A RECEPTION THAT WAS DIFFERENT

Radio Record, Volume III, Issue 44, 16 May 1930, Page 5

A RECEPTION THAT WAS DIFFERENT

Welcome’ to Lord and Lady Bledisloe Heard in America ee ee SOME INTERESTING CORRESPONDENCE

ae HEN his Excellency, the Governor- ‘ General, spoke in Wellington Town Hall on‘the occasion of the reception accorded to him, he was heard far afield in North America. Listeners in the Central States and in the .States on the Pacific Coast, heard him. North Dakota received 2YA’s transmission on that occasion particularly well. Colorado received Lord Bledisloe’s -name as. "Lord Blevenstock," but that is compensated for by a Britisher on the Canadian side of the border who, not acquainted with the fame of Rear-Admiral Byrd, referred to him as "some visiting Admiral." The Canadian had not caught the name when it, ’ ‘Was announced by 2YA, On the question of announcing, an American who heard 2YA.says, "The announcer was talking decided Wng- '. lish," a very enigmatical remark which »may be explained by the imperfect Eng"lish of the letter and a foreign-sound-ing name in the signature. In another case, this time in British Columbia, when a. listener first tuned in to an overseas station (which happened to be 2YA) the announcer was speaking a foreign language, but it is to be presumed that it was the reception which quickly improved, and enabled 2YA to be identified. The furthest inland province -in Canada te report having heard ‘the Governor-General, is Saskatchewan. CORRESPONDENT at South Passadena, California, writes :- "On March 20 between 1 and 2 a.m, my wife’ and I had one of those thrills, which sometimes reward the ardent distance radio ‘fan.’ We were fortunate enough to tune into your station, and " heard every word of the speech deao f livered by his Excellency, your new Governor-General, His Lordship’s title is the only thing we did not get. His Excellency’s voice and enunciation are perfect for radio speaking, and his speech was charming in every respect. Our radio receiver is an ordinary commercial set, and we presume it is no great feat to tune-in on your station, but the clarity with which the speech came through, we could not regard as anything but remarkable. "We heard, clearly, also the frequent applause, the ‘National Anthem,’ and the station announcement following. You must-have a highly efficient broad‘easting equipment. I have had a great desire to visit your beautiful countrys since reading the description given by Zane Grey, in his book about his won- , derful fishing in your waters. I expect to gratify the desire at some time." Though the majority of the letters geome from the United States, and es- "| pecially from the Pacific Coast, there is great pleasure in a Canadian household when a New Zealand ‘station is picked up. One can picture the domestie scene as disclosed by this extract from a letter :- "My wife woke up at 2 a.m. and asked me what station it was. When I told her she said: I thought it was no American station. It must be English." She lay awake till you went off the air. Enjoyed your broadcast, as also did my little girl. We get so much jazz from the stations here that one gets fed up of it. It is a treat to ‘hear a good old brass band again. thought for a while I was back in the Old Land. I will be listening for you again every week-end." A CORRESPONDENT in New Jersey reports having heard 2YA.

He adds: "I am using an eight-tube battery set with a 200-foot aerial made ‘of No. 4 copper wire covered and buried underground in my rear yard. I have caught a 5-watt station in British Columbia." PART from radio matters, some correspondents discuss other subjects. Here is an extract from an Illinois letter: "IT hope you like him (Byra). He seems to be the type of man who prefers to accomplish things rather than talk about them, a trait admired by all English-speaking people. Byery man that I have talked with that came in contact with you fellows from the Antipodes says, to use his own expression, ‘that you are real guys, and if there is any more fighting to be done I hope it will be alongside you.’. "Contrary to the so-called. funny papers we are neither all rich nor all braggarts. Highty-seven per cent. of our people have incomes of less than 2000 dollars per year. I live in the richest farming section of the U.S., that is the land is, the farmers themselves are broke. The world hears of the 500 persons with incomes of over a million a year but little of the 87 per cent. or the 4,000,000 men out of work. Unless this condition is corrected it will ‘spill the beans’ for somebody. I was a professional ball player in my younger days. I am now 62 years old but willing to get up at 3 am. any time to listen to you and have been listening to broadcast for eight years. I never write to stations in this country and will not annoy you again. Good night, everybody. Good night." Identification Wanted. "THERE is a striking similarity between two letters just received by the Broadcasting Company, one from. California, on the Pacific Coast, and one from New Jersey, on the Atlantic Coast of America, reporting reception of 2YA, In America various competitions in long-distance reception are conducted, and radio enthusiasts in the States are continually writing to the Broadéasting Company asking for confirmation of their statements that they have heard certain stations. The correspondents supply details of what they heard as proof of their reception, and these par-

ticulars are compared with the station’s log, for the Broadcasting Company replies to every letter and confirms reception when proof is considered adequate. When a Brooklyn (New York) writer supplies the following details of a speech he heard broadcast from 2YA on March 20 there would seem to be little doubt that he was listening to the broadcast of the Governor-Gen-eral’s speech at.the civic reception in the Wellington Town Hall: " "There area few in the Empire that have made such progress as Wellington. I can assure you -- appearing to enjoy in a small measure-a small measure, and I say this with no hesitation --. (Applause.) Ladies and gentlemen, I have listened to something that belongs to you that you have not yet heard. New Zealand has been a real joy to people of London.’ This was in a speech made by Lord -- from London ad And of course there would seem to be ample proof in the following that a listener at Beverley Hills, California, aise heard the Governor-General speakng: "He was speaking at the civic reception for himself and Lady --., Parts of his speech were as follow: ‘And by supporting as far as we can--. There are few. in the Dmpire that have made such progress as Wellington-appear-ing to enjoy in a small measure (I do not exaggerate)-a small measure, And I say this with no hesitationladies and gentlemen, I have listened to eee errr ?

something that belongs to you, that you have not yet heard. New Zealand has been a real joy to the people of London.’ Lord -- seemed to make quite a hit, as I could hear the crowd applaud his speech many times." But putting two and two togetherthese two letters-the similarity arouses suspicion. The reception in California of 2YA is an almost everyday occurrence, but not so in New York and other eastern States, and when two such identical letters are received by the same mail one is justified in thinking that perhaps telegraphic rates from west to east across America are not considered excessive, especially between friends. A Ae bi eae