New 4YA Wins Popular Approval

Radio Record, Volume III, Issue 15, 25 October 1929, Unnumbered Page

New 4YA Wins Popular Approval

Official Opening shows High Standard of Efficiency

‘HE opening of the new 4YA on Wednesday Jast' marked another step forward in the history of New Zealand broadcasting. In view of the fact that this important step marks the comple-

tion of the original contract between the Government and the Broadcasting Company, it will be interesting to look back over the two years of progress made since the inception of the Broadcasting Company. Early broadcasting in New Zealand has linked with it two names now well known, those of Messrs. Goodfellow and Harris. The interest of Mr. Goodfellow in radio has a very early origin. > He quickly perceived the value of ;

an efficient broadcasting service to the rural population. At the head of a large dairy company drawing suppliers from every corner’ of the .South Auckland province, Mr. Goodfellow recognised the desirability of adding to the comfort of its suppliers and to brighten the lives of the 50,000 people thereby connected. Nearly six years ago, with the view of providing this service, Mr. Goodfellow asked Mr. Harris, now General Manager of the Broadcasting Conipany,.to make full invéstigation into the cost of installing a moderate-sized plant at

Hamuton. Dy this installation it was hoped that the suppliers of his dairy company could enjoy the new and musical service contemplated to be provided from Hamilton, : The matter was entered deeply into, and a full and comprehensive report compiled. This was submitted to the Government in the form of a request that rights should be granted for the erection of a smal] plant at Hamilton. The Department advised in reply that it could not see its way.to grant provincial rights, as it desired broadcasting rights over the whole of the Dominion should be controlled by one company. The idea was then accordingly dropped and negotiations then begun between the Government and a fresh company. A great deal of dissatisfaction was now expressed at the delay, and Mr. Goodfellow accordingly then approached the Government for the rights to establish a station in his own area. The Government replied as before, but suggested that Mr. Goodfellow consider providing a service for the whole Dominion. Mr. Good-

fellow had already offered to puta satisfactory station at Auckland, and the Government’s suggestion was, that if he agreed to put a further station in the South Island, they .would be prepared to enter into a contract with him and Mr. Harris.

From that point the negotiations proceeded, and it was ultimately agreed that Messrs. Goodfellow and Harris would personally undertake to offer forthwith two first-class approved half-kilowatt plants for erection at Auckland and Christchurch. Within 30 days the Broadcasting Company was formed. As soon as the policy in respect to the new stations was decided, and during the course of their consideration, the organisation of the respective sta-

tions received attention. A tenyear contract was asked, but a five-year one was finally agreed upon. The Auckland and Christchurch stations were duly erected, and immediately established a new’ standard in New Zealand broadcasting. At that stage the company under agreement with the Government could have ‘taken the course of closing both Wellington and Dunedin _ stations, which had previously been operated by the radio trade. The company, however, did not choose to exercise its rights, but instead continued

; to give usteners in Wellington and Dunedin areas the fullest service possible within the capacity of the plants available. . Before the Christchurch and Auckland stations were finished, the position at Wellington was considered. The Department expressed its desire that a 5-kilowatt station, the greatest in the Southern Hemisphere should be erected. This was one ten times the size of that called for under the original proposition. This new station involved the company in an additional expenditure of £20,000. Agreements were then completed whereby within five years there should be erected three half-kilowatt stations and the five-kilowatt central station at Wellington. . Very many listeners will remember the triumphant opening of 2YA in June, 1927, This was an epoch-making event for 2YA, and was the Empire’s strongest overseas station. Reception was good throughout the Dominion, the Pacific, and Western America. This was certainly a great step forward in New Zealand’s broad(Continued on page 9.)

HE opening of the new 4YA denotes two important facts-the firm establishment of radio in New Zealand and the completion of the obligation of the, Broadcasting Company in respect of the establishment of broadcasting stations. At its inauguration the company agreed. to establish one five-kilowatt and three halfkilowatt stations. Now, with two and a-half years to go before the completion ofthe contract, the contract has been completed and 4YA has come into line with her sister stations at Christchurch arid Auckland.

