THE D.X. CLUB Views and News.

Radio Record, Volume III, Issue 16, 1 November 1929, Page 10

THE D.X. CLUB Views and News.

-- Identification Wanted ON October 21 I tuned in during the afternoon to a station where someone was speaking very loudly in a foreign language, At one time I would receive the transmission at 60 on the dial, and at others, with intermediate periods of silence, I would receive them perhaps: on 70 or 75, On one frequency there was a decided buzz closely resembling the distant hum of an aeroplane. ‘In between the stranger’s conversation, Morse on varied frequencies could be heard. The chief offender was the Awarua wireless station, On two occasions, just as the speaker finished, we could hear band music, but this only continued for one or two minutes before being’ shut off. Once we heard the stranger call "Hullo, hullo, New Zealand!" The transmission finished at about ten to five. We heard the same station on the 20th at about 4.30 p.m, but reception was not as good, I wouid very much like to know what station this is. Reception was as powerful as Wellington is on the best of nighfs.. I ave a five-valve commercially-builf set, and. can receive practically all New Zealand and Australian siations. -Miss Christina Dryden (Southland). ON October 20, at 3 p.m., I received a short-wave station on my fac-tory-built receiver, using a 14-turn and a 28-turn coil, I could not ‘identify the call, and cannot. givé frequency. The station came in.at 55 degrees on the dial; about three degrees below Brisbane, which is 58 degrees on: the B.C. band. The call sounded like Allah-Allah.-I’.B.P. (Gisborne). NN Sunday, October 20, at approximately 12,15 p.m., I picked’ up a station on about 275 metres (1090 k.e.). The frequency, however, kept varying slightly. The transmission, which was very bad, was not quite loud enough for a local, but seemed too loud for a distant station. The announcer; after saying "hello" about a-dozen times, seemed to be carrying on a conversa-

tion with someone, He said: "How are you getting it?-What! Got whiskers on it?’ and so on. After this a talk about wireless was broadcast. No, callsign was heard,-‘Steinite" (Dunedin). ON October 20, about 7.40 pm. I heard an American station just above 2YA, Wellington. I heard singing, and heard the announcer speak, but I could not distinguish the callsign, The station may be WLW, Cin-cinatti-‘New Chum" (Morrinsyville). ON October 20, at 8 p.m, I heard a foreign station, freqnency between that of 2YA arid GWIF, Perth. It sounded like a Japanese station, and it was very loud, but the transmission went on and off as if the set had been switched on and off. It might be the Norwegian whaler, the Kosmos, which was in Wellington recently.-T. M. McKinnon (Kurow). GTATION heard last night (October 16 about 9 o’clock. Wavelength: about 200 metres (1500 k.c.). Items received: War songs, orchestral; ’cello, "Largo"; "Sweetheart of All My Dreams," "I Lift Up My Finger,’ "L’estudiantina," "Policeman's Holiday." Closed down 10.5 p.m. (New Zealand time). When signing off I managed to hear: "Station -, operated by -. Transmitting from — music house, — New Zealand. Now closing down until 6.30 p.m. next Sunday."-K. A. ‘Dixon (Wellington). ON a grystal et I hear Sunday nights, after A eloses down, a station just above oy A's frequency. It is not

loud ‘enough for me to understand what the announcer says.. Up to now I have not. heard any music from the station. Could any ‘listener inform me what this station i?---Crystal (Lower Hutt). TS. there a station in Siberia broadcasting ‘n about the same frequency as WDNR, Chicago? This evening, about 7 ‘o'clock, on tuning in on Chicago, I heard, very clearly, the word "Siberia." Then first a man then a man anda woman speaking, with dance music in the background. Soon the speakers were silent and after a minute or two, the music also ceased, the words, "WENR, Chicago, Iilinois, being heard-static very bad.-‘‘New Chum" (Morrinsville). The ade rest Soviet station is RA Petropavlovak, 350 metres (850, K.0.).. of ! Stations I dentified N response to many queries concerning station 3HX, Melbourne, a correspondent has sent in full particulars taken from his recently-received verification card., Particulars, _how--ever, of this station were published in the "DX Coumns" recently. N reply to a correspondent’s query concerning the times of operation of 4ZM, I submit below a list of New Zealand "B" class stations (4th district), together with their: times of operation :- 4ZB, Thursday evenings, 8-10.30 p.m. 4ZL, Monday evenings, 8-11 p.m.; also 1-2 p.m. daily. 4ZM, every morning (including Sunday), 10-11.45 a.m.; also Tuesday evening, 8-10.30 p.m. ‘4Z0, daily 12 noon-i p.m.3 also 56 p.m. : ' -C, MacFarlane (Dunedin). DX Topics HORT-WAVE enthusiasts will be _ interested in four new stations picked up by me during the week. They are as follow: October 10, station testing on 20 metres (approx.) at 11.30 ‘a.m. Gave eall-sign as Bombay, India. October 15, at 6.50 p.m., station on 25 metres, after transmitting music, ealls California. . Call sign, K10. Beam station, interferes with reception. October 17, station," on 32 metres., Calls London. Lady speaking at6 p.m. Ontario was mentioned, Probably is OF... Drummondville, Quebee, Canada. WENR and WO9XF have been broadcasting all this week ("Voice of Service," Chicago). "This ‘comes in at good speaker strength at 6 pm. Transmitting on 845 metres -(870 kc.) and 49.90 metres (6940 k,c.).--S. Saunders (Wellington). Some:-time ago I reported hearing two stations on 208° metres (1480 kec.), WHT :nd WSOA. I wrote to WHT and have recently received verification, I 3} ave logged six more sta-

