Notes and Comments

Radio Record, Volume III, Issue 25, 3 January 1930, Page 13

Notes and Comments

B

SWITCH

Nor infrequently "Switch" receives inquiries from listeners to iden- . d, but they offer very little inormation. Here is a case in point: ‘"Could you kindly tell me which station it was I heard on Saturday night about 11.80 o’clock broadcasting the waltz, ‘Over the the Waves?" The inquirer includes no suggestion of wavelength nor of the station call. It is absolutely impossible to listen | to all the: Australian stations. simultaneously, and no doubt the station heard’ was across the Tasman. Probably it was one the "B" class Melbourne or Sydney stations. ON Christmas morning Wellington m listeners who operated multivalye sets. were able to receive 8YA; Ch@istchurch,' as loudly as one would . AFive, and there was scarcely a suspition of static. In one household the family thought it was 2YA, Wellington, ‘coming in. ‘"Unele David" broadcast stations they have © at 8YA caused some amusement by | quoting as an example the lack of understanding of the true spirit and sanctity of Christmas Day on the part of some youngster, when he related that his neighbouring juveniles celebrated the occasion by an early morning letting off.of fireworks! "WITCH" happened to be awake on a recent morning between 2 and 3 o'clock when Wellington was visited by a thunderstorm, during which lightning struck the aerial of 2¥A, Wellington, and burnt out the aerial tuning equipment, besides shattering some insulators. The flash of lightning which struck the aerial of 2YA. was seen to light up the landscape "almost as brilliantly as if it were * daylight, and the following crash- of thunder seemed like the firing of a ‘16-inch gun. "Switch" congratulates the operating staff of 2YA on being off duty when the lightning struck the ‘aerial, otherwise they would shave experienced an unpleasant shock. LISTENER who resides fairly close to the transmitting station ' of 2YA, Wellington, which is on a hill about 550 feet above sea-level, was awakened by the startling crash of thunder when the 2YA aerial was struck by lightning. He was quite convinced that it was his own aerial which had been stituck. He was much gvelieved on finding his aerial intact. It was reassuring’ to him when it was explained that the 2YA aerial owing to its proximity and tremendous

aight was a protector of his -own aefial. . IN last week’s "Notes" mention was made by "Switch" that several listeners in and around Wellington regularly receive 2YA, Wellington, on the loudspeaker per medium of a erystal set. One of the best examples of this which has come under the notice of "Switch" is provided by Captain V. G. Webb, assistant marine ‘guperintendent of the Union Company, who at his residence in Watt , Street, Wadestown, at a distance of about 2} miles from 2YA regularly receives that station on his: loudspeaker, using only a crystal set without any amplification. 2YA can be heard in any y room in his house. (CAPTAIN KERR, of the oil-tanker Invergordon, which was at Wellington a few days ago, reported that they were entertained by 2YA on the loudspeaker with great volume some

400 miles out at sea to the eastward of New Zealand. His wife and little daughter and the chief engineer’s wife were on board, and they enjoyed the musie from Wellington’s: big station after a lonely trip down from southern California, While the vessel was at Wellington they lost no opportunities of listening in to 2YA, especiajiy during the Christmas Day sessions. ME. J. GILLON, a listener, residing : in Tinakori Road, Wellington, in a badly screened locality, reports that on Christmas Day, after 2YA had concluded the morning session, using his fourvalve portable set attached to his outdoor aerial, he received 4YA, Dunedin, quite distinctly on his loudspeaker. This is a fine performance for daylight reception with a portable set. RECEPTION ‘of the Australian stations has still been a source of worry to many listeners-lately. The sunspots which have been unusually numerous appear to have some influence on long-distance reception. A peculiarity, observed in connection with the Australian stations is their protracted cycles of fading. In some instances the cycles have extended over ten minutes. This would account for the various experiences of listeners. One would tune in a station when it was in the throes of a fade, and after waiting a couple of minutes would give it up in disgust. Another would tune in the station when it would be at its approaching maximum, and hold it for five or six minutes. HILE community singing appears to have died a natural ‘death in New Zealand, it is still very much alive

