Notes and Comments By SWITCH

Radio Record, Volume III, Issue 28, 24 January 1930, Page 13

Notes and Comments By SWITCH

B

SWITCH

"OUD clicking heard by listeners when listening to "outside" stations during windy nights will generally be, ‘found to originate from flickering street lights. A Wellington electrician recently examined the cause of this street-light flickering, and he found that it is not always due to the street globes being loose in their sockets. He says that breaks in the few feet of wire which connect the globe sockets to the street mains are a frequent cause of the flickering of the lights. ‘These down-leads shake in strong winds and hidden breaks in the Wire "make and break" the circuit, HE latest American "mail brings ews that Frances Alda, the worki-famed prima donna, formerly of New Zealand, sang in the grand opera "La Tosca," broadcast throughout the United States by the National Broadcasting Corporation network. -Gennaro Papi, the distinguished operatic conductor, wielded the baton on the occasion of this studio production of "La Tosca." It is'rather a pity that the atmospheric conditions preclude reception in New Zealand of KGO, Oakland, California, which some -four years ago was heard by hundreds of New Zealanders. KGO relayed "Qa, Tosca" on the occasion mentioned. F atmospheric conditions dre fay- ourable on Sunday night, January 26, New Zealand listeners with efficient Sets will have an opportunity of hearing Miss Gladys Moncrieff, the noted Australian musical comedy: "star," .ttom 29°C, Sydney. ) MADAME IRENE ‘AINSLEY, the New Zealand contralto vocalist, will sing at the Sydney Town Hall on Thursday, January 28, at a concert which is to be broadcast by 2FC, Sydney. Her items will be the following excerpts from "Samson and Delilah": "Oh,- Love from Thy Power" and "Softly Awakes My Heart." Madame Irene Ainsley is a pupil of Madame Marchesi, who wished to adopt her as a daughter, and also of Dame Nellie Melba, who accompanied her at her first concert at the Wigmore Hall, London. She knew Caruso personally and has sung on concert tours with many world-famous celebrities. Among them. were Mischa HWiman, Puccini, John McCormick, Backhaus, and others. She has sung in all the greatest cities of the British Isles with the Casstelina Opgra Company, the Carl Rosa Opera Ca@@Mpany, and the Joseph O’Mara Company. ‘She‘has also sung before Royalty over a dozen times. For a quar- ~ ter of a century she has been one of the most notable figures in British operatic circles and still retains her wonderful voice in all its richness. She is on a holiday in Sydney. , RECENTLY, from’ David Sarnoff, executive vice-president of the Radio Corporation of America, the U.S.A. Government Radio Commission heard a detailed explanation of the ramifications of the company, its crosslicensing agreement with radio receiving set manufacturers, and a candid admission that the company does hold ‘a substantial monopoly of radio patents. And the committee rather liked it, for the operations of the company, which long have been complained of as a stifling monopoly, were explained in such a manner*that even Senator Dill, Democrat, of Washington, whe has led

the fight against what he calls the "Radio Trust," admitted that it wasn’t so bad after all. Both General Harbord and Sarnoff denounced "irresponsible. criticism of the R.C.A." / "THE deep-sea yacht race from Melbourne across Bass Strait to .Launceston, which was won by the Oimara, was notable, as it was the first occasion on which wireles stransmission was effected from one of. the competing yachts. A young Melbourne amateur transmitter accompanied the yacht and operated on a. wavelength of 85.2 metres with crystal control and a 10-watt transmitting valve. He used a generator to deliver 50 watts output at 500 volts. The yacht ‘encountered -a terrific gale in Bass Strait, and heavy seas swamping the cabin, ‘the transmitting plant (which -had kept the Press informed of the progress of the yacht) was put out of action. Now, what about our Wellington amateurs selecting a representative to emulate the Melbourne amafeur’s example on the occasion of our annual deep-sea yacht race across Cook Strait? "THE Australian stations have continued of late to be mere shadows of their former selves. Whatever it is, the cause of this weak: trans-Tas-man reception has been a protracted source of complaint among New Zealand listeners. The weather, too, has been abnormal, and the sunspots, if responsible for the trouble, have had a world-wide influence on meteorologieal conditiofis. The liner Tainui, ‘which arrived at Wellington lately from London, experienced extraordinary weather all through the Tropics. People who care to sit up till after midnight may receive two or three statidéns across the Tasman, but they are scarcely worth the trouble. "WHISKER" (Te Aro) says that his crystal set is not giving as loud reception of 2YA as it did about 12 months ago; in fact, it has been steadily decreasitg in volume during the past three months. ‘‘Whisker"’ does not state the type or nature of his crystal, but the trouble méy be rectified by scraping the surface of the crystal with a clean knife to)bare a new surface. The crystal must not ‘be touched with the bare fingers; a pair of clean_pliers or pincers should. be used instead. The tip of the ecatwhisker should be snipped off with 1 pair of scissors and the wire tip brightened with a rub of fine glass paper.

SOME time ago a listener wrote "Switch" urging the merits of the records of Martinelli, the great Italian tenor of the New York Metropolitan Opera Company. The following brief biography of the famous singer has been sent to "Switch":-"One of the world’s great singers, Martinelli, served an apprenticeship as a cabinetmaker in his father’s business until he en‘tered the compulsory military service in his native Italy. He expected to remain a cabinetmaker until his captain heard him singing in the barracks one day, and advised thé youth to study music in Milan, At the eaptain’s suggestion, 2 Milanese family contracted with the boy to give him a musical education on the chance that he could some day pay them back, The family’s gamble turned out to be a decidedly worth-while investment." . HE recent broadcasting by 2YA, Wellington, of the ringside description of the performance of Wirth’s Circus has aroused a miniature storm of controversy. The general opinion is that the thing was rather overdone, and that only two or three of the best acts should have been described. "Switch" happened upon a group of local radio enthusiasts who were discussing the subject only a few days

a, ago. They agreed that it is impossible to please everyone, but they thought that it would be ‘difficult to find anyone in favour of a whole night’s relay from the circus. RECENTLY 2 local radio enthusiast voiced a protest against the ‘inelusion of dance records, with a vocal refrain, from 2YA. He considered that these vocal refrains were "trashy." "Switch" subsequently took the trouble to visit various gramophone dealers to ascertain the publie tastes on this very subject, and in every case was informed that buyers of dance records consistently ask for those with vocal refrains, and that a dance record which has no. vocalisation must be particularly good before the public will touch it. , HOW different are things connected with radio set selling to what they were some five or six years ago! A Wellington dealer was commenting upon the boon the a.c. set is proving to the "trade" from a "servicing" point of view. "In the old days," he said, "we had to teach purchasers how jo tune their sets. Some picked up the idea in half an hour, but many had to have two or three hours’ tuition. Then they had to be taught how to connect up their batteries, and the mysteries of ‘plus’ and ‘minus’ had to be explained. Then the method of recharging batteries, information concerning care of same had to be imparted.. Now we _ install ' a set, and in a quarter of an hour, at the most, a purchaser of even the meanest intellect learns all that is necessary." "(FRAM0" (Johnsonville) has asked "Switch" to publish his suggestion that the "talkie" manufacturing plant which recently landed in Wellington from Sydney might be used to advantage in obtaining some records of the now scarce tuis and bellbirds which are found in no other country. These records, he urges, would be well worth broadcasting.