Radio Round the World

Radio Record, Volume III, Issue 22, 13 December 1929, Page 5

Radio Round the World

\ps view of the many reports on the state of perfection which radiovision has reached, it is interesting to note an opinion on this subject by the manager of the Radio World’s Fair, held at New York recently. The development of radiovision, he states, has proceeded with increasing rapidity during the past year, and in the near future should be quite suitable for inclusion in broadeast programmes. Several new and advanced radiovision receivers were on view at the fair, and with one it is possible to view the radiovised images at a distance of 60 feet, an achievement hitherto associat-ed-only with motion picture theatres. RECENT report from America states that an aeroplane pilot, Ygnile totally enclosed in a light-proof kpit, succeeded in taking off and *janding after a 200 mile flight along the coast, with no other aid than that derived from the lighted instruments on the dash-board. Various instruments showed the pilot his relation to the ground, and reception of signals from a radio beacon enabled him to keep on his course. The successful accomplishment of this "blind" flight will prove of great importance to aviation in general, and in particular to commercial airways where it is necessary to maintain a set schedule in practically all kinds of freathar. HOUGH the construction of ‘"Broad- _ casting House," the new home of the B.B.C., has already been commenced, it is predicted that the building /will not be ready for occupation until \June, 1931. A unique feature of "Broadcasting House" will be the absence of a central well -which all normal buildings of its size require for lighting and _ ventilation. The centre will be taken up by a_ tower with sound-proof walls of solid brick three feet thick, and this will house the main studios and a theatre capable of accommodating 1000 people. The artificially ventilated studios will be two stories in height, and will be acoustically insulated from one another by single floors accommodating offices.

HE rotating wireless beacon recently built by the Air Ministry on the coast of Suffolk, England, has proved so successful in enabling shipping to find accurate bearings out of sight of land, that numerous similar sitions will be built around the Englig), coasts. Outwardly the beacon resémbles a windmill without sails, but inwardly it consists of a hollow tower sheltering a large frame aerial which makes the complete revolution every . minute and is electrically controlled to maintain absolute accuracy of time in rotation and automatically to send out cettain signals at known points of the compass. It is, in effect, an aerial "lighthouse," from which a wireless instead ofa light beam is sent out in such a way that during each revolution of the beacon the signals received by the observer rise and fall‘in intensity, passing through a maximum and minimum twice in each minute. The positions , of minimum intensity are very sharp, and can .be very accurately observed, so that they are used for navigation purposes, and all the mariner, or the aircraft pilot, needs is a wireless receiving set and a stop-watch. MPHE latest annual report of the Brit- ish National Institute for the Blind states that since the invention of Braille no special apparatus has more influ-

enced the destinies of the blind that the wireless set. Although the Institute spent £819 during the current year on radio equipment, it has received hundreds of requests for sets which cannot be supplied. . Radio broadcasting, from the very nature of its distribution and reception from an invisible source, is probably the one source of entertainment whith’ may be enjoyed without handicap by persons afflicted with blindness, and as such is greatly appreciated by them FXTENSIVE developments in the use of radio by Scotland Yard and the County Police Force throughout England have been planned to take effect shortly. The wireless transmitter at present in use at Scotland Yard has a range of between 50 and 100 miles, but the new equipment to be installed will make possible inter-communication between London and every provincial headquarters in England. It is also intended to instal "Fultograph" equipment for the wireless transmission of photographs and fingerprints. AN interesting wireless telepathy test was recently organised in America through a number of the National Broadcasting Company’s stations by Mr. Joseph Dunninger, a professional mind-reader and pupil of the famous Houdini. Of the 2000 listeners who sent replies, more than 55 per cent. received an accurate impression of at least one of the three objects on which the broadeastine "mind"

was concentrating. Only 2.5 per cent. received three accurate impressions. A sealed envelope containing memoranda of the objects transmitted-a United States President’s name, a number of three digits, and a simple dia-gram-was not opened by the test committee till a week after the tests, when the classification of the letters was completed. Mr. Duuinger considers that the experiment has established the desirability of further telepathy. tests. ° [THE B.B.C. for the first time provided the technical facilities for a foreign broadcast on the recent occasion of the England versus Germany athletic meeting at Stamford Park. Dr. Laven, the sporting commentator who broadcast a description of the meeting for the benefit of German listeners, was enthusiastic in his praise of the excellence of the technical arrangements made. On behalf of the German Broadcasting Company Dr. Laven is shortly to undertake a novel series of broadcasts in various parts of Europe. He will visit leading cities, have microphones fixed at prominent centres, and interview at each microphone someone who can talk about a typical aspect of the city’s life. The scheme is intended to give German listeners an interesting insight into the life and’ customs of foreign nations.

"Tt is, it is a glorious thing to be a pirate king!" or so the song runs. And that is what some Italian gentiemen of doubtful honesty must be singing, for Italy claims to possess 1,000,000 radio pirates. Yet broadcasting continues there. The mentality of-a radio pirate must be fatuous. In a country having a million pirates, the standard of programmes cannot be anything like so good as if all were to contribute. The pirate defeats his own object. : APART from its ordinary virtues, such as helping to save lives and cargo and assisting generally in navigation, radio has recently proved that it can react favourably upon the economics of sea transport. For the Institute of London Underwriters has now agreed to suspend the additional premiums charged on the insurance of vessels calling at St. John, New Brunswick, if those vessels are equipped with radio direction-finding apparatus. A FRENCH wireless paper, having given credit to Dr. K. Kohl of the University of Erlanger for being the first to succeed in experiments with wavelengths of 14 centimetres, has received a letter from Professor ©. Gutton, of Nancy University, stating that Monsieur EK. Pierret had already demonstrated in May last, during the Exhibition of the Societe de Physique, at Paris, that he could transmit on wavelengths varying from 10 to 18 centimetres and had also published

several papers on the subject. . Further experiments in transmission on wavelengths as short as 7.12 and 19 centimetres have recently been conducted by Professor Protoff, of the Soviet State Laboratory at Nijni-Novgorod. . According to the Russian radio journals, Prof. Protoff’s signals have been heard clearly at distances of several thousand miles with a transmission power of only 20 watts. [z is reported from Copenhagen that two Danish architects have designed the ideal house (says "Popular Wireless" ). The doormat vacuum cleans your boots, the motor-car-enter-ing the garage opens the door by itself, and aerials on the roof pick up electrical energy for light, heat and odd jobs, Sounds rather like a laboursaving scheme run a bit wild. However, it is a pity they could not provide a night-silencer for the baby, and wireless forks: to combat the smell of fish. : HH following passage, extracted from "Radio Broadcast," supplies convincing evidence on the question of the inferiority of the American system of broadcasting :-"A brief review of the British Broadcasting Corporation’s latest edition of "Talks and Lectures’ is sufficient to convince any American listener that we are overlooking many of the richest possibilities of radio broadcasting. While no educational lecture is greeted with enthusiasm by a majority of the audience, those whom it does serve are served significantly, and the benefit accruing to them is of far greater permanent value than could possibly -be derived from the type of programme which is the stand-by of American listeners."