Radio Round the World

Radio Record, Volume III, Issue 50, 27 June 1930, Unnumbered Page

Radio Round the World

AW secondary schools in San Paulo, ‘Brazil, have been equipped with all-electric receivers, * * * A SYSTEM of set-maintenance after purchase has been adopted by a Paris radio firm. For a small annual fee the customer’s set is maintained in working order throughout the year. Pd = * A RADIO telephone service over the. +% Jarst two-way circuit linking the continents of South and North America, was inaugurated on April 8. The publie telephones in Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay are now connected with those in Mexico, Cuba, the United States ang. Canada. The radio stations are situated at New. York and Buenos Aires. + CLOCK containing a radio aerial wound in its base is now on the American’ market. It is equipped with connections for light wires and terminals for connection with the radio set, and operates on alternating or direct current. The clock itself is not electrically operated, but contains A multi-zone dial, giving the time in each of the twelve zones of the world, thus making it easy to pick up a radio programme anywhere without computing difference in time. * C ‘ = *. H. R.U. Prince Purachatra, of Siam, * who is already well known as a rudio- enthusiast, has added to his laurels by communicating on short waves with Bangkok while homeward bound in the Red Sea on the ss. Fionia. The distance of 4000 miles was covered by a transmitter working ov 46.5 metres, which the Prince had purchased during his European visit.. The transmitter is valve-driven with 100 watts input. It would be interesting to know if any New Zealander has logged this station. x * UNNING motors with electricity derived from sunlight is a claim advanced by a German scientist who has devised a cell that converts light directly into useful quantities of electric current. A demonstration revealed that the current derived is so powerful that when a rapidly flickering light shines on the cell, a note vibrating at the same rate as the flickering light: can be heard. The cell ean be operated indefinitely without loss of efficiency, and is extremely sensitive to invisible infra-red rays. It is expected to be useful in measuring light intensity. = ¥ Co QGTATISTICS highly complimentary to Britis! broadcasting are contained in a French radio journal. The English service, it is pointed out, beat "musical Germany" in its own field, incorporating 64.3 per cent. of music in the programmes, as compared with Germany’s 56.4, In the matter of religious services Britain also leads with 5 per eent., rs aguinst 1 per eent. in Germany. ' ,

HE American Federal Radio Commission recently allotted five shortwave frequencies for the purpose of oil exploration. The method employed by surveyors is to transmit a e: signal simultaneously with a ranean explosion of dynamite. Gy By measuring the time lag between thd reception of the radio signal and the sound, it is possible to determine whether oil deposits exist in the territory between transmitter and the receiver. s a = AFTER giving some — information about the state of broadcasting in Russia, an article appearing. in the "Daily Worker," an English Labour newspaper, concludes in the following interesting manner: "We worker's who are interested in radio must realise its immense value to Russia from the educational and propaganda viewpoints. Hasten the day when our B.B.C. is smashed, along with capitalism, and radio control passes into the hands of the British workers." Wouldn’t the license numbers mount! % * * HE N.B.C. of America now has wf operation 78 relay stations, with 82,500 miles of leased teleplione wires. The company is certainly prospering, for last year it received a revenue of £3,000,000 from 199 advertisers whs used the broadcasting facilities, cf the company to advertise their goodW. * * s QNE of the Austrian stations now ends its news bulletin at 10 p.m. with a tactful suggestion that listenei's should reduce their loudspeaker volume to avoid disturbing neighbours. The idea could be adopted with advantage by every station in the world. = * x NIE American Department of Commerce by way of establishing an aviation weather’ reporting service, now has in operation twenty-four 2kilowatt radio ground stations locgted along the national. air routes. +f. teen more stations are in procey@ of construction. When these are Way Dieted, they will provide every section of the United States in which regular flying takes places with half-hourly weather reports, as well as with a communication service. s * Ed "THERE is no lack of enthusiasm in America among .amatenur transmitters. There are over 20,000 amiteur transmitting stations operating at present, while it is calculated that. there are hundreds of thousands of shortwave receiving stations. In England, however, there are only a few hundred stations licensed for transmit- / ting on short waves, and this number remains almost permanent. It is more than probable that the stringent régulations in existence in the latter country is largely responsible for this unsatisfactory state of affairs,