The Wellington Show from All Angles

Radio Record, Volume IV, Issue 49, 19 June 1931, Page 3

The Wellington Show from All Angles

Notes and Comments

By

Observer

Midgets Or the midget or mantel class of receiver, there were many varieties, and almost without exception, every stand had examples of this popular class of set. Among the most interesting was a complete set capable of reaching out to distant stations, which — was offered for sale for less than £20; — a new class of machine that employs two of the new American type pentode valves of push pull, and a new threeyalyo outfit enclosed in a bakelite case. nf$ latter machine, which uses re eration, is one of the latest products of Continental manufacture, and is one of the most attractive little sets I have seen. Perhaps the most compact outfit was a midget gramophone and radio combination. It stands only 3 feet high. All Wave Sets B these I saw several, and many. representatives advised that their principals would have the combinations on sale this season. One particular outfit quite impressed me, for it was capable of covering all the wave-lengths without removing a coil from the set. A knob on the panel could be set in any one. of four positions, and would make connection with an appropriate set of coils in the set. When it came to the broadcast coils the capacity of the tuning. condensers could also be adJusted. It is understood that a New Zealand firm is developing this idea for its next model. Maori Entertainers TY'HD popularity of Maori entertainers does not seem to be on the wane. The Otaki party, although they put on more or less similar programmes, attracted capacity houses to each performance. There was not & seat available after about 7.30 each night, and on the last two nights one could not get near the stage unless he wormed his way through closely-packed spectators. It has been a very long time since I last saw such crowds at a public function of this nature. The organisers have reason to be proud of the results of their efforts. Radio certainly was much before the public eye laft week. te Parts! F course, there was the old, old story, "Where are the parts and the home-built sets?" There was only a fair representation of parts and one or two home-built sets, but interest is still being taken in building, as demonstrated by the interest taken in one of the members of the Short Wave Club, who was building a set at the show. He was literally besieged with inquiries on all angles of the subject. On Short Wave | "AN increasingly great interest is being taken in shortwave. At the show there were many types of converters and adaptors as well as specially built all-wave sets. Of the adapters and converters some were of the superheterodyne type that goa be

tween the set and the aerial and the other type fits into the detector socket. The members of the Short Wave Club were kept busy answering queries on all aspects of the work. Although they had only a few feet of space, three and sometimes four member's were fully occupied. A Telegram From Auckland I THOUGHT it a fine gesture on the part of the Auckland radio dealers to send a wire wishing the Wellington show every success. Such an action is typical of the go0od-fellowship that exists between the radio trade in the tyro centres.

Portable Radios QNLY one portable set was noticed, and a close examination of this revealed many striking features. Five valves, three screen-grid, detector, and pentode were used, and to so fine an art have manufacturers reduced set design, that the total plate consumption was less than 16 m. amps. A point of particular interest was the employment of the new metallised coating screen-grid valves, which need no external screening whatsoever. The set operates on a built-in frame aerial, though provision has been made for the attachment of the conventional aerial and earth. The tone of this receiver was excellent-no doubt the result of the combination of pentode properly matched to a firstclass speaker-while the sensitivity and selectivity were surprising. Inverted Chassis PRACTICALLY every exhibitor hit upon the idea of inverting a chassis of their particular line of receivers to show the public the appar-

ently tangled mass of wires, condensers, resistances, etc, underneath. What good this could accomplish I am ata loss to imagine. To.the expert it was perhaps of interest-but experts don’t buy receivers, they build them. The intending purchaser, who usually knows nothing of radio, is naturally awestruck and perhaps a little shocked at seeing the "tummy" of a set ‘thus exposed. His next thought probably has something to do with the fix he (or she) would be in if, for example, one of that maze of wires dropped off. Of course, the expert knows the chances of such a thing happening are very remote, but the poor novice’s confidence is ‘very likely to suffer a severe shock. And such shocks are bad for business, * Too Much Entertainment? IB concerts provided by the Otaki Maori party were good; perhaps too good, for they were undoubtedly the greatest attraction of the show. They monopolised the programmes from 8 p.m. to nearly 10 p.m., and standholders had no chance of demonstrating their sets until after this hour. Many: visitors complained to me that though they were interested in radio they were unable to see the exhibits, so dense was the crowd. One could only make hushed inquiries about the sets, for demonstration was out of the question. May I suggest that a better arrangement would have been to entertain from the stage for a period and then return to the studio even if for a short time only. It would have given stand-owners opportunity to demonstrate. Not Quite the Thing I THOUGHT on one occasion that the action of one or two stand holders was not quite in keeping with the tone of the exhibition. During 2YA’s news session 2ZW has a music session, and naturally most sets in the exhibition were tuned here during this hour. One evening just prior to 8 p.m. Mr. Drummond stepped up to the microphone, while several sets in the hall were still on 2ZW, to announce the commencement of the programme. There were many hundreds of people present who wanted to hear Mr. Drummond in the ‘flesh, and most of the sets were switched off. Unfortunately, however, not everyone recognised his duty, and one or two sets were kept on music while Mr. Drummond was vainly endeavouring to make his voice sound above them. It was not quite fair. A Furniture Show QNE person remarked to me that the exhibition was little more than a furniture show, and although I cannot altogether agree with him, for there were interesting things to be found if one only looked for them, there is a grain of truth underlying the: statement. Radio to-day is developing along the lines that most inventions before

