Round the World on Short Wave

Radio Record, Volume III, Issue 16, 1 November 1929, Page 32

Round the World on Short Wave

HIS pagé is conducted in the interests of shortwave ° enthusiasts. A weekly log comprising notes of reception and interesting topical events

is contributed by Mr,

F. W.

Sellens

Northiand, Wellington, but all

listeners are invited to send in paragraphs of general interest.

Canada’s Short-wave Station. HE short-wave broadcasting station CJRX has been moved from the Grain Exchange Building in Winnipeg to a point about 10 miles from the city, and is now transmitting again on 25.5 metres, with an input of 2 k.w. Reports on the new station's signal will be welcomed by the owners, Messxys. James Richardson and Co., Grain. Wxchange Buildings, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Spain and Argentine. ‘ MPHE Spanish Nationhi Telephone Com- _ pany has received official permission to a direct wireless telephone service between Spain and the Argentine. The main stations will be at Madrid and Buenos Aires. The company is also permitted to extend wireless telephone services to other American and Huropean countries, ‘ , 38AN, Sourabaya, Java. THIS station is owned and operated by the Sourbaya Amateur Radio Society. They generally operate on about 49 metres, but can sometimes be heard on about 20 metres. 3AN operates every Monday, Wednesday, Friday*‘and Sunday from 11 p.m. N.Z. summertinie. French West and Equatorial Africa. TY addition to the long-wave transmitters already in operation, two new shortwave wireless telegraphy stations vre stated to be under construction at Bamako (French West Africa), and Brazzaville (French Equatorial. Africa). Both will work on C.W., the former on 14.7, 19.5, 30.7, and 70.9 metres, with the eall sign IZH, and the latter, using the call sign PZI, on 16.2, 25, 29.8, and 72.9, metres. A "spacing wave" will be employed in each instance. i Short-wave Sets on Ships. WING to the extreme range obtainable at comparatively low power with short-wave sets, they are being inStalled on an increasing number of ships. Nhe Marconi Company has recently produced a short-wave combined telegraph and telephone transmitter known as Type T.N.7, with which communication has been established over distances of more than 6000 miles. W9XF, Chicago, U.S.A. SHORT-WAYVE station with the above call has been heard here at good strength each evening during the past week till about 8 pm. The call WOXE is given with the call WENR. "he latter station operates on 345 metres (870 kilos.). These stations are owned by the Great Takes Radio Broadcasting Company, Chicago. Their slogan, which is often heard, is "The Voice"of Service." Station WOXE: transmits on a_frequency of 6020 kilocycles, or 49.83

metres, The power must be fairly high, judging by the volume it is received here. The main station, WENR, is 50 k.w. UOR2, Vienna. THIS is the call-of another short-wave station which I feel certain is the one heard here each morning from 6 till 6.15 o’clock on 49.4 metres, The transmissioit is all foreign talk, and once the Gall, as given aboye,: was heard. A recent English radio magazine gives the following particulars of this station: Wavelength, 49.10; call, Heir Kwrzwellensender, Ravag, Wien (UOR2), Vienna, Austria, experimental, Gramophone reeords and speech tests. Transmitting 1 am. Wednesday and Fridays; at completion of Vienna evening programme, Thu¥sday and Sunday,’ about 11 a.m. (N.Z, times). KZRM and KIXR. A® Australian writer says that KIXR is not: the short-wave station . of KZRM. According to a letter he recently received, KZRM operates on 485 metres (620 k.c.), and and 48.8 metres. KIXR is an auxiliary of KZRM and has been heard on 24.5, 48.5, 48.9, and 31.66 metres. A Good Mixer. WE understand that it is intended to install an ‘inverter’ at the experimental short-wave station of the International Telegraph and Telephone Corporation at Trappes, near St. Cyr, France, The object of this apparatus, which we believe has been designed by Standard Telephones and Cables Ltd., is to prevent telephone messages being picked up by promiscuous listeners. This result is achieved by inverting the frequencies of the speech sounds so that high notes become correspondingly low and low: ones high until the receiving equipment, reconverts the frequencies to normal, Wireless eavesdroppers, therefore, who may chance to‘pick it up will probably think they are listening to ultra-modern music. VK2ME and GBX. HE announcer at 2ME stafed — one morning this week that they would be on 15 metres, and GBX 16 metres, next week. The exact fraction was: not known, but each would be a little above the wavelengths given above. They hope to be able to carry on their duplex telephony tests throughout the 24 hours with a change of frequency to suit the period of the day. , Probably the most interesting shortwaye reception during the week was the first broadcast service from the Jubilee Church, Fiji, on Sunday morning, October 20. This was by the Amalgamated Wireless (Australasia) Ltd. short-wave station VPD at Suva, working on about 20.5 metres. ' ‘The service was conducted- by the Rev.'R. L. Macdonald, chairman of . the Methodist Mission in Fiji.

