Notes and Comments By SWITCH

Radio Record, Volume IV, Issue 30, 6 February 1931, Page 8

Notes and Comments By SWITCH

By

SWITCH

semeteanatie LETTER from "Radio Bug" (Raetihi) published in last week’s "Record," mentions that the evening of January 21 was an exceptional night for results. "Switch" corroborates this. The distant stations were loud, and static was strangely absent. The Japanese stations were remarkably loud on that evening, JOHK, Sendai, being at times on a par with 2FC Sydney. hese freak nights have been the subject of investigation by American observers, but no definite cause has yet been located. * * . GEVERAL times lately the writer has heard the mystery station that "Cromdale" (Otago) said he heard a week or so ago. Its wavelength igs approximately 484 metres, and therefore clashes with 8AR Melbourne. A Japanese friend identified the speech as his native tongue when listening at "Switch’s" home, but owing to interference from 3AR was unable to hear a coherent statement. A further attempt will be made to identify the station’s call-sign. It would be possible, of course, for it to be a Chinese station rebroadcasting a Jap., but it is probably one of the latter. ’ * 3 * "B W." (Stratford) mentioned in * last week’s "Record" that he picked up a new Japanese station on 492 metres, which is on a wavelength about 8 metres longer than that of the mystery station previously referred to. It would be interesting to learn whether "B.W." is sure of the wavelength of the new Jap., and whether he finds that it clashes with 8AR. Merely going by the frequency marked on a tuning dial is not a guarantee of the exact wavelength of a station, as tuning dial calibration is sometimes irregular owing to the adjustment of the variable tuning condensers.

"QAWITCH" notes that Harl J. Haynes (Aranui) received KTM (KPM), Philippine Islands, broadcasting Spanish items. KPM at certain periods of the year comes in well at Wellington. The writer has often heard ringside descriptions of boxing contests from one of the Manila _ stations. The American announcers at Manila pronounce the letter Z as "Zee," in true Yankee fashion. Some excellent music is also available at times from the Manila stations, but it is necessary to sit up late for this. = * SoMB trade radiotricians do not take into account the ignorance of beginners concerning radio matters, and therefore tender little or no advice. The writer: was called in by a neighbour to ascertain what ‘was amiss with her battery set. The trouble was immediately discovered to: be. due to a run-down "A" battery. The neighpour thought that because she had operated the set very seldom the: battery would run for months without

recharging. A radiotrician had called and examined the set, but had not tested the "A" battery! He had said everything was "O.K." * * * ; FROM Mr. Harl J. Haynes, taxidermist, Christchurch, a letter comes to hand refuting the. possibility of a large snake in Mitchell, Queensland, being attracted by music from a loudspeaker, as reported in these columns recently. Mr. Haynes stated that he has kept Indian rock snakes, adders and ring snakes in captivity and often experimented with them. He found that music, singing or whistling had no effect upon them: Mr. Haynes adds: "Indian snake: charmers use musical instruments simply for ‘colour’ effects.

What is more to the point is the fact that snakes haye no ear-pits or eardrums." * a * ONCERNING the foregoing paragraph "Switch" can say that he had many experiences with snakes in the bush in Australia, and can personally testify to the fact that a snake was enticed from under a dwelling on a number of occasions by the playing of a violin, by the writer’s brother. Endeavours were made to capture the reptile with a noose and forked stick, but it was too wary. Eventually it was killed. Regarding Mr. Haynes’s own snakes, Australians who have lived in the bush know that snakes frequently sulk in captivity and 4 show little life. Snake charmers ac-

custom their snakes -to captivity by \ methods of their own. The fact that ‘ snakes have no ear-pits or ear-drums does not preclude their hearing, Snakes and some lizards rely for their sense of hearing on auditory nerves under the thin skin on each side of their heads. * x, * ME. R. BH. TAYLOR (Whangarei) writes concerning his experience with long. and short aerials, The present one I use ‘is a 100ft. stretch between poles 40ft. high at the far end and 85ft. high at the lead-in end, The lead-in wire from the top of the pole is the thick cable wire as used for connecting houses with the a.c. mains. I have used a 7Oft. aerial with conting; ous lead-in of ordinary aerial wire, find the present one gives fai’ more volume even with the set 12ft. away from where the lead-in comes through the house. ‘Thus my experience is for. country listeners who do not need much selectivity the thieker the aerial wire the better the reception. . 2ZJ, Gisborne, 2YB, Palmerston North, I get quite loud in the afternoon sessions. I have a T-valve a.c. set. ? * ; * * Wit regard to: the foregoing statement by Mr. Taylor, it is an indubitable advantage to use a long and thick aerial for long-distance 1reception. There is a limit to the lengta of the aerial, however, and it will be found that no aerial should be longer than 140ft., including the length of the lead-in. As Mr. Taylor states, in localities distant from a broadcast station a long aerial, with its broader tuning, is ‘an advantage, but when near a ? broadeast station the shorter aerial, ' with its greater selectivity, is necessary to enable one to cut out the local station when desired. AN Auckland listener writes that he has a high-grade 8-valve a.c. set (naming the make) which has "considerably more a.c. hum" than he has ever heard: in a set, and he wants to know what to do about it. The trouble is possibly due to a defective valve or the breakdown of a fixed condenser. He "should have each valve carefully tested with a proper valve-tester, and if the trouble is not among the valves the fixed condensers in the set should be tested. The set of the make mentioned has no internal resistance for tuning out the hum. , , rk * * * . {a

TATION 8AR, Melbourne, again appears to have gone off in volume, and it is not so clearly received as*formerly in Wellington. A Melbourne enthusiast writes to the Melbourne "Listener In":-"I was a keen listener of some beautiful Beethoven music in 8AR’s recorded session the other day. But the whole thing was ruined by 4 continual squeaky, whistling sound, which was a maddening accompaniment to otherwise perfect music. It had evidently crept into 3AR’s new notorious carrier wave, but so far I have not seen or heard of anyone being dismissed for this piece of gross engineering inefficiency, If Mr. Brown’s Government / telephone engineers are ineapablé of, putting the matter right, I suggest he engage some competent radio engineers who can prevent a recurrence of & thing which has spoilt a whole evening's entertainment more than once,-Yours, ete. ‘Music Lover.’ "