Radio News

Radio Record, Volume IV, Issue 23, 19 December 1930, Page 7

Radio News

ae TESTS recently made.at the University of Minnesota in connection with the St. Paul broadcasting station KSTP have proved that students in college study better when listening to jazz music broadcasts. In the tests students were given mathematical problems to solve under different conditions. When a thrilling story was "on the air" they had difficulty in concentrating, but when dance musie was played more problems were solved than when the room was quiet. WHAT is claimed to be a record in quick frequency changes has been established by a New York station. ust after transmitting its morning news a few weeks ago on a wavelength of 200 metres, a letter arrived saying that the Federal Radio Commission had the station’s wavelength to 3 metres. The engineers got busy, and the programme was well under way, on 333 metres, when a wire arrived: "Present wave-length a mistake. Change to 220 metres." Thus, when the station switched off that night it had had the distinction of changing its wavelength more times in one day than most stations do in all their lives! A FEW days ago the British Postmas-ter-General, Professor Lees-Smith, remarked in the House of Commons that some months ago he instructed some ‘ Post Office officials to listen-in on wireless. messages. from Russia, and report concerning. their nature.: This was ‘done, but’ the dispatches proved to be uninterésting and innocuous, and so lis-tening-in was suspended,. It appears, however, that lately the character of . the messagés has changed, and once more théy are being watched. .