Notes and Comments

Radio Record, Volume III, Issue 45, 23 May 1930, Page 13

Notes and Comments

By

SWITCH

SomMz good entertainment was provided listeners on Thursday evening of last week when the British footballerswere introduced from the studio of 2YA, Wellington, by Dr. G. J. Adams, president of the N.Z.R.U., and Mr. S..S. Dean, chairman of the N.Z.R.U. Mr. Dean’s facetious remarks when inducing each of the visitors to face the microphone were rivalled by the amusing speeches of the various players. The ‘dark blues" proved themselves a merry band, and their happy little speeches made a big appeal to listeners, ¥* x * At the Wellington Radio Society’s annual meeting comparison was made with thé New Zealand system of charging an annual license fee of 80/with that of America where no charge is made. The person or persons who made the comparison are apparently unaware of the state of affairs which obtain in America, where broadcast listening is being polluted with advertising until complaints have become nation-wide. A warning note was recently sounded by Dr. Lee de Forest,

the famous radio inventor, in a public statement that advertising through the medium of broadcasting was threatening "to kill the goose which laid the golden egg." = Et t (COMPARISON was made at the annual meeting of the Wellington Radio Society between the license fee of 10/- in England and 30/- in New Zealand. Only one lacking a sense of proportion could urge such a comparison. In England any broadcast station has a population of some millions within audible area, while in New Zealand four stations are serving a population of less than a million and a half. "Switch" submits that criticism which is not savoured with plain, common sense does an immense amount of harm to any society or club from which it emanates. -° * * "SWITCH" has been asked by many listeners whether it was really Rear-Admiral Byrd’s much-travelled fox-terrier "Igloo" who actually barked in the studio of 2YA, Wellington, on the occasion of the farewell address of the great explorer. The writer has made careful inquiry, and has ascertained definitely that it was "Igloo" who barked his farewell to New Zealand. The hand-clapping made "Igloo" thoroughly excited, and he barked his loudest, * « « ANOTHER foolish comparison made at the Wellington Radio Society’s meeting was that comparing the average license fee of £1 in Australia with the 30/- license fee in New Zealand. Australia has over four times the

population of the Dominion, yet there are only twice as many broadcast stations supported by listeners’ licenses. There are also about six times more licensees in Australia. If listeners in Australia were asked to pay in just proportion to their numbers, and the number of stations they support as

compared with New Zealand, the Commonwealth license fee would average about 10/-. The fact is that it costs as much to broadcast a programme to entertain one thousand listeners as it does for ten thousand. = ™ * BROADCAST stations are just as likely to be subject to accidents as railway trains, motor-cars, steamers, electric power stations or tramcars. Our good old friend 2YA, Wellington, was silenced last week through the breakdown of two high-class imported condensers. These accidents are beyond human power, but the silence of 2YA was compensated for by putting the station on the air on the following Wednesday-usually observed as 4a silent day. s Eg % N Thursday evening of last week the famed -short-wave radio-phone station VK2MBE, Sydney, which maintains the public telephone service between Australia and England, was off the air, It would seem that the station transmitter had experienced a breakdown. % * F the proposed yacht race across the Tasman Sea by the Melbourne yacht Oimara ‘and the Sydney yacht Wanderer eventuates, one or both craft will, no doubt, be fitted with a shortwave transmitter. Reports of the positions of the yachts and the weather being experienced would be morsed from the vessels, and our good friends the amateur transmitters may probably arrange to keep in touch with the yachts throughout the race, by working in shifts. They could pass the latest news along to our "YA" stations.

and thus could keep the public posted in this, the first event of its kind, yet promoted in this corner of the globe. a HEN the A.C. screen-grid valve first made its appearance some doubt was expressed as to its efficiency in comparison with the battery-operated sereen-grid valve. These doubts were soon dispelled, and Mr. Preston Billing demonstrated very convincingly at the recent meeting of the Wellington Radio Society that the A.C. screen-grid valve is phenomenally sensitive. % 4, % ISTENERS have been commenting on the appearance of a new announcer at 3YA, Christchurch. The gentleman with the resonant voice and excellent articulation now officiating at 3YA was until recently the announcer at 4YA, Dunedin. € % & OME of the minor Melbourne and | Sydney stations are about to broadeast still pictures of general interest, weather maps, and printed items of news and information. A company is about to market receiving equipment in Australia, which is to be sold at about "the same price as the medium-priced" broadcast receiving sets to which they have to be attached. At the receiving end a sensi-

tised paper revolves on a cylinder similar to that at the transmitting end, and a pencil of light prints the picture on the paper. The stations will suspend ordinary broadcasting at stated hours of the day and night, and will. tratismit the pictures on their ordinary wavelength. No report has been seen by the writer as to the success or otherwise of the scheme under Australian conditions. * ** * et "THE writer happened to be at sea recently, and he availed himself of an opportunity of listening-in to 2YA, Wellington, at a range of upwards of 100 miles during the dead of night, Without any radio frequency amplification, and using only a detector and two stages of audio, 2YA came in with good loudspeaker volume. The writer learnt that 2YA has such a punch that the receiving aerials on some of the New Zealand steamers have to be fitted with a wavetrap to keep the music off the 600metre mark where the morse signals operate. % * * SOME of the old hands were yarning of the "stone age" of broadcasting in Wellington the other evening, when a laughable episode was recalled. The operator of a small station which used to disturb the ether was accidentally locked in by the custodian of the building so that he could not descend from the roof on which the studio was installed. He telephoned a friend from the studio, and when the latter got to the building the operator threw his bunch of keys to him below. This enabled the friend to gain access to the building, and he was thus able to release the operator. ; * * * ‘THE past week has been marked by an abnormal degree of "fading" by the Australian and Japanese stations. As the evenings have progressed the fluctuations in volume of those stations has become more pronounced. Whether the abnormal weather had something to do with this peculiarity can only be conjectured.

Reduced Volume from Australian Stations. F OR the guidance of those who wish to check their reception of the Australian stations, "Switch" prepares weekly a table showing the average relative strengths with which he has obtained reception at 11.30 p.m, during the past weelkk:2BL, Sydmey ...... eooe 10 2GB, Sydney ..... ecccee 2FC, Sydney ....ccccces 3UZ, Melbourne ..cocoee 4QG, Brisbane .....20¢. SAR, Melbourne ..coscee 2UE, Sydney ...sceceee 5CL, Adelaide ...cescsces * 3L0, Melbourne ........ 2QKY, Sydney ....ecoeees 3DB, Melbourne ........ The above figures are the points assessed, with 10 as the maximum. Be hoe mR Ot toe Oa a6 bent ao