Radio Round the World

Radio Record, Volume III, Issue 40, 17 April 1930, Unnumbered Page

Radio Round the World

RECENTLY, when the Atlantic liner "Majestic" was proceeding up New York harbour, her radio operator was in touch with station GBP, London, by wireless telephone. The London station rebroadcast the conversation, which was picked up in Sydney by Amalgamated Wireless and sent back to London again through A.W.A’s 20 kilowatt short-wave transmitter 2M}, Sydney. Later, Amalgamated Wireless was informed that the conversation as received in London was quite clear, although the signals had been. transmitted three times. and had travelled 28,000 miles. Station 2MH is the one used by Amalgamated Wireless in preparation for the wireless telephony service between Australia and England. * * Ed A NOVEL sound production equipment, which spoke volumes for the initiative and resourcefulness of the oil company responsible for the idea, attracted thousands of people during last Christmas Eve in Los Angeles. The power amplifier installation was used in connection with a "talking" Santa Claus, 35ft. high, provided with un appropriate Arctic background incorporating many well-known subjects from the realms of fairyland. The whole display was a city block long, and faced one of the company’s gasoline stations. Sales of gus during the period of the display were increased from a few hundred gallons a day to many thousands. Inside the gigantic figure were two men, One controlled the movements of the head, while the other operated the eyes and mouth, and moved the right hand of the figure, which appeared to be writing in the book on its knees. The latter operator had a microphone suspended in front of him, and during the display he dispersed seasonal greetings to the. crowd beneath. He was also kept busy answering questions received through a pair of head-phones from an attendant in the crowd. Other attendants, disguised as gnomes, and carrying microphones fer communication With the operators, conversed with kiddies, and kept the crowd amused, Speech could clearly he heard several hundred feet from the figure, und. with the moving of the lips, the illusion was almost perfect. B % a "THOUGH the installation of radio re- " eeivyers in European railway trains seems to be meeting with only indifferent suceess, similar equipment installed in American expresses appears to be giving complete satisfaction, In fact, the radio department of fhe Canadian National Railways are now publishing a monthly journal, "Radio Features,’ for the edification of their passengers, The publication gives a resume of the month's programmes, with biographical details concerning _ the broadcasting artists besides inferesting facts rélating to the operation of the radio service. There are now seventy-two cars permanently wired for radio reception, and in nearly all cars now under construction provision _ is made for the installation of wireless sear. A staff of nearly sixty uniformed operators specialise in the control

and maintenance of the train réceiying equipment. A further innovation is the use of electric gramophones for usé in parts of the ]jné, such as in the Rockies, where radio récéption cannot + * * HE largest vessel in the world, the great Atlantic,liner Majestic, was proceeding up New York harbour while the radio operator was talking to station GBP, London. Thé latter rebroadeast the’ conversation, which was picked up by 2MH, Sydney. Following this, the conversation was }rebroadcast once more from the Ausitalian station, and was subséequen picked up by GBH, London. It was later reported that the speech thus received was still quite clear, despite the triple transmission, and thé 28,000 miles journey from New York to London, thence to Sydney, and finally: back to London again. The transmitter in

7 use at Syduey was one with which experimentul telephony tests have béenr carried out with England as a preliminary to the establishment of, 4 commercial radio télephone sérvice. * * % B ROADCAS'T listening is probably the cheapest entertainment of thé age. The service providéd by the Broadcasting Co. works out at a fraction Jess than a penny a day. Added to this owners of multivalve sets Jee able to obtain entertainment and ui from the Australian stations till wen after midnight every night in the week, * + ca N Australian radio writer says:"Tt must be borne in mind that broadcasting covers dézeng of phases (I have said this seyeral times before. and will say it several times again until it sinks in the minds of all wireléss set owners) ‘that. every taste hag to be reached, Thére is always séinéthing in the dgily programme that.appédls to ° our particular fqucy, and let’s listen to it, but we must not allow indiscriminute listening to spoil the goed work that is being dome by the Broadéagting Company in its constryatien of programmes for listeners. The gentle art of good listering is to restrict the use of our wireless sets to so many hayys a week,"

| THE broadcasting of still pictures in Germany has proved. unpopular, and the system has been abandoned because tt was not paying. In fact, only cighteen people out of the millions in Germany subscribed to the picture service. The installations, which incidentally work excéllantly, will be retained in ordcr to send out weather maps to aeroplanes and pictures of wanted criminals to European police authorities.