Interesting Empire Low-Wave

Radio Record, Volume V, Issue 39, 8 April 1932, Page 5

Interesting Empire Low-Wave

B.B.C, Undertakes Scheme New British Station [Tz is hoped that a regular and satisfactory service will be provided by the new Empire broadcasting station, the construction of which has now been taken in hand in England. The scheme is being financed entirely out of the British Broadcasting Corporation’s revenue, and no question of Overseas contributions will be raised until the service, from which New Zealand will benefit, has been established. The corporation will be free, however, to reopen then the question of providing finance for the station’s maintenance. Experimental broadcasts will be \earried out, it is expected, well before the end of the year and full pro grammes Will be announced not long afterward. The site of the new station is at Daventry, adjacent to the present 5XX. For some time the two stations will work side by side, and it is possible that this arrangement will be continued permavently. The site has been described as ideal, owing to its elevation and other geographical considerations. Seventeen Aerials. When completed, the station will present the appearance of a forest of aerials. In all there will be 17, of which 11 will be directional. Two transmitters will enable distinct programmes to be sent out simultaneously. The work will be carried out by the B.B.C., and contracts for the supply of the *immense amount of plant required have been placed with a. large and well-known firm. All the apparatus will be manufactured in Great Britain by British workers. Division Inte Zones. The whole of the British Umpire, for purposes of broadcasting, has been divided into five zones. Roughly speaking, these.will include the principal Colonies and Dominions, as follow :- (A) Canada, British Guiana, Trinidad, and West Indian and certain Pacific dependencies; (b) Australia, New Zealand, Tasmania. Borneo, and the Hast Indian dependencies; (e) India, Burma, the Malay States, and adjacent dependencies; (da) South Africa and an area approximately fsmpassed by the longitudes of Iraq, Egypt, Somaliland and Hast Africa; Ye) East Africa, with the Gold Coast, St. Helena, and Ascension Island. The principal problem now facing the B.B.C. is that of providing suitable programmes for such an assortment of listeners. This question has given rise to a great deal of discussion, and it is felt that it will be impossible to decide even the outlines of programmes until experiments have been carried out and reports have been received from the various areas. Whatever the decisions at the commencement of these interesting broadcasts, the progress and development of this gigantic scheme will be watched and listened to by New Zealand lowwave enthusiasts on their StewartWarner converters. Hundreds of Iisteners are now modernising and ¢x-

tending the range of their radioz by the fitting of one of these popular. new units. Most interesting reporte have already been received of reception throughout the world. The Radio Division of Messrs. Hope Gibbons, Ltd., report that they are very pleased with "the way these important little units of the New Stewart-War-ner Radio Line are being received by the New Zealand public-(P.B.A.).