notes and Comments

Radio Record, Volume III, Issue 18, 15 November 1929, Page 13

notes and Comments

By

SWITCH

MPuE news service of the new Australian Broadcasting Company’s Sydney station is at present being strongly criticised. An up-country Aus‘tralian listener who signs his letter "Disappointed" writes to the Sydney "Wireless Weekly" : "T have been listening in for six years, and would like to say the present programme is the worst I have heard, Pxcept a few items now. and then, which you are compelled to listen to, or go to bed. I fully agree with Mr. Len Brown, and think the same, that if we " want news we will have to go to New Zealand for it. The only reason I can see why the A.B.C. don’t give us poor country listeners, who see a paper once a week, any news is that they will not spend one penny on a daily paper. I will promise the A.B.C, the following offer: That if they promise to give us every bit of news and more church services, and cut out that rubbishy jazz, I will pay for their penny paper every day in the year. If I don’t get more news I won’t get another license." "WITCH" ventures to state that the news service of the New Zed#land broadcasting stations has always been incomparably superior. to those of the Australian stations. Visitors from upcountry frequently inform "Switch" that the news service of 2YA, Wellington, is most enthusiastically appreciated by all members and their families. Many of ‘the visitors who call on "Switch" state that they reside in somewhat isolated areas, and .if it were not for 2YA they would be two or even three days behind in the news of the world. The N.Z. Broadcasting Company are scoring heavily with their news services. N orchestral concert of surpassing excellence was that supplied by Mr. L. J. de Mauny’s superb combination, heard from 2YA, Wellington, last week. The performance was the finest put on the air in New Zealand since the. inception of broadcasting. ANOTHER ‘suggestion has been sent along that the Government should be approached with a view to getting the, High Commissioner to arrange a short-wave broadcast from England of the Wellington carillon when it is played in Hyde Park, London, shortly. The suggestion includes a rebroadcast of the carillon by 2YA, Wellington, and '- if possible other New Zealand stations. The proposer of this plan says: "We ,.,lave had some very creditable rebroad"casts of short-wave transmissions from Dngland, and the results obtained would certainly justify another attempt." NUMEROUS amateur wireless experi- ~ menters in England have informed the Australian Press Association agency in London that they have been able to listen to the experimental AngloAustralian wireless telephony. Gener. ally it is best between 6 and 7 a.m., when the strength is far greater than any broadcasts from Australia. Some three-valve sets apparently have had better results than the British « Post Office, because they could hear Australia expressing surprise at not coming through well. Though the English amateurs hear Sydney perfectly, they eannot hear a syllable outwards from Rugby. Just another case of the "skipdistance" of short-wave transmission. OMDB time back a few of the Blue Taxicabs plying in Wellington were equipped with broadcast receiving set

and loudspeakers., Reception was effected with loop aerials affixed horizontally to the hoods of the tavis. The scheme was so successful that clients after riding to their destinations in the taxis generally desired the driver to remain there while they listened-in. As no extra pay was forthcoming for the detention ofthe taxis, these delays became inconvenient and expensive to the taxi owners, The manager of the Blue Oabs explained to "Switch" the: other days: "As an entertainment for our passengers, broadcast reception was too_ successful. They wouldn’t let the taxis: go after reaching their destinations, and it offended them if our taxis drove off while a good item was coming through from 2YA. Therefore we had to remove ‘the receiving sets.’ yy London a new scheme is being tried out with radio and taxicabs. Dxperiments are being made in fitting taxicabs with wireless receiving sets, not for the entertainment of passengers, but to enable a whole fleet of eabs to be controlled from a central point. Patrolling cabs can be directed to proceed to certain addresses or can be marshalled at points where an emergency service is demanded. A BE. MARTIN (Temuka) describes * "9 most horrible deep frying noise coming over the air," about which he’ is much perturbed. There is no doubt that it is coming from outside, as when the aerial is disconnected the noise is not heard. Myr. Martin desires to know what the noise is. This is merely an electrical agitation of the ether originating possibly from a leakage over the dirt-encrusted insulator, an X-ray plant, a violet-ray outfit, a household vacuum cleaner, or any electrical equipment in the vicinity. Mr. Martin has been ailvised by the radio inspector, Christchurch, that the matter would receive immediate attention, but he has heard nothing further. Another letter from Mr. Martin would meet the case. The reduction in volume of 2YA, mentioned by Mr. Martin, may be due to a defective valve or it may be the increasing handicap of daylight effect incidental to the longer days. LISTENERS have not infrequently observed that when guests are present, static, weak reception, a rundown battery or some such untoward circumstance ‘causes disappointment. A Wellington listener was entertaining some ‘friends recently, but when he reached for "outside" stations there was a dismaying silence. _ After fruitless attempts to bring in the long-dis-tance stations with which to astonish the visitors he had to confess himself. hopelessly defeated. The trouble was sattributed to freak atmospheric’ condi-

tions. In the morning, however, he discovered. that his aerial wire had snapped during the darkness and was lying on the ground! NEw ZHALAND listeners who regularly tune in the Australian stations will be concerned about the proposed change in the whole broadcasting system in Australia. This has been suggested as a possibility under the new Commonwealth Labour Government. ‘The "Sydney Morning Herald" mentions. the possibility of the Government reviewing the financial conditions of the contract with the Australian Broadcasting Co., Ltd., for the supply of programmes. It says: "Until the Federal Labour caucus discusses the problem it is doubtful what line of action will be taken by the Government." jy Sydney they have four "B" class stations "thrashing the ether simultaneously while the "A" class stations are on the air. The "Sydney ee

Morning Herald" says: "It would bé almost impossible to purchase a crystal set in any of the regular radio shops of Sydney. Some may still be had in the suburbs, but these are mainly sets that have been taken in exchange when valve receivers were installed. The period of stagtiation in licenses in the Sydney metropolitan area was generally attributed to the passing of the crystal set. Such sets were found, in the main, not to be sufficiently selective to tune out interfering stations. Many ownerg dismantled their aerials and declined to renew their licenses for this reason. Others discarded the erystal set in favour of the selective valve receiver." SoM amateur builders have found that the screen-grid valvé greatly broadens the tuning of their set. This is, however, largely due to the construction of the set. An authority on screen-grid valves says: "The inereased magnification of the screen‘grid valve causes an apparent drop in selectivity, unless care is taken . to make all circuits as efficient as possible. The aerial should be loose coupled by tapping down the coil or inserting a small series condenser. Take particular care to have a good earth, as this may otherwise cause very flat tuning of the first circuit. Finally, in any difficulty with a local station the effect of dropping the plate voltage to 20 may be tried."