Our Mail Bag

Radio Record, Volume III, Issue 41, 24 April 1930, Page 9

Our Mail Bag

"Over the Coals." RE your answer to "Constant Listener’s" letter in the last "Radio . Record," you say that distortion is caused by the air and earth waves méeting. You also say that this happens only at a distance of about 100 miles from the transmitter. Am I to infer, then, that no distortion will occur at a greater distance than 100 miles? In our location here, out in the country, we have two sets in the house-one a super-set, 9 valves, and another all-wave set with a good pushpull ‘audio. Both sets have picked up 2BL, Sydney, on the loudspeaker with good volume at 7 o’clock in the evening and they are quite clear. Also, Auckland, 1YA and 1ZB, staticy but also clear, the same applies to 3YA. ‘Then we tune in to 2YA, and every few minutes the set has to be re- + tuned. Now, Mr. Editor, I think I know what you will say: "Look to your batteries or get a new set of valves, or your set is apparently overloading." Very well; if you do say that you are wrong. Firstly, because if the batteries are run down, why are the other stations good? Secondly, both sets have new valves in them, only a few weeks old. Thirdly, we can open both sets right out on 2ZH, Napier, which station is only about 10 miles away, as the crow flies, and there is not the slightest sign of distortion; but as soon as we go back to Wellington we get.mustiness and your carrier seems to be eternally on the move. Why don’t you follow "Why Not’s" (Wanganui) suggestion of advancing the Dinner "Dirge" to 7-8 instead of from 6-7? And please don’t jam down the brake so hard on the records, you might wear it out and then that would be more expense. When are you going to publish a_ balance-sheet?-

Fault-Finder

(Havelock North).

{Our correspondent criticises us for a statement which‘is not ours, and in doing this wrongly identifies us with the Broadcasting Company. The statement was that of the company’s official, for which we cannot accept responsibility. Further, we cannot see why we-a privately owned newspap-er-should publish a balance-sheet just to please a correspondent.-Ed.] An International Angle. PERMIT me to make a programme suggestion. Have national nights, devoted to the music of one particular nation, Italian, German, French, Russian, Norwegian, each in turn, occupying at least an hour. Representative recordings could easily be assembled, assisted by vocal and instrumental performers. These should be both inkeresting and enlightening. Perhaps, too, the "talk" for the evening could also be directed toward the same ob-ject.-International (Napier). Tut, Tut, Mr. Drummond. At last night’s news information session a news item concerning a certain Lord de Waar was put across. Now, sir, this place is choc-a-bloe with Scotsmen and quite a storm of indignation and disapproval was manifest at Mr. Drummond’s slip. For his information the name is pronounced as

it is spelt-Dewar.-

Scottie

(Glen

Massey).

Talking Picture Broadcasts. I MUST thank the several correspondents from Okato who have contibuted their views in reply to those given by me on the subject of talking film broadeasts. Having made my pro-

test against what I consider to be the undesirabale principle of allowing American talking picture interests to have their products broadcast as an advertisement-for that, surely, is what it amounts to-I had intended leaving the matter at that, more especially as a Petone correspondent (‘Just’) dealt very adequately on my behalf with the weak case put up by "Attaboy," Okato This week, however, "Plenty More," Okato, has attacked my letter. Both "Attaboy" and "Plenty More" ‘put forward a plea for the country listener, who has not the same opportunity as the city dweller to attend the sound films, They both (or is it he?) condemn my attitude to the American

films, and advise men to do this, that, and the other thing. Bad as the films are, and deleterious as the effect must be on the rising generation of hearing the banal American accent so often, my complaint was not so much against the sound film as against the Broadeasting Company granting the Ameri can film interests so much facility for advertising their wares, particularly as the absence of televising apparatus makes it impossible to follow the thread of the story. It cannot be gainsaid that the country listeners are entitled to as much entertainment as can be provid‘ed for them, but that is no reason why powerful financial film interests should be allowed to advertise over the air. Their sickly sentimentalism as shown by the spate of "theme songs" and other rubbish which has been rolling out of America in the last year or two, is, or should be, repugnant to people of good taste. Why listen to "theme songs" (whatever they are) when we have the works of Mendelssohn, Schubert, Liszt, Beethoven, Gounod, Mozart, Rossini, Handel, Haydn, Schumann, Moussgoursky, Auber, Dvorak, Higar,

Rachmaninoff, and countless others to give us pleasure and profit? If only the Broadcasting Company could see its way to broadcast more of the splendid programmes such as we enjoyed last Monday night, when the choir of St. Mary of the Angels’ Church was on the air, the better it would be. For one thing, such sacred music, if broadcast more frequently would go far toward counteracting the pernicious effects of American films and "theme song" abominations, which should be placed upon some sort of Index Expurgatories without further delay. Some day they will be. No, "Attaboy," I would. not’ abolish jazz, but I would murder the saxophone‘ and all who flaunt it, and I think it a great pity that we do not get back to the tunes that made granddad happy. I was not alive in those times, not being a grand-dad, but the melodies that havesurvived will be living still when jazz "theme songs" and their perverted inventors are dead and forgotten. In the meanwhile, so long as these banalities are broadcast I shall follow. "Plenty More’s" advice, and turn the switch to the "off" posi-

tion.

K.

Swiney

Northland.

A Theory for Mushiness of 2YA. do not agree with your correspondents when they state that the fault is with the station. .The "Mushiness" referred to is caused through the mishandling of a certain set, the make of which I have not yet been

able to ascertain. There is one of these nuisances not yery far from here and one may be listening to music which is as "clear as a bell," then we hear this set come in very faintly. That is the end of it, the reception at once becomes mushy, and if I try any other station they come in clear. As far as the 2YA engineers theory re back-lash from the "heaviside layer," I wish to state that I have worked a 4-valve B.D. 1930 model both north and south of Wellington, and at various distances, and always found 2YA’s reception very clear. Now I think if the R.B.C. would send someone to test out some of this so-called distortion 0. mushiness, they would certainly find that the cause was as_ stated. Through these particular sets that have such devastating effect on which ever station they are tuned in on. They do not squeal nor do they howl, they are very hard to detect coming in, but when they do you soon know that they are there. Another very disagreeable habit these sets have is that their owners have the best concerts to themselves unless they are on some other

station.-

Pioneer

Waipawa.