Notes and Comments

Radio Record, Volume IV, Issue 29, 30 January 1931, Page 8

Notes and Comments

SWITCH

N comparing the Australian announcers with our own, it is rather sarprising to find that the majority of the former are inferior. The 3L0, Melbourne, announcer has a most annoying fault which "Switch" is pleased to find has at last been noticed by an Aus: tralian listener, who writes to the Mel bourne "Listener-in’: ‘Would yon kindly ask Mr. Maurice Dudley to refrain from announcing the next item until the last one is finished. I have frequently noticed that even before the vibrations of the last note have died away he breaks in. I like a couple of seconds at least for good music to sink in before the effect is shattered by the staccato utterances of the too eager announcer." ‘ = 2 » "QWITCH" has heard of a Petone listener who experiences a good deal of interference from telephone dialing. His aerial is a long distance from any telephone exchange and no telephone wires run near his home, His "earth" wire is not attached to a water-pipe, as he uses a 9-foot iron pipe driven into the ground as an "earth." This is one of those peculiar cases which crop up from time to time. The origin of the trouble could probably be located by a systematic..examination of the locality, ote * Es a \N Australian writer defines the pro- ; gramme problem very neatly, as follows':-"There are some misguided listeners who.expect to be entertained at any moment they choose to listen in, and if they are not, write to the press or the wireless stations lamenting the failure of broadcasting. They ‘overlook the fact that there are wireless receivers in hundreds of thousands of homes. in. the .country and that the tastes of each individual listener will vary in ‘some respect. Pro‘grammes cannot ‘possibly -be modelled on individual taste. The object before the. public service of broadcasting must always be-the greatest happiness of .the greatest number,’ and it is toward -this ideal that those engaged. in building the programmes strive day after ‘day-often spending hours’ in consid‘eration of some item that the microphone devours in a few minutes," * * * THE success of the "Radio Record" spelling bee was. so great that it has been decided to hold a similar competition at 1YA for primary school children on the evening of February 18, the adjudicator being Mr. A. B. Chappell. .It is hoped: later to have one for secondary school pupils and then another for adults. In addition to providing interesting entertainment, these

spelling bees should also serve a most useful purpose in encouraging. and helping our children to improve their spelling. ‘ . QNE of the chief reasons why Wellingtonians have difficulty in hearing American stations is the tempest of parasitic electrical noises which intrude on long-distance ~ reception. Friday evening "Switch" can obtain music and speech from American broadcast stations, but owing to the background of noises it is rarely possible to identify the call-signs. Those who live in the country areas have thus a big advantage over city listeners. " * * AS in other parts of the globe, broadeast listening in this country is steadily gaining in popularity, despite the economic depression. Even the summer period has not detrimentally affected the number of licenses record ed in the Dominion. Possibly in this time of financial stringency the public are recognising the fact that radio is the cheapest form of entertainment available. * * Now that the "silent night" of 2YA, Wellington, is to be eliminated from February 4 onward, the usual chorus of howling sets which render Wednesday nights hideous will be missing. On the other hand, a delightful programme will be available from 2YA in the form of special recordings of broadeast programmes just as they are presented in the leading American studios. The records themselves are much larger than the largest gramophone records, and "Switch" understands the items are exceptionally good. * * * PETONE listeners in general seem 10 be favoured with excellent recep-

tion of the new station at Newcastle, N.S.W. This station, whose call is 2NC, comes in with great volume in Petone, and as electrical interference around that frequency. is not nearly so bad in Petone as in Wellington, transmission is unusually clear. * " . AN Australian radio caricaturist has sketched contrasts of how guests when they are wanted to talk sit dumb, but as soon as the radio is switched on: and everyone is expected to listen they all commence talking A Wellington . listener confided to "Switch" that when he has a number

of guests he gradually. sorts the more talkative of: them into a room away from that in which he entertains the others with radio. = * = THE attempt by 2YA, Wellington, to rebroadcast the transmission by 5SW, Chelmsford, England, on Wednesday, January 21, when Ramsay MacDonald spoke on the India Confer: ence, was unfortunately impossible, In a talk with experienced short-wave listeners, "Switch" gathered that the appointed time, 9 a.m., was rarely favourable for satisfactory reception of 5Sw. The only other chance was that an Australian or Hastern shortwave station would rebroadcast Mr. MacDonald’s speech, but apparently none of these stations did so. ° » ~~ ¥ "QIWwITOH" has met many listeners "who were disappointed with the

Wellington Boxing Association in not \ permitting a ringside description of the Blay v. Donovan contest to he broadcast. Many of these listeners went up to the Winter Show Building to see the contest, and found the place so crowded that they were unable to obtain. admission. = a s "QWwitcH" notices that in last week’s "Record". a listener in ‘Otago, "Gromdale," heard the mystery station on about the wave-length of 3AR, Melbourne, previously mentioned by the writer. "Cromdale" heard the stranger at 2.38 a.m. on January 4. "Switch" also also heard this station heterodyning with 8AR shortly after midnigif, Perhaps some other listener can ido tify him, . * -* . > A DISAPPOINTED beginner who resides in Kelburn, Wellington, unburdened his sorrows recently to "Switch." He had lately purchased a high-class set which is a guaranteed distance-getter, but it is sadly silent on the American stations. "Switch" examined the set, aerial and earth ‘in an endeavour to ascertain the cause, but everything was perfect. The truth wa» then explained that very few localities in Wellington are suitable for recep‘tion of the American stations, and if "Switch’s" friend transferred his set to some of the up-country homes of DX listeners mentioned weekly in the "Record" he, too, would have a long list of American stations in his log. ok * * REVERTING. to the foregoing paragraph, "Switch" cannot too strongly emphasise that locality is the main’! factor in bringing in American — stations, providing, of course, that the reeeiving set, aerial and earth are in first-class order. Beginners are prone to become dissatisfied when they read the "News and Views of the DX Club" published weekly in the "Record." They read of listeners logging twenty and thirty Anierican stations, and because their own’ sets will not do likewise, they become obsessed with the notion that their receivers are not . what they were represented to be. Although there are exceptional localities in Wellington, on the whole the capital city is a+ rather unsatisfactory place foy hearing American stations. ? * *. * HE retirement of Mr. J. Davies from the position of station director of 2YA will be regretted by many. Mr. Davies will be: long remembered by all who knew him in his off: 1 capacity as being always tactfu d courteous. He displayed a wide knowledge of unerring judgment in dealing with the intricacies of his position. Mrs. Davies, a lady of culture and attainments, was often at the studios, and made many lasting friends among those who figured in the programmes. s s s . "QWITCH" observes that "B350" refers to the condemnation, published in these columns, of some slipshod methods of installing aerials and earths. Much can be said in favour of his contention that beginners would secure much more satisfactory service from a registered electrical wireman, »" but there are many. radiotricians’ whe are even better equipped with a’ knowledge of radio requirements than registered electrical wiremen. For instance, the finer points, such as the layout of the aerial masts and position of the earth are not necessarily within the experience of the latter.