"The Best Guide Yet"

Radio Record, Volume V, Issue 39, 8 April 1932, Page 3

"The Best Guide Yet"

A Critical Review of 1932 Radio Guide

and Call Book By "Observer"

>| LMOST without warning we have found 9} ourselves in possession of the 1932 "Radio Guide"’-a 160-page booklet, crammed full of interesting and instructive matter no = radio enthusiast or, for that matter, Gwe) casual listener, can afford to be without. TEggis the fifth "Radio Guide" and without hesitatiolft can be acclaimed the "best yet." Each year this ypublication has become more valuable, more interesting, and more informative. It has grown

with radio science; 1f started when radio was in its intancy in this country, and has expanded with it. To-day it is an eloquent testimony of radio in its present advanced stage. It is published at the end of one of the most interesting years in New Zealand radio history and, as one would expect, it has a complete record of all those stirring events which have made the last twelve months a long-to-be-remembered period. In a profusely illustrated section, it takes the listener back into those early days, the early 1920’s, when radio was a hobby indulged in only by those who dared the wrath and penalties of the powers that be, for radio was then forbidden. It traces the growth through those days until the days of organised broadcast, when YA, YB, AE’s etc., first came >don the air. It recaptures some of the early thrills experienced by e amateurs of those days, and tells in a graphic manner how the first long-distance calls were received. It takes the listener to the beginning of the Broadcasting Com- -_ «ff

pany in l¥20, and traces the growth of radio in this country under their administration. It sketches the company’s attainments and tells of the losing battle which they fought for the retention of their control. It outlines the schemes advanced by them, and tells how they were met by the public and the Government. Finally we see the establishment.of the New Zealand Broadcasting Board and its Advisory Committee. The Chapter ends with a very terse statement of the problems which lie ahead of the Broadcasting Board and what we may expect to see in the future. This article is illustrated by many hitherto unpublished photographs of artists, groups and the photographs of the four YAfannouncers. Many listeners will be anxigus to get the "Guide" for these photographs alone. These are on excellent paper and are a credit to the printers. In Chapter 2, intriguingly captioned, "This Thing Called Broadcasting," is to be found an absorbingly interesting treatment of radio from a scientific viewpoint. It sets out by asking, "But what is this radio and how is it that, whilst we can hear nothing in the air, yet it appears to be full 4 of voices for the radio? The air is not \full of voices and the radio does not carry Sound. The solution of it all is found in that marvel of the modern day-electricity. What is electricity?’ And then it goes on to tell in a delightfully simple manner how the material universe is built up of

protons and electrons, and how these, in vartous combinations, make up life as we know it. Readers are then told how these protons and electrons, under certain circumstances, can be made to perform the mirfacles we attribute to radio. . Those puzzling terms of wavelengths ‘and frequencies are explained in a manner so simple. that anyone who has not the slightest knowledge of radio, nor an inkling of how to acquire it, can under+ stand. It links radio with heat and light waves,

and gives it its correct place in a vast spectrum. You have often heard those terms ‘‘modulation," "de-modulation," . and "transmission," and wondered what they really mean. In_ the "Radio Guide" you will find them explained in such a manner that you can understand them. It takes you to the receiving set through each stage, explaining with many diagrams how it is that "while we can hear nothing in the air yet it appears to be full of voices for the radio," and then devotes several pages to that modern receiver-the superheterodyne receiver. It works upon a complicated principle, but the "Radio Guide" has taken away the complications and made it appear so simple that the average reader, uninitiated in technicalities, has a bird’s-eye view of the complete operation. This section is illustrated with many diagrams which are fully explained, starting with a sketch showing the fundamentals, leading to a diagrams of the modern a.c. superhetero~ yne.

It tells you all you want to know about speakers and their baffle boards, batteries and their selection, the eliminator and how it works. There is a section on the aerial and the earth, which states very carefully the main features of their installation and maintenance. A chapter quite new to New Zealand radio listeners will be that on the design of a complete radio receiver. Experimenters will be more interested in this chapter, for it deals with all the fundamental. points that designers must consider. Illustrated by eight clear diagrams, this article for the serious experimenter is worth the half-crown paid for the "Radio Guide." Then in a brief chapter are reviewed the salient features of the modern set. The last section in this absorbing chapter is that on television, and it is not a brief mention, but a simple explanation of the phenomenon of this new radio science. It explains clearly how light is changed into electricity, transmitted and received. The various scanning systems are fully explained, with special reference to the Baird system of television which is making great headway in England at the present time, Section 3, "With the Constructor," is introduced in a rather unusual manner. A typical four-valve circuit is taken. and, stage by stage, the reader is taken throug it. Every component is numbered and the raison d’etre given (Continued on page 22.) a

1932 Radio Guide (Continued from page 3) in simple terms. Scattered through this article are illustrations depicting theoretically and pictorially the various components used in this circuit. Items of interest in the construction section are a band-pass filter unit, by which greater selectivity. may be obtained than with a wavetrap, an unusual coil-winder which is a vast improvement on that published last year, in that spacing for all types of wire is quite automatic, a wmulti-range meter, the 1932 "Radcord Crystal Set," @ modern three-valve set, and a sixwatt amplifier. The most remarkable set of the season. brings this chapter to a conclusion. It is the "1932 Advance All-Waver." In brief this is a five-valve a.c. set designed for all wavelengths, employing two 285 valves, a 224 detector, 4 227 first audio and a 247 pentode. The remarkable part of this set is that coil changing is unnecessary. There is @ small indicator on the side of the cabinet, and this. can be moved so that any waveband desired may be brought into operation, making allwave listening delightfully simple, It is so profusely illustrated with carefully worked out diagrams that anyone who has done any radio construction whatever can have no difficulty in constructing it. Section four deals with the building of transformers and chokes and introduces a table which is delightfully simple to use and is such that anyone can calculate the sizes of transformers they require without any difficulty. Section five, "Trouble Tracking and Servicing," is well worth reading. It is not an obtuse technical discussion on fault finding, but is a simple talk to the non-technical readers, explaining how the majority of troubles occurring in the average set may be tracked down. It leads up to a complete trouble-tracking chart, by consulting which the set owner can arrive at the trouble in his set with the least difficulty. This chapter is complete with a section on the servicing of superheterodynes, in which the main faults occurring in this type of recelver are briefly dealt with. . The valve section contains the characteristics and tables of the betterknown makes of valves, while there is the usual Radio Call Book. This was corrected only a few days ago, and

the listener will find. it an accurate guide to all the stations likely to be heard in New Zealand. There are all the New Zealand broadcasters, with their address, frequency