Notes and Comments

Radio Record, Volume IV, Issue 19, 21 November 1930, Page 9

Notes and Comments

B

SWITCH

"AT last week’s general meeting of the ' Amateur Radio Society of Wellington, owing to waning attendances lately, it was decided that ‘the society go into recess for the summer months. The president, Mr. I. M. Levy, stated that in the event of anything urgent requiring the attention of the society he would consult the executive with the object of calling a general meeting at any time during the recess. A resolution to this effect was carried. * x * ‘At last week’s meeting of the Wellington society Mr. Hooker gave a most instructive and interesting lecture on A.O. sets, illustrated with blackboard diagrams. He demonstrated a thoreugh knowledge of the intricacies of the modern A.C. circuit, and pointed out the various methods of attaining the fesults which have made this type fet so successful and popular. At the ‘conclusion of his lecturette, Mr. Hooker answered many questions and made clear to all the points in doubt. * * s ‘THE rebroadcast of the official opening of the Indian Round-Table Conference in the British House of Lords provided station 2YA, Wellington, with a difficult problem. In addition to severe fading there was a fair amount of static which played havoc with’ the broadcast by the British shortwave station, 6SW, Chelmsford.

Further, during the King’s address there was bad interference on the landline between the receiving station and 2yYA. A telephone buzzer and other parasitic noises came in on top of the p>-King’s voice. This, however, was no fault of 2YA, as the land-lines are’ under control of the P. and T. Department. * ¥ * DPD=SPITE the disabilities with which 2YA had to contend on the evening of the rebroadcast of the Indian Round-Table Conference, listeners were able to hear a fair portion of the addresses and could follow their trend. "Switch" has been unable to discover any published report in the daily Press of direct reception "by shortwave listeners which gave as much of the speeches as was audible to the writer from 2YA. In no instances were the names of the Indian spokesmen published, yet they were distinctly intelligible from 2YA. : % * s B." (Kelburn) writes: "I am thinking of taking up shortwave listening, but was keenly disappointed with the jerkiness of reception when a

friend tuned in an overseas station. He assured me that reception was very steady, but the jerkiness was too apparent to my ear to make me a eonvert to shortwave reception. Somehow I had led myself to believe that shortwave reception was frequently as steady as reception from our local broadcast station." "Switch" regrets to say that "D.B." is expecting rather too much. x * * "TALKING about "listener’s licence" a little while back "Switch" saw in an oversea radio journal:a skit on the truthfulness of listeners when re-

"ere % counting their exploits in long-distance reception. It suggested that the threadbare wheeze about "angler’s stories" should be called in, and "broadcast listener’s boomers" should be substituted. This does not imply that all stories of wonderful long-distance reception are untrue, as remarkable DX achievements are very common in New Zealand, but there are a few listeners who are temperamentally prone to draw the long bow. & * * RECEPTION of shortwave broadcasts at ranges of several thousands of miles is very seldom free from "gustiness," or what can be more aptly described as accelerated fading. Some time ago a shortwave listener assured the writer that he had listened to an

| | | | | overseas shortwave broadcast which was received "as steady as a rock." Unfortunately for the said listener, a friend who was present at the listener’s house on that occasion, subsequently informed "Switch" that he could not confirm the "steady as a rock" account, but he generously put it down to "poetic license,’ or, if you like, "listener’s license.’ As a matter of fact, he said, reception was nothing like as clear as the rebroadcast from 2YA on that former occasion. AS previously mentioned by "Switch," the only solution so far for the problem of overcoming jerkiness in reception of distant short-wave broadcast is the multi-aerial for reception. Three aerials are employed, widely spaced from each other, requiring an area of land beyond the possibilities of city dwellers. When the muti-aerial system is adopted for re-broadcasts short-wave listeners will then realise how steadily short-wave broadcasts can be received under modern methods. The area of land required for the erection of triple aerials,, however, is a costly matter. a * * EVEN in the midday sessions of 3YA, Christchurch, during the recent racing carnival the ubiquitous "howler" has made himself obnoxious in Wellington. As usual, 3YA was coming in with such volume that "Switch" had his control knob only about one-tenth "on," so as not to be overwhelmed, but the "howler" could be heard see-sawing for several minutes on a number of occasions as though searching for 3YA. pa a a

TATIO was fierce last week, and Wellington listeners who could listen to the Australian stations on those nights when static was worst must have nerves of steel. As is frequently the case when static is bad, long-distance stations were loud, but the atmospherics were in the ascendant. The writer has observed that in the majority of instances static is far milder when a southerly breeze is blowing. Other observers have mentioned similar experiences to "Switch." * * * "QWITCH" notices that the Germans have brought out a new valve with the grid on the outside instead of between filament and plate as is the present practice. The valve is being tried out on a large scale by the German radio industry. It consists of a long, thin, bar-shaped tube, in which

are the plate and filament. The filament is alongside instead of inside the plate. The tube is coated on the outside by spraying, with a conducting layer, Which, oddly enough, is the grid. The filaments are thin, and, unlike the present A.C, valves, heat up instantly. Although raw A.C. current is applied to the filaments, there is no hum in the output. * A * HOSE shortwave listeners who may happen to overhear conversations carried on by the public with the new Wellington-Sydney shortwave radio phone service, should bear in mind that they are bound by the regulations to ~ observe secrecy. Anyone committing a breach of the regulations concerning eavesdropping renders himself liable to prosecution;, % bd * "QPORT" (Petone) writes: "While mentioning Mr. Eric Welch, the sporting expert for 8LO, Melbourne, in your notes, I think you should have made reference to the lack of enterprise on the part of the Australian Broadeasting Co. in not relaying Mr. Welch’s talk on the Melbourne Cup on the preceding night. Mr. Welch dis-, cussed the merits of the horses, and as all Australia was interested in the Cup, it seemed a strange oversight that his talk was not put through to Adelaide, Sydney and Brisbane. Mr. Welch is regarded as an authority on racing matters, and is always interesting." + & + "Q WITCH" is indebted to "Keen Listener" (Dannevirke) for his kind gift of papers. They are much appreciated.