pews g 5 U0 :. -- tions during the last few weeks: 6WF, Perth, 485 metres (690 k.c.); WJR, . Michigan, 400 metres (750 kc.);° WBBM, Chicago, 390 metres (770 k.c.) ; WCCO, Minnesota, 370 metres (810 k.ec.) ; WGN; Chicago, 416 metres .(720 k.e.); KGBZ, Nebraska, 822 metres (980 k.¢.). © he following is an extract from -the letter from WSOA, "Radio station WHT came on the air on February 12, operating on 203 -tves (1480° ke.) They had two periods of broadcasts, the first trom 6 to 7 o’clock in the evening, and the other from. 10 in..the evening to one or two the next morning. Some time later in February the call letters of the station were changed to WSOA. ‘The station has operated on this latter call since that time. Iam taking the liberty of sending you an ekko stamp, the official stamp for confirming re- > ceipt of a sfation: The price of each / stamp is 10 cents. We would appreciate hearing from you again, and then you may enclose the equivalent of twenty cents in our money. Thank-: ing you. very much for your report, which is really remarkable in many ways, and with best wishes, ete.-J. P. Holmes. .-As WHT and WSOA are the same station, I am not able to. count them as two when totalling up. Regarding the Japs, the card [ received from JOAK showed that the seven stations with the exception of JOIK.’(Sappard) are all joined by land line, sd it is not possible that when when the station which is broadcasting the programme gives the call sign it will also be broadcast by the other stations? The company have © also studios in Kyoto and Fukuoko . connected to the chain --Kauspanker (Hawke’s Bay). ey the short-wave notes in this week's "Record" I see where Mr. Stanton, of Christchurch logged ten countries on October 10: I thought perhaps you might be interested to know on that same day I logged twelve different countries, as follow: Germany, Holland, England, U.S.A., Siberia, Java, Siam, South Africa, Philippine Islands, Suva, Australia and New Zealand. I generally average eight different countries each day now that 710, Nairobi, is again on the air-Another ShortWave Fan (Auckland). N reply.-to a correspondent last week the .hours of 4ZM were given. Since then they have been altered. . This station is opetated on 277.8 metres (1080 kilocycles), by. Chas. Begg & Co., Ltd., 21- Princiet.e, Street, Dunedin, and transmission hours are as follows: Daily, 10 a.m. to 11.45 am, Tuesday, 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. . Sunday, 3 p,m. to 5. p.m., and 8 p.m, to . 10 p.m. This information was given in a letter dated October 11, 1929, and received from Chas. Begg and Co. in reply to a report on _ transmission which I sent in-W.B.Ti. (Petone). THE following. letter was received from Mr. I’. G. -MacSherry, of Auckland. He also enclosed two letters he had received from two Ameriean stations in confirmation of his Teception of them :- "In your issue of Oetober 11 you refer: to my letter in the DX column, in which I gave-the power of KGER (100 watts)-and WLW (50,000 watts). The logging: of these two stations was mentioned, not as something recently achieved, .but as an interesting sidelight on DX.reception, the two stations coming in at. equal strength, although .

