, in other words, a little shorter in wavelength) was heard recently broadcasting some very fine ‘Western gramophone records. The items were not identified by the writer, but they ranged from instrumental solos to band and orchestral items and vocal numbers. This was an agreeable _{eghange from the plethora of talk to which these stations are addicted. A CONSIDERABLE number of listen-ing-in licenses have been cancelled in Australia lately, and this is perturbing Mr. Stuart Doyle, chairman of the new Australian Broadcasting Company. He is endeavouring to obtain from the Commonwealth Postmaster-General’s Department lists of cancellations of licenses and to ascertain what investigations have been made concerning the decrease. So far the reason is obscure. WELLINGTON listener, "A.O.," has dropped "Switch" a note asking whether it were possible to procure an ac. screen grid unit to place between the aerial and his set to boost up reception. Such a unit has not been put on the market in any part of the world yet. The cost would be ex-

cessive as additional transformers would be required for a separate unit. However, ac. sets with screen grid valves embodied have been on the New Zealand market for some time. N excessively sensitive set, operat: ed at its fullest limits in the City of Wellington, has to contend with the multitude of mysterious man-made static noises which result. "Switch" heard reception from such a set re cently, and, at half volume, it gave splendid results with Australian stations. However, when it was "opened out," crackling, spluttering, and humming from local electrical leakages crowded in.

HE writer was present when a discussion arose among a number of Wellington listeners as to which announcer did the best work in describing relays of football matches. Comparisons embraced the relays from Sydney, when Mr. Basil Kirke described the All Black football matches at Sydney. ‘The listeners were hard-boiled © football enthusiasts, and one was a former Wellington representative player. After the various YA relays were criticised in detail, honours went to the man who has been officiating at the microphone at the Athletic Park, Wellington. WELLINGTON listeners are greatly interested in the projected opening of the new 4YA at Dunedin on October 16. Many Wellington listeners are too close to 2YA’s transmitting aerial to tune through the local programme to get 4YA, but on Wednesday evenings when 2YA is silent the programme from 4YA, Dunedin, is well patronised, if one can judge by the number of howls and whistles accompanying it. 4YA even now is available with very fair loudspeaker strength on an average night in Wellington. RELAYS from theatres make a big appeal to listeners, and possibly the "atmosphere" created by the applause is the main cause of their popularity. A fixture which promises to please some thousands of listeners is the relay by 1YA, Auckland, from Hamilton, of the Hamilton Operatic Society’s performance of "Gipsy Love." It speaks well for an up-country town to foster an amateur operatic society of the reported capabilities of that at Hamilton. A WBHLLINGTON business man who lives a most strenuous life, tells "Switch" that he generally retires to bed about 9 p.m., and by the aid of his small, portable A.C. set he enjoys the

2YA programmes immensely. He uses only a small piece of flexible insulated wire for an aerial and has no "earth." "THERE are complaints from Australian listeners that the new Australoan Broadcasting Company are not putting on enough news. Mr. Len Brown, Ballamin Station, Queensland, writes to the Sydney "Wireless Weekly" complaining about the insufficiency of news. He says: "The last figures of the Postmaster-General showed that 37 per cent, of the licenses in New South Wales were held by country subseribers. This would work out that they spend far more on wireless than .

city residents. when you eonsider the cost to the former against what the latter pays for his outfits. Hope you keep this matter going as we find ourselves going to New Zealand for news." There is no gainsaying that the news services from the New Zealand stations are really excellent. RRECEPTION of 2YA, Wellington, on a loudspeaker with a small portable two-valve set in a suburb of Newcastle, N.S.W., is reported by Mr. Frank H. Cole, in a letter to the Sydney "Wireless Weekly." He writes :- "Re those long-distance one-valvers: probably the sets are all they are cracked up to be, but locality of reception is a factor to be reckoned with. For instance, whilst. residing in the Lake district, I was able to tune in most Sydney and inter-State stations, and, some nights, Adelaide on a cheap crystal set (no valves). Yet, when the same set was installed in Newcastle with a good aerial I was unable to tune in 2BL. In fact, I could only get the local station. Similarly, I was able to get fair loudspeaker results from 2YA ona small portable two-valve (2v.06) set in Mayfield, yet cannot get this station per phones on a four-valve set in central Newcastle. In anticipation of a competition for maximum reception on a minimum valvage, kindly note my name." ~ame2 —