it have followed. A few yeurs. ago the telephone electric. appliances, house lighting systems, the motorcar, and the milking machine were cumbersome and unsightly. Furthermore, one had to have at least’ a fair smattering of technical knowledge to operate them. To-day it is different. The engineering part is well-nigh perfect and adjustment is both ..tinnecessary and inadvisable, so what: better can the manufacturers do than.concentrate upon the design of cabinet and, of course, small refinemerits? Furthermore, the salesman and the serviceman are no longer the same person, and those who went to the show to seek information re ‘the technicalities of their sets were somewhat disappointed. However, some of the firms had the heads of their technical departments down, and these gentlemen were funds of information for inquirers. Bad Taste THE audience showed’ surprisingly ~ bad taste when the presentations were being made to Messrs. Tyler and Mills, the "ham" heroes of the Napier earthquake. Certainly their voices did | not carry to the back of the hall, but there is no excuse for the interjections. These boys were well to the fore, and the voices of their sets carried far enough during those dark days and nights of early February last. These men,- amid terrorising surroundings, stuck to their posts and got away messages that brought help to the stricken area. They were not heckled then because they did not make enough noise. But the public easily forgets. Not so we who were amid the wreckage a day or so after the calamity and who saw these men, showing signs of the terrible strain of the preceding hours. The New Zealand "hams" deserve the highest of commendation for having made presentations to these boys. . "A Family Affair" WAS standing in the crowd near rhe . stage during the presentations, and when Mr. Tyler made reference to his wife heard a typical remark from a woman immediately behind me. "There, I knew it was a family affair. What you men would do without your wives I don’t know." Mr. Tyler remarked that Mrs. Tyler had refused to leave the home during the night following the earthquake, but had remained with him and had done very much to help. "My success was entirely due to her," Mr. Tyler confessed. . A Good "Selling" Device UITE one of the best "selling" ideas was 2 miniature theatre screen set in model theatre surroundings. This bore the legend "The Theatre of the Air." Sliding curtains moved to and fro across the screen, which changed during the time the curtains were in place. On the screen were featured different selling stories, including a reference to the "Radio Record" d.x. competition. Many people collected round this stand watching the "theatre." It is remarkable how something moving attracts attention. Another interesting exhibit ' (Goncluded on page 29.)

EF rom All Angles

(Continued from page 8.) on this stand was an automatic recordplaying instrument which, without attention, plays both sides of 12 records. ‘The price was only £150, little more than that of a good radio and gramophone combination of a couple of years ago. It was a very attractive piece of furniture, too. Home-built Apparatus ‘Yury many visitors examined and commented upon the sets that were exhibited on the "Radio Record" stand. These were the "Outspan Five," the "Rejecta II" crystal set, and a Schnell 8.2., det., audio, three-valve all-wave set. eside these sets there were two 30 enry chokes and a 100 watt transformer built up from specifications in the "Radio Guide.’ A few queries were forthcoming on the subject of radio construction, but they were less in number than on previous occasions. Perhaps this is to be explained by the fact that the ‘Technical Editor was not always present. Nevertheless, I think the number of persons interested in radio technique and construction is on the wane. Still, there are yet many, and they must not be neglected. Construction seems to be settling on small sets from the crystal to three valves. The larger sets do not seem to be much in demand, although the "Outspan" has had a good run. Children’s Session "THE vhildren’s session as presented on the stage of the Town Hall on Friday evoked considerable interest, and hundreds of kiddies flocked into the building "to see how it all works." Aunts Molly and Daisy, with the help of some of the uncles, put on a very good show for the younger people. though I thought it a great mistake that some twenty or thirty little girls, nicely decked out in white, should be left standing on the stage ten min- =

_---~ utes or so before the session began. Toward the end of the wait many of them appeared very nervous. I believe some of the uncles were missing at the critical moment-a woman’s privilege, surely. Questionable Salesmanship HILE standing near one display, I overheard the following conversation between a lady and the stall attendant :- Lady: I think I prefer the smaller of those two sets. Attendant: Well, it’s a matter of personal taste, of course; but Td strongly advise you to consider taking the larger, because it’s adapted for television. The larger set was over £20 dearer, and television-in New Zealand, at anyrate-is a long way ahead. "Fair play --" The Organiser \yicce of the heaviest work in organising the show fell upon the shoulders of Mr. Charlie Camp, the secretary of the Wellington Radio Dealers’ Association, and it must be admitted that he did his work faithfully and well. ‘The ideas for the decorations, which were executed by Hanna and King, were his, and they were probably the best representations of their kind yet carried out in Wellington. As show organiser, Mr. Camp did excellent work, and the great success is in no little measure due to his untiring efforts.