Contract for Stations Completed

Views of 1, 2 and 3YA

(Continued from. front page.) casting. It now remained to complete the contract by the erection of the new 4YA. The Question of Dunedin. ANY of the older listeners will rebd member the station VLDN at the New Zealand and South Seas Exhibition. Previously, Dunedin had a private station known as 4YA, and hen the Broadcasting Company took é is over in 1925, it was rebuilt and ransferred_ to the site at the exhibition in time for the opening in November. After it had been in operation for a few weeks, its power was increased to half-kilowatt. When, however, the exhibition closed down, the station was dismantled and removed to its old premises in Moray Place, Dunedin. Considerable constructional alterations were effected from time to time. Studios were duplicated, and everything done to make the station as presentable as possible. Its power was still below that of the other stations. This fact * caused .a great deal of dissatisfaction among South Island listeners, and efwere made bythe Broadcasting Company to pring it into line at the earliest possible opportunity. ' That opportunity occurred Wednes- / day last, when, with chorus of bag- ‘« pipes, never before heard over the air from a southern hemisphere station, the new 4YA came on the air. To mark the occasion a large number of distinguished guests assembled. These included representative citizens, including the Mayor of Dunedin, Mr. R. 8S. Black, and officials of the company. . The strides taken by radio in the last few years was symbolised by the relaying of the Postmaster-General’s speech from Wellington. Though marred by slight surge, the speech was ° intelligible and its message was welcomed by all interested in the future of radio. . Hon.: J. B. Donald’s Address. Your Worship, Mr. Harris. Ladies — and gentlemen :ssembled ~t the 4X¥A

studio and those who are listening to 4YA this evening, commenced Mr. Donald. First of all, I wish to thank the Radio Broadcasting Company for its invitation to me'to open its new Dunedin station. I regard this as quite a compliment, not only because I am Minister of Telegraphs and in charge of radio, but also because I am personally very much interested in the development of all branches of wireless in New Zealand. I have been introduced this evening by a skirl of the bagpiges-the national musie of Scotland-and it is perhaps appropriate that the opening ceremony should be performed by one of Scottish ancestry, in view of the great part which Scottish people have taken in settling and developing Otago and , Southland. Radio broadcasting has now become so much a part of our everyday lives that it will perhaps surprise many of the younger people to know that it has been in existence for only eight years. In 1921 it was still in the experimental stage. In that year a few proprietary stations commenced to function in America. A service commenced in London in 1922, and New Zealand in 1925. We are so accustomed to-day to the marvels of science that we often fail to see the romance which surrounds the march of progress. In 1861 the pioneer engineers of my Department were seriously considering such burning questions as the opening up of telegraphic communication over short distances _ in Canterbury and Otago, such as Lyttelton to Christchurch and Port Chalmers to Dunedin. To-day I am able to sit in my office and address a gathering in the studio of 4YA, as well as a much wider radio audience in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand, and countries around its shores. It may be of some interest if I briefly indicate the transformations and processes that are involved in the transmission of my voice from‘the Capital City to my unseen ‘audience. "The familiar telephone in front of me is the first link ;in the chain, and

it furnishes to the Wellington tollSwitching centre, electrical counterparts of the speech which falls upon its microphone, From this point these complex electric currents pass under the waters of Cook Straits per medium of a special submarine telephone cable so designed as to neutralise the distortion which would otherwise occur. After emerging from the Strait at the northern end of the South Island, the method of transmission changes. The carrier current section of our telephone system now takes charge. It amplifies the speech currents; and sends them on to Christchurch by the agency of radio frequencies. The, process is, in many respects, similar to that of broadcasting, with the exception that, instead of being broadcast for general reception, the message is secretly guided along the existing toll ‘ine. At the Christchurch toll-switch-‘ing centre, further amplification takes place, and the radio. waves are transformed into ordinary telephonic currents suitable for transmission over the copper wires by which the telephone: exchanges at Christchurch and Dune‘din are connected. The toll centre at Dunedin has switched the toll line on ‘to the new broadcasting transmitter, and thus I am able to control its opera- tion just as if I were in Dunedin speaking into the studio microphone. Toll Relay Lines. : EPARTMENTAL toll lines have, during the last twelve months, been used to a considerable extent for the relaying of concerts and other entertainments between the different -centres. These — effi‘cient talking channels haye, I trust contributed in no little measure to the -keen interest at present being taken jn ‘broadcasting by the New Zealand pub‘lic. I am pleased to be able to say ‘that my Department has under consideration means ‘whereby centres that are at present outside the seope of relay broadeasting may be brought into the network. Such measures will, no doubt, assist both the Broadcasting il nnnnnisiistpuenieernmeentionetadeete

