Notes and Comments

Radio Record, Volume IV, Issue 25, 2 January 1931, Page 12

Notes and Comments

SWITCH

i E_--,. 1 ; " THD new Australian station, 2NO, Newcastle, has-at last come on the air, and is performing well. The tone is rich and natural, and the volume exceeds that of either 8LO or 3AR. ‘The two Melbourne stations have, however, not been up to their usual strength for some weeks past. The Newcastle station is, unfortunately, on a frequency very close to 2YB, New Plymouth. The items which come in best from 2NC, Neweastle, are relayed from eithei 2BL or 20, Sydney. * * % ‘ STATION which "Switch" las found to be unsatisfactory of late is 4QG, Brisbane. Possibly tlie fact that 4QG is generally much distorted and also fades badly is due to seasonal effects. The season has been unusually late, and this may account for some of the recent vagaries in broadcast reception. Although static has been rather intense during the past week real storms of static have not occurred for some months. = cd = TT wich recently the writer’s attention has been drawn to the slipshod method of installing radio sets employed by some so-called professionals, The sets, instead of being placed close to where the lead-in entered the room, were located at the farthest end. The lead-in was, therefore, taken some distance along the wall of the room to the set, with resultant loss in signal strength, The owners of the sets found that by moving their outfits closer to the lead-in tube they received the Australian stations with noticeable increase in volume. y oe s URING the community singing relayed by 21°C, Sydney, the other evening a Scotch comedian remarked: "Have you heard about the Scotchman who put up an aerial? Used barb-wire-to prevent the sparrows from listening-in." ‘ ’ * * E question of electrical interference with broadcast listening should not be lost sight of during the coming year by broadcast listening clubs and leagues. In Australia an agitation is under way to request the municipal councils to make an organised effort against interference caused by leakages from electrical mains. It is computed that in New South Wales alone the electric supply authorities receive not less than £20,000 per annum from the use of electricity for broadcast receiving sets. ‘The figures for New Zealand must also be very high, and it is time the Dominion

power boards took a greater interest ‘in their broadcast listening consumers. * . * bd A WIRELESS beginner showed "Switch" a second-hand accumulator which he had purchased cheaply for use as an "A" battery. He found that his valves flickered although the. battery connections were firmly fastened. An examination disclosed that the battery plates were heavily sulphated, as the former owner had allowed it to stand for over four months without recharging it. Before batteries are put aside they should be well charged, and recharged each month, as there is always a certain amount of current leakage. 4 s bs ? "CAM": (Napier) writes: "What is an ‘absolute unit ’of electric current?’ The absolute unit of electric current is that current which, flowing in a circular are one centimetre long and of one centimetre radius, produces a magnetic field of unit strength at the centre of that arc, It is ten times as large as the practica} unit, the amnere. Absolute units are scientific and in practice are replaced’ by more convenient units as the ampere, ohm. volt, ete, familiar to many radio amateurs. *. e ALM electric receiving sets are now operated on some of the liners which run to New Zealand. The chief steward of one of the mail steamers has a very fine A.C. broadcast receiver which operates from the ship’s electric lighting mains, but a transformer is used to adapt the voltnge to the re quirements of the receiving set. * * 9 "TTOMAHAWK" (Mount Victoria) voices a protest which, no doubt, finds an echo among many listeners

in his area. "I would like to locate the idiots whose howling sets make listen-ing-in to outside stations almost impossible. Everyone knows. that 8YA, Christchurch, is almost too loud to use full. volume with an ordinary multivalve set, yet some individuals contrive to shriek and howl continuously with their miserable little sets until I feel like using a tomahawk on some neighbouring masts." ft Fa * HEORY" (Kilbirnie) asks: "Is it possible to run two aerials stretched out in one straight line without interference between the sets at each end? I will explain the position. A friend has a mast 220 feet away from my mast, eee fi ete fhe at a me oe ee oe ee ae ee oe le ee ee ete ce on ee, oe ee oe eee, ge oe

and we are thinking of joining two aerials mid-distance between the two masts, using five or six insulators between the two aerials. Would the process of tuning one set interfere with the other?’ The plan is a good one, and no disadvantages would arise from it. It would be necessary to have the permission of neighbours before suspending an aerial over their property. * « Py HD Australian stations have shown a further pronounced falling-off in volume during the past week, due to

the lengthening hours of daylight, Listeners should not blame their sets if they have to wait till about 11 p.m. to receive the Australian programmes with a fair measure of satisfaction. Even then the Melbourne stations are submerged some nights by static until nearly midnight. * * * [NSTANCES are not lacking in which listeners criticise the quality of broadcasting when their own equipment is not capable of giving true reproduction. A few days ago a listener telephoned a certain New Zealand broadeast station to settle an argument as to whether it was the regular announcer who was speaking at the moment or a substitute. As therep Be not the slightest resemblance ‘ the voices of the two gentlemen fj; ferred to, it seems that the listener's equipment fell far short of what it should be. * * » DURING the past week the various Japanese stations have been received loudly in Wellington from about 11 pm. onward. ‘The usual lengthy intervals mislead some listenérs,. who,. after a few desultory attempts to pick up these stations, generally switch over to. some of the Australians. Rather more music than usual has been broadcast from the Japanese stations lately, and those who have not heard the weird native compositions from the land of the Mikado will find them an interesting novelty. A GLARING case of poor sales: manship was recently brought under "Switch’s" notice. An a.c. set was supplied to a customer in Wellington who found that, despite the professed capabilities of the outfit, it failed utterly to conie up to standard. The salesman was summoned to test the outfit, and he found that the condensers were out of alignment; This was easily rectified, but the set should have been tried out on delivery and adjusted before it had created a bad impression on the purchaser’s visitors. ¢ * e ANY listeners have enthusiastically praised the concert given by the Wellington Symphony Orchestra in aid of the Mayor’s fund for unemployment relief, as the best orchestral concert yet relayed by 2YA, Wellington. The Pros, gramme, although it comprised "gist music, was of a character which sessed a more popular appeal than an previous programme by Mr. Leon de Mauny’s superb combination. The reJay was flawless and the balance of the orehestra was well reproduced. * = * A NDW venue for community singing in Sydney, relayed by 2FC, Sydney, is the Chatswood Town Hall. Mr. Charles Lawrence, whom "Switch" regards as the most capable conductor of community singing he has yet heard, is as much appreciated at Chatsworth as at Ashfield. Mr, Lawrence evokes roars of laughter at both halls. "Switch" heard community singing relayed by 4QG, Brisbane, recently, and it was a tame affair compared with the Sydney fixtures,