Our Mail Bag

Radio Record, Volume III, Issue 44, 16 May 1930, Page 6

Our Mail Bag

‘. ! 5. Stemming the Tide. I NOTICE Mr. Swiney and his merry men are still keeping us amused with their anti-American campaign, and have increased their sphere of activity to include saxophones and "sickly sentimentalism," not to mention waxing very classical by the introduction of a list of names of composers whose music is only tolerated by the majority of listeners when interspersed with modern music and "American abominations." Mr. Swiney, I would commend to your notice a saxophone solo by Rudy Wiedoeft; ‘entitled "Minuet," by Beethoven-but I forgot, your switch was in the "off" position. You must have quite a lot of fun twisting the dial to get away from screeching saxophones and nasal sounds. However, there is always Japan. Thank the powers that be for a broadminded Broadcasting Company, If you want the opinion of the masses $n theme songs and talkies generally, you have only to keen an eye on the entrance of any talkie house, where hundreds pay good money to be inflicted with sickly gentimentalism, theme songs, Sax0phones, and everything abominable. Kill the saxophone and you cripple the majority of orchestras in the world, most of whom render the works of the composers Mr. Swiney quoted in support of his argument. No, sir, your outery has come about twenty years too late. Do as "Piccolo Péte" suggests, get on to a dance programme and shake off the cobwebs. Graft on a rejuvenation gland composed of fox trots, and admit that it has done you good. Hither that or invest in a pick-up, put in your favourite record, and imagine yourself on a station in Utopia. My cordial thanks "Piccolo Pete" and others for

your CO-operation:

Attaboy

(Okato)

Congratulations. Y congratulations to 2YA for going on the air on Wednesday last, the usual silent night, to inform listeners of the progress of the Parnell by-elec-tion. I feel sure that 2YA’s action was appreciated by listeners all over the country. The relay of the Wellington Symphony Orchestra’s concert was a masterpiece, both for the orchestra and 2YA for the perfect relay. In distant parts where it is not convenient to attend concerts of this nature, the relays are very greatly appreciated. I read with some amusement a complaint in the local paper of an Auckland lady who claimed that a neighbour’s parrot, dog and wireless set had brought a friend of hers to a state of nervous breakdown. ‘The chief complaint was

against the wireless set, which the good lady claimed was often going at three o’clock in the morning. With all due respect to the lady, I should very much like to meet, and see the log of the radio enthusiast who can get stations at three o’clock in the morning with such volume as to disturb his neighbours, even cause a lady to have a breakdown. 2YA’s programmes (in fact the programmes from all the YA stations) are very much improved, and the time hag come when the listener does not wonder if he can afford to own a set, but wonders if he could ever afford to be without a set.-"‘Lis-tener No. 67165" (Hawera).

Relay Stations. AS the proposal to establish relay stations in the more important inland towns (which are at present poorly served by the YA stations) been abandoned? As a listener of four and a half years standing I have hoped for a long while that the company would consider the claims of the thousands of listeners in the country who are entitled to clear reception. Instead, it seems that the already well-catered-for listeners in the cities are again to be placated with more transmissions, while country listeners are often foreed to close down through static, fad-

ing, musnimess, etc, In Hamilton, reception from 1YA is simply impossible when daylight fails, and every Hamilton listener, I have spoken to tells me that he rarely ever listens to Auckland on account of the extremely unsatisfactory reception. 2YA is the most consistent station here, but reception is almost always badly marred by fading and mushiness at all too frequent intervals. 3YA and 4YA are both worse than 2YA in fading, etc., while static is naturally much more pronounced. I don’t think I am exaggerating in saying that reception

here is never perfect, and rarely is it even good after daylight leaves us. . The main Australian stations are very much steadier than any of the YA stations, and when reception from New Zealand stations has been almost impossible I have at times received the Australians satisfactorily. The establishment of relay stations at Hamilton and Palmerston North would mean a greatly increased number of licenses, and, what is more important, the present listeners in these districts would be getting satisfactory reception in return for their license fees. I have no complaint to make regarding the programmes, as anyone who has been listening for the past four years or so realises that the progress in this department has been all that could be expected. We in the country not only have to pay the same license fees as city listeners, but we also have to go to considerable expense in procuring high-class multivalve sets in order to receive the YA stations. I recently purchased a highgrade electric set (with which I have logged over eighty stations in eight weeks), but during that time I have never had clear reception from any of the YA.stations for more than half an hour on end during the evening transmissions.