Company and the radio listeners of New Zealand, Technical Aspects of New 4YA. DTDUNEDIN took an early part in broadcasting, and is to be congratulated on the .fact that its radio pioneers played a noteworthy part in creating an interest in broadcasting matters... Since those early days, great advances have been made in the technique of broadcast transmission; much greater stab. lity has been secured; harmonic interfereace has been reduced; quality of transmission has undergone considerable improvement, and the average nower of stations hag been increased. This kind of thing has. been takiny place all over the world; and Dunedin is to be congratulated upon opening a station which, I understand, is to be of considerably greater power than formerly, and ‘which'I trust will incorvorate all the best features of modern hroadeast stations. Increased power should bring many benefits in its train: the range of communication will. be increased, so that listeners in other part» of Otago and New Zealand should get greatly improved reception; the strong er signals will reduce the effect of disturbing influences which at times are present in radio, such as atmospherics and interferences from electric power circuits and appliances; within a few miles of the station a more simple ty). of receiver will be possible; and all these things should, and no doubt will, lead to an appreciable ingrease in the number of licensed listeners.

Speculative Possibilities. ANY interesting things have happened of late in connection with New Zealand broadcasting, notably in. the direction of relays from remote centres, and even from oyverseas . broadcasting stations. There is no doubt that. with the rapid advances that are being made, broadcast listening will become more and more fasinating as time goes on. Overseas relays will extend to greater

ae and greater distances, with 4 gradual reduction of atmospheric interferences and fading, The broadcasting of still pictures 4s already being done in certain parts of the world, and the broadcasting of moving objects-or television -is being experimentally demonstrated, Even the radio transmission of talking pictures is prophesied. It: is therefore clear that. broadcasting in the future is likely to create: a keener: interest than in the past, and that its wonderful function asa publie entertainer and educator will undergo even yet greater development, Licenses, ; HH number of receiving licenses ‘for the Dominion at the end of September was 47,442; and at‘the present rate of issue, the 50,000 mark will be passed before the end of March next, The: district figures\are as follow :- Auckland .....eene0-. 15,519 Wellington .......... 19;480 Canterbury ...,.«e.. 8,435 OtAgZO ...ceececcceees 4,008 The opening of the new station ut Dunedin should give a much-needed filip to the issue of licenses in the Otago district, I am looking forward to the time when # reduction -of license fees will be possible. The. more licenses there are the sooner this will come about. Therefore every licensee shotild endea your to secure as many recruits as he can. Ladies and gentlemen, I have much pleasure in declaring the new 4YA sta-tion-open, and I wish its every success.

Mr. Black’s Comments.

FrOLLowIne the Postmaster-Gen-eral, Mr. Black addressed the microphone: "We all like to be happy," said the speaker, "and to know that others are striving to add to our happiness, creating 2 comfortable feeling and making us anxious to_reciprocate. On those lines the Broadcasting Company is adding materially to the joy of living,’ and as pleasure physicians it improved ‘the health of the people." _ To.the tired mother or the confirmed invalid in the backblocks would come the sweet strains of music or an. encouraging address or comforting song, while to the farmer worrying about the drought would be brought the’ news by radio that rain would be in abundance immediately, The value of. advice by radio in cases of accident and illness to those in the hackblocks was’ too obvious to be stressed, It was beyond understanding to know what caused the transmission of voices, for one spoke into certain apparatus and thar apparatus manufactured a synthetic voice to be sent across the world, Another piece of equipment received the transmission, amplifie? it, and reproduced it as a machine-made voice, but as near the original as possible, "Dunedin is very proud of its new 4YA, and congratulates those responsible for the completion of the station. May: static for. ever be banished from the field of operations is the earnest ‘wish of the many friends of radio," he concinded. ; THE opening concert-a credit to the producers-then: proceeded. Wach item was rendered by an artist of firstclass ability, and when supported by a station .whose transmission was flawless, little was left to be desired. Much could be said about a deep, rich bass who put every. speaker: to test; of a