Reception, although not as strong as it has been from VPD, was fair speaker strength with some severe fading at times. Saturday, October 19. TATION 7LO, Nairobi, at its best was about R38 with the usual morse and, static trouble; in fact static was bad on all stations heard. WKounigswusterhausen was quite good at R7. PCJ commenced at 6.5 a.m. at RO and continued with slowly decreasing volume till I closed at 7.30 a.m., when they were barely R8. VOR2 was R5 with talk till about 6.15 a.m. when they closed down. A stranger on about 46.3 metres was heard, speaking in a gutteral voice. Several "Hullos" were heard, but could not get a call. Strength was R6. . . , 5SW was R7 at 7 a.m, They were too gushy to be readable. (I notice the shortwave writer of a Christchurch paper reports SSW at the same time as "better than usual with piano solos, modulation~ excellent, and the usual ripple missing."’) This proves that the locality of the reeeiver makes all the difference. VK2ME with records, while waiting for GBX, was R9. PCJ was very poor during the afternoon. KDKA did. not reach good volume till late in ‘the afternoon; they were, R7-8 at their _ best, spoilt by gushing. . 2XAD was R6 at 4 p.m., which was the maximum. 8ZC, Christchurch, was excellent at RS. WO9XF, at 5 p.m., was R8 with a varied programme till 8 p.m., when they closed down. .. Sunday, October 20. TATION VID, Suva, came through at 11 a.m. till 12.35 p.m. with service from Jubilee Church, Fiji. R8& at best with severe fading. On about 21.8 metres at 3 p.m.:a foreigner was heardat RS with what appeared to be duplex telephony. "Allo" was heard several times; also plenty of laughing by the speaker. KDKA was very weak and. gushy. W6XN was not nearly so good as’ usual. 2XAF and 2XAC were both "on the air" with a special programme for the Byrd Expedition. The former station was the better as regards volume and clarity, being R9 at 4.30 p.m. . W9OXF at 5 p.m. was R8, remaining at this till after 7 p.m. when strength decreased. . Monday, October 21. At 6.10 am. VOR2 was R2 with singing. * This is the first time I have heard music from this station. On 41.8 metres (about) speech and music were heard at R2-8. TLO was just audible at 6.15 a.m., increasing to R4 by Tem. W9XE was spoilt by static. Volyme about R7. Tussday, October 22. HE 41.8 metre station at 6.10 a.m., with fcreign talk and orchestral music, was #4. TLO just audible at

a R2, SSW, with Big Ben at 7 a.m., was h4, much ‘weaker’ than usual. Konigs® wusterhausen also was weak-about RA j WG6XN and W9XF were too weak. to bother’ with. VK2MH, R9, and GBX, h4, were on their usual duplex test. A ‘play was being broadcast by KIXR on 31.6 metres at 10. 15 p.m. Strength was R8-9. RAOT, a lady -was talking in Pnglish at 10.25 p.m, strength R8-9.. Static was too bad to understand what it was all about and only odd words were readable. Wednesday, October 23 ON 41.8 metres, talk and musie was received at R4-5. The speech was very like German. , "Allo, Allo," was , heard several times at R4 on about 39 metres. ‘Talk only was heard, the station closing down before 6.80 a.m 7LO was very weak. Static was worse than usual on this African station. 5SW was too weak to bother with. On about 16 metres at 8.15 p.m. records wey received at RG, Several items were heark without any call being given. Strong carriers of both 2ME and GBX were heard, but no speech was heard for some time. ZL2BE at RS was working ZL2AW, who was R9, Both were very . good. . . Thursday, October 24. HE 41.8 foreigner was much better this morning, being R7 with what appeared to be a lecture. 7LO at 6 am. was R4, with rapid fading, as well as the usual static and morse. On about 42 metres a foreign voice could be heard at Ré4. Konigswusterhausen was R8 with tall ‘ when tuned in just after 6 a.m. Big Ben was heard at 6 a.m. from 5SW at . R6. Readabillty was very poor on account of gushiness. W9XF at 7.45 was R7, unsteady with... plenty of static and slow fading. Th programme concluded at 8 p.m. VK2ME ‘ put on some records. while waiting for GBX, calling London at intervals. Volume was good at R9. GBX was only R5 when they ‘recommenced talking, being spoilt by static.