Daylight reception from 1YA, 2YA, and 3YA are all that can be desired, but very few listeners are able to do much daylight listening, especially during the winter months. I realise that the company has fulfilled its obligations to the Government in respect to the existing stations, but I strongly protest that the hours of transmission should be increased, such as cutting out the silent nights, for the benefit of the city listeners, while country listeners are getting second-rate reception for at least 300 out of the 365 nights in the year. Will the company make a statement re the establishment of these relay stations and give us hope to expect reception above static level ana those associate bugbears of radio-

fading and mushiness.-

Fred. R.

Swain

(Hamilton).

Monitoring at Fault? PERMIT me to offer a suggestion regarding 2YA. I am satisfied from a musical point of view the excellent work of the orchestrina is not producing the results at the receiving end; and with your permission I offer the

following criticism and suggestions for further improvement. . The person in charge of the monitoring at 2YA studio, quite unintentionally, perhaps, is mutilating good music and’ causing distortion, through lack of knowledge, and through not having a copy. of the musical numbers broadcast, in front of him. * It is essential that if monitoring is to be useful, the person attending to monitoring should be a fully-qualified musician, and that he should: have in front of him a copy of the numbers broadeast. ee an ga *

Frequently I notice @ Choking: elect in the orchestral music; caused by: the monitor preventing the full rise and fall in volume effect to go over the air. Portions marked off are choked, and it-appears that the monitor wants. . to have the whole piece ‘run on the } same level. of volume and stifling the portions that should be loud, and boosting up those portions that should be of lesser intensity. I suggest the monitoring either be done by an accomplished musician or set the controls on the panel in the control room, and leave them alone for the session. Another disastrous matter is the frightful sameness in. the tone of the orchestral items (not the faujt of the orchestra or conductor, Signor Truda) but caused through accoustic properties of 2YA studio. Hvery orchestral selection or item sounds at the listeners’ end as. if they were all played in the same key. "There is a tinny sound. about the music; beautiful overtures come over the air as if there was no "body" in the music at all. I may say I have made complaint to the studio at 2YA even as recent as last Sunday evening, and I -" noticed after ringing the studio that the volume was allowed to proceed on its way through the transmission, there being an improvement. The same applies to vocal items. ,

Complaints have been made from various parts of New Zealand, particularly Hawke’s Bay, that . distortion with 2YA was noticed; possibly the distortion I refer to,as having been caused by indifferent monitoring at the studio may be connected with the distortion referred to by the Hawke’s Bay listeners. I take this opportunity of congratulating Signor A. P. Truda, conductor of the orchestrina, for the excellent programme arranged by him, and broadcast on Monday, April 14. It is admitted that sacred music has a charm, and the second half of the programme was in keeping with Has-

ter-time.

R. Leslie

Jones

(Lyall Bay

Experiment 2YA. (CANNOT something be done to stop the. awful mush sent out from 2YA? In. this district it has become unbearable. Out of 14.days’ listening we have heard only one programme. Cannot 2YA experiment with the plant certain nights; say send out the programme on 500 watts and even lower down, or experiment in some other (Continued on page 21.)

Our Mailbag

(Concluded from page 6.) way with the plant? New Zealand, taken as a whole, only has one station, 2YA. It is becoming a national calamity, as letters are appearing from all over New Zealand on the awful mush sent out. I tuned in 16 stations last Sunday night, May 4; none were distorted, but every time I tried 2YA even the announcer was unintelligible. Five listeners in this district consider their 30/- simply thrown away, and as the broadcasting company can’t be sending men all over the country I think it is not only in the listeners’ interest but their own to do something

and let us know per "Record,"

Sick

of It

(Taranaki) _