Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image

NOISE, AND ITS RELATION TO RADIO BROADCASTING.

AT its last meeting, the Wellington City Council decided that notices should be served upon: gramophone and radio ‘dealers requesting them to refrain from operating their. instruments. in the street door-. ways of their premises. . This is a step to reduce the ‘noise level of the city, but it is likely to causea great deal of controversy, for several dealers claim. that by this means they secure’a large proportion of their business, even as much as 25 per cent. in the:case of one trader. The motive of the Council is in: accordance with the lines of thought now being giver publicity in ‘America and Europe... No: less authority than Thomas A. Edison has predicted that sooner or later: increasingly noisy cities will-end by deafening all of their citizens permanently. Psychological analysis carried out. in ‘several American universities has proved this to be the case. The: results: of these experiments indicate that unless the noise level can be reduced the vitality. of the city population must materially suffer, The agitation for quieter cities has gathered momentum, and in London, New ‘York, Chicago, Berlin, Budapest, and many other of the world’s largest cities, officials or commissions. are seeking to reduce the noise level. One of the first moves of a New York commission was a thorough analysis of the noises in certain areas, and this showed that radio-loudspeakers were responsible for much of the controllable noise. Prior ‘to this thousands of violent letters of protest were received by the New York City newspapers, health officers, and-noise experts against the needless nuisance of the radio loudspeaker playing in the street or audible outside the owner’s home. Responding to this universal complaint American newspapers have been agitating for reasonable regulations to govern the operation. of radio apparatus. We can, in view of the course adopted by the larger cities; understand the action of the City, Council. _ _ Yet there is. another aspect. Does the playing of the modern tadio or radio and gramophone combination constitute-a noise? A short while ago there could be no doubt that the only justification: for the loudspeaker outside the dealer’s shop was the novelty of receiving broadcast: programmes. But the instrument of to-day is of no mean. calibre, and its playing in the doofways of musical: houses is, in most New Zealand cities and towns, welcomed by the public. What is wanted ‘is régulation in the volume of sound, and

this is difficult. Very loud music: clashes with other street soun ¢ and causes noise which is distasteful, with the result that the ra instrument ‘is termed "noisy and undesirable." If the dealer would bear this point in mind, and-not endeavour to out-class in volume his competitor, the steps taken by the Wellington City. Council would not be necessary. Z So ee But. the problem goes beyond the cities. With the increasing power made available by the‘operation of power packs and the greater volume obtainable through ‘the use’ of.the new yalves, there is a temptation for the set-owner to operate his set at maximum volume, and if this is too’ much’ for the room to place the’ speaker outside to "entertain" the neighbourhood. This is all very well up to a point, but one must remember that however ‘firmly he is convinced . that his apparatus is. perfect, others may not think the same, and -his;action may be displeasing. Very few home receivers can han le enough volume without distortion’ to entertain the neighbourhoog The result.is that distorted signals thrust upon. unwilling listeners do a considerable amount of harm both-to the owner and, more important, _to radio. During. daylight hours ‘the trouble is not so serious, but in the stiller hours of the night the sounds travel farther and. create more disturbance. . as . , ‘Even within ‘the home volume should be Tegulated so that to the unaccustomed it is not overbearing. Referring, back to the results of the American universities, we find that the continual Operation: of ‘the radio set at volume above that of comfortable audibility is a devitalising factor that must, in the long run, make itself felt. in the nervous constitution of the race. ©. . . BRNTATUTUGTNAaRTNVEETcaeedEGTauTeeneaeeracYeercrereesiseece¢gcec coved.

This article text was automatically generated and may include errors. View the full page to see article in its original form.I whakaputaina aunoatia ēnei kuputuhi tuhinga, e kitea ai pea ētahi hapa i roto. Tirohia te whārangi katoa kia kitea te āhuatanga taketake o te tuhinga.
Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/periodicals/RADREC19300110.2.11

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

Radio Record, Volume III, Issue 26, 10 January 1930, Page 6

Word count
Tapeke kupu
693

NOISE, AND ITS RELATION TO RADIO BROADCASTING. Radio Record, Volume III, Issue 26, 10 January 1930, Page 6

NOISE, AND ITS RELATION TO RADIO BROADCASTING. Radio Record, Volume III, Issue 26, 10 January 1930, Page 6

Log in or create a Papers Past website account

Use your Papers Past website account to correct newspaper text.

By creating and using this account you agree to our terms of use.

Log in with RealMe®

If you’ve used a RealMe login somewhere else, you can use it here too. If you don’t already have a username and password, just click Log in and you can choose to create one.


Log in again to continue your work

Your session has expired.

Log in again with RealMe®


Alert