ene ; — f sweet and melow violin, und o¢ «a rare treat of Scotch humour; but to do. justice to this combination of talent would .be a task of no mean dimensions, a Finally Mr. J. Ball, editor-announcer of the Broadcasting Company, spoke: N this happy occasion it is my pleasure and privilege, speaking on behalf of: Mr, William Goodfellow, chairman of directors of the Radio Broadcasting Company of New Zealand Limited, and Mr, Arnaud MckKellar and Mr, A, R. Harris, his co-diree-tors, to convey to all listeners and. more particularly those whom primarily 4YA is intended to serve, thei cordial greetings’ and hearty Booth wishes, . Ve To the listeners of Dunedin and Otago especially the occasion we are celebrating this evening-the opening ‘of the new transmitting station and studios of 4YA-is of particular interest: I might go further and describe it as an event of momentous importance, for such most certainly it is, Henceforth listeners throughout this splendid province will enjoy a broadcast service second to no other -a service which we hope and believe will proyé of inestimable value to the entire community. of city, town and country. : .. Radio to-day,.as I feel sure you realise, has become. a vital factor: in the lives of the people: "With almost incredible rapidity, as we are wont to estimate human: achievement: in the measure of time, it has leapt from in-, 7 fancy to maturity, and now, ‘firmly established and almost universally: recognised as.an indispensable national service, is daily making the potency of its intimate .and far-reaching influence. felt in every department of human activity-religious, intellectual, economic, industrial and social. We who are in constant touch with. modern marvels never cease to wonder at it. Who, placed: as‘I am at this moment, could be other than inspired by the knowledge that. even as I speak my voice is reaching. out through ‘the invisible ether to thousands of unseen listeners? Think of it! The air around us, everywhere, is. filled with a veritable welter of speech and musie, Whatever at this. moment is being said, sung or played in any part of the world is being flashed in every. direction from every point of the compass, through the rooms in which ¥ you ‘are listening, yet it has beenA placed in your power to select and make. audible the one voice to which you are listening!

Not only are you witness to the power of invisible and inaudible transmission of sound, but you are witness also to the even more seemingly miraculous capture of individual soundless sounds, vocal and instrumental, and then transformation from the inandible to the audible! Is it surprising, then, that we who are perpetually confronted by these marvels should be. inspired to do all that is humanly possible, within the limitations of the circumstances and conditions by which we «re encompassed, to make the broadcast service of this Dominion of the utmost use and value to our fellow New Zealanders? . WE are proud of what already: has been: accomplished, and proud, too, to be able to say that the service for (Concluded, on ‘page 12.)

----___ Contract Completed

(Continued from page 10.) which we are responsible is throughout in tone and character such that no father and mother need hesitate to allow their children to listen-in to at any time. Much that we broadcast is of no interest to the child mind, but, so far as it is humanly possible to prevent it, nothing shall ever be allowed to go over the air that will do harm to the youngest listener. It is our business to amuse, to entertain, to inform people of all ages and all classes; but we should be recreant to our trust were we to lose sight of the great responsibility which rests upon our shoulders, or, as Mr. Harris himself has expressed it in an interview in this evening’s "Star," :- "We have a great and varied audience to please. We cannot hope to please all that vast audience all the time. But we do believe that we have fashioned a service which cannot fail ultimately :o please the great majority of listeners at one time or another. If a listener feels that in some particular we are not meeting his requirements as fully as we might-if he thinks there is Some form of service now not given which might be given with advantage to himself and others-he need not silently nurse a grievance which, if it is a legitimate grievance, may possibly be . remedied. Let him write to us and tell us about it. Broadcasting is the world’s most intimate service and lis-: teners should take us into their confidence. We may not be able to do just as each one wishes, but all may rest assured that their representations will receive sincere and earnest consideration." And now, in conclusion, I have been requested by the directors to invite you to visit these studios. You cannot, of course, come en masse, for the accommodation is limited. Therefore, if you will be good enough to graciously accept this invitation, just drop a line to the Station Director, 4YA, taking care to give your name and full ad-

dress, and you will promptly receive in return a card of invitation giving the day and date when it will be convenient to accord you a cordial welcome. JH was followed by the pipe band playing Scotch airs that roused the national spirit of every Scot. If Dunedin can supply more of this unique broadeast we are very happy the change to greater power has been made. Reports came to hand from all parts of New Zealand. All were unanimous -"A splendid effort"-and nearly all "No fading, but static." Static was bad and somewhat spoiled the excellent performance, but it was nevertheless 100 per cent. enjoyable. When, at about 10,30 p.m., the new phase in New Zealand broadcasting entered into.