in Melbourne, Ballarat, and Geelong. Every Thursday over 3000 people as-' semble in the Melbourne Town Hall for’ community singing, which is conducted by Mr. Frank Hatherley. The community singing is regularly broadcast by 83LO and 3AR, Melbourne. "THE suggestion published in last week’s "Record" that the "silent night" may be dispensed with during the ensuing. year is sure to have many advocates. The great mass of listenerse who regularly tune in 2YA, Wellington, no doubt miss that station very considerably on the Wednesdays. Static and weak reception hawe given the Australian stations a» great. set-back in popularity among New Zealand listeners during the past two or three months, and they are now relying more than ever for their entertainment on the "YA" stations, ' j "E™." (Ngaio) writes :-"Would you please find space.for me to express my pleasure with the pro-

longed service rendered during the holiday season: by 2YA, Wellington, which station is first favourite in our home, Several listeners, I am sure, would like to hear the nightingale record put on when it is convenient to the director. Many of us who are from the Homeland would greatly appreciate the said record, especially during this season when our thoughts turn to the dear Motherland." HE gramophone record items by the Wellington carillon seems to have been rather disappointing. The item was reproduced at the Wellington Speedway on a recent Saturday evening, by means of a public address system. The failure to .create a pleasing effect seems tq, be due to the playing of unsuitable melodies, the main fault being that the tunes are too quick, with the result that a clanging discord is caused by the notes running into one another. Slower melodies would probably remove this trouble. EWS by cable states that Miss Gladys Watkins, of Wellington, who has been studying for a year at the famous carillon school at Malines, Belgium, will be carilloneur when the memorial is erected in Wellington. Miss Watkins is sister of Mr. L. F. Watkins, the talented organist of St. Mark’s Church, Wellington. At one time it was considered probable that some difficulty would be experienced in obtaining the services of a carilloneur for Wellington’s War Memorial, as competent players were scarce. The news of Miss Watkins’s possible appointment. after a further twelve months’ study —

in Belgium, will be received with satisfaction by listeners far and wide, for it is certain that the Wellington carillon will be broadeast by 2¥YA. when it is installed in Wellington, [THE condenser, which is now such a familiar article to radio folk, dates back nearly two hundred years. Gralath, an electrical experimenter in those days, maintained that the discharge of the early condensers, or Leyden jars, caused nose bleeding with some persons, The Abbe Nollet, in France, used to kill birds with the discharge from -condensers to entertain’ the ladies of the court. To amuse the French King, Nollet sent a discharge through 180 soldiers, and later through a 900 feet line of Carthusian monks. And yet "Switch" has seen a Wellington radio amateur get the surprise: of his life when he received a sharp shock from a condenser, MENTION was made by Mr. N. Keith when lecturing before the. Wellington Radio Society at the last meeting, of the possibilities of magnetising a long roll of wire with replicas of . sound waves so that they could be reproduced from the wire by.a special machine just as-gramophone records are made to reproduce sounds from needle indentations. Mr, Keith stated that the idea was practicable and was being further developed. Strangely enough. Mr. Charles Forest, formerly of Wellington, and now in Sydney, used the same apparatus about seven years ago for broadcasting purposes in Wellington. The apparatus was imported and loaned him. The idea seems to have lain dormant for some years. [2 .New York "Radio World" says: "What is believed to be a new longdistance broadcast record was recently established by KDKA when its broadeast on its regular broadcast wave of the atrival of the Graf Zeppelin at Lakehurst was picked up by Lioyd Grenlie, operator aboard Commander Byrd’s ship, the Hleanor Bolling, stationed at Dunedin, New Zealand: The approximate distance covered was 9000 miles. "Switch" is inclined to believe that Mr. Ward, of Taranaki, and some other DX listeners may dispute the above claim for a world’s record.