Radio Manufacture in Australia

Radio Record, Volume IV, Issue 23, 19 December 1930, Page 6

Radio Manufacture in Australia

Comparisons with N.Z. Industry

OME interesting sidelights on Australian radio manufacturing were thrown by Mr. Wilkin, of the B.G.E., who spent a few days in New Zealand recently. "Set manufacture in Australia," he says, "just has to be, otherwise there would be no radio." A barrier absolutely prevents the entry of complete radio sets into Australia. Furthermore, there is a. high tariff on imported parts so that the Australian who wants radio must make his own. In various main cities large manufacturing concerns are now well established, and are making almost the whole of the radio goods used in Australia. A few parts are imported, but. as Australian plant is improving and increasing, these imports are becoming less. Five or six large manufacturing concerns are working now under high pressure to satisfy Australia’s demands. One Australian factory is working now at the rate of 5000 radios a year, so it can be seen that radio manufacture has been speeded up to a great extent. Only recently an attempt was made to manufacture, or at least to assemble, valves in that country, but it has apparently not met with considerable success, as, for the time being at least, it is not. being proceeded with. Cheap Set Market. The whole industry has grown within about three years. In the first place, American receivers came across and Australian engineers, making slight adjustments, decided that an Australian receiver would be a marketable’ proposition. The following year, what might be called the Australian editions of American receivers were turned out, but this year, with the complete embarge on imported receivers, the whole countenance of radio manufacture has changed. The Aus-tralian-made set is now quite different from the American. Size of the Sets. [THE Australian-made set has four or ‘ive valves, usually two h.f., as this is all that is necessary to cope with the selectivity problem. Conditions over there are really different from either America or New Zealand. There is no eall for a distance-get-ting set, as there is really no distance to be had. There are a very large number of stations in a relatively small area and each city has quite a few locals. The requirements of any set, then, is to bring in these main stations and differentiate. between the locals and it has been found that the your or five-valve set will do this nicey: "But do you not listen-in to America and New Zealand?’ we asked. "Not very much," replied our visitor. "American reception is very patchy and unsatisfactory, whereas the New Zealand stations are off the air before they can be well received, while there is practically nothing to the west. Thus you see that we havé to rely on our own broadcastings. ' * One‘ rarely hears of a set picking up New Zealand stations, but 2YA comes in quite well in places. You go off ‘the air

at about 8 o'clock or 9 o'clock our time." Manufacturing in New Zealand. MANUFACTURING in New Zealand is very much in the embryo stage, according to Mr. Wilkin, who took opportunity to visit most of the manufacturing firms. "There is one case where you are miles ahead of Australia,’ Mr. Wilkin

remarked, "and that is in power amplification and talking apparatus.: ~ I was in one factory in Auckland where the complete projector equipped with a sound system‘is turned out, and I was surprised at the remarkable accuracy with ‘which every part was made. It was a creditable job and, I understand, about 30 theatres have already been equipped with this system. A Wellington firm has also equipped an almost equally large number of theatres, but of course these people do not make the projection apparatus as do the Auckland firm, who even make their own speakers from patterns designed by their own engineers. In Australia the sound picture industry is about where your radio industry is:at the present time."