— — \ using vastly differing power. KGER ‘and WLW were both logged on February 6, and I then wrote for confirmation of my reception. The two letters attached will show with what result. You will see that as far back as that WLW was employing 50kw. My idea at the time was that logging KGHER was pretty good reception, and I believed myself to be one of the first in New Zealand to get WLW. Re the Japs. I. think you are correct about JOHK rebroadcasting JOAK, as I have often heard ‘both stations on the same item, and then JOAK announced from JOHK. By the way, JOHK used to have a lady announcer, but I have not heard her for some months. Have you noticed that . . some of their broadcasts are really .Worth listening to? It is interesting to H "note that last Wednesday, five Jap. stations, JOAK, FK, GK; HK, and BK, were. all sending: out orchestral selections. at the same time, or within five minutes. The following letter is from Miss Bertha Brewster, programme director of station KGHR :- "In answer to your letter of Febru- ary 9, we want to tell you. how much we your writing us, and we are glad to say that your reception is correct. We are using only 100-watt power, but. have the best of equipment | and receive reception letters from all over the States, Canada, Alaska, and New Zealand; however, not often frém your distance; so we are much delighted when we can add another blueheaded pin to New. Zealand on our : map of reception points. Enclosed you "will find a picture of our station orchestra, and we hope you will tune in often and let us hear from you again." Y¥ set is a two-valve short-wave one, detector and stage of audio, and though I have only had it two months I have logged 28 stations, including G5SW, 7LO, PCJ, KZRN, PLF, W2XAC and GBX. I have not until recently bothered to get confirmation, and I have only four confirmed, but expect twelve more soon. ' My aerial is 50ft. high and runs from 8.W. to N.E. The following may be of interest. On Sunday, October 18, at 5.30 p.m., I picked up a station on about 49 metres. This was WHNR (W9XF), Greatlake, Chicago, 6020 kilocycles (49.83 metres). Items. played were "When Day is Done," "Nellie Blye," "No, No, Nanette," "I Miss You" (song), "Till We Meet"; strength was R7-8. On Tues"day, October 15, I picked up W9XF again, when it was stated that President Hoover was going to visit Chicago and that his speech would then be broadcast, To-night at 6.30 | p.m. W9XF was R88 and was still on at 8

P.m:

H. F.

Adcock

(Palmerston

North).

2 THE following letter is from Mr. Robert E. Burdette, assistant-pro-gramme director of stations WLW and WSAL :- "T cannot express to you just how much of a thrill I got from your letter dated February 9, that was placed on . my desk this morning. I can imagine it was somewhat akin ‘to the thrill you ' yeceived: when you first tuned in on an American station. We do have a top-o’-the-morning programme that starts at 630 a.m. Hastern Standard Time, and from the report of reception in your letter there is no doubt but what you heard our programme on. that date, This is the,first programme that

we broadcast during the day, and we are on the air continuously until 1.30 the next morzing, with the exception of a forty-five minutes’ break from 2.30 to 3.15 in ‘the afternoon. This makes a total of approximately 116 hours of broadcasting per week, and that gives you a real mark to shoot at. "WLW is a 50,000-watt station operating on a frequency of 700 kilocycles, and we have had proof of reception as far north as Anchorage, Alaska, where we are heard nightly. As a matter of fact, I just answered a letter a few days ago which had reported on a programme similar to the one you heard. It might be possible for us to broadcast a programme especially for listeners in New Zealand. I take it that you are a representative listener of that far-away country, of which we here in America have such @ vague idea,.and perhaps you might give me some idea of the type of :programme that would be of most interest to listeners there." [NX the DX Club’s news of October 4 Mr. EF. G. MacSherry, of Auckland, mentioned that 1YA now operates on 338 metres: (888 k.c.). 1YA is listed as haying a wavelength of 333 metres (900 k.c.), and I have not been aware of any change. . It also appears to him that there has been. some mistake about my reception of KZGA on 332.1 metres (905 k.ec.). I have heard him many times since, and he always gives his wavelength as 332.1 metres. One I made in my report was that I..mentioned that there was, only a difference of one kilocycle between their frequencies. This should have read 1 metre. With regard to low-power stations, I would like to say that KGHR, California, has been received when working on a power of 100 watts. I have recently received a verification card from WLW, Cincinnatti, Ohio, which states: Operating station WLW, power 50,000 watts; operating station WSAI, power 5000 watts, -I was very interested to read that Mr. W. McIntosh, of Wellington, has received a short-wave station on as low a wavelength as 10 metres. This achievement is certainly something out of the ordinary, and beeause of this I think Mr. McIntosh might have given the call letters and location to help other enthusiasts in their searching. W2XH, short-wave station of WABC, Atlantic City, has been heard many times of late, working every day of the week. He usually signs off at 5.30 p.m., Mw Zealand time. Another station, WOXT, Chicago, has been heard operating on 49.8 metres (6020 k.c.), and comes in at good volume at times. The announcer gives the call as WO9XF, short-wave international relay station of WENR, Chicago, Illinois, and the station slogan is "The voice of the service." This station seems to be testing at almost any time. It has been heard at 3.30 p.m., continuing until 5 p.m:, and also at 6 p.m. and 11 pm. This station seems to be in its experimental stages, as oceasionally it ceases transmitting in the

middle of a musical item.

A. P.

Mor

rison

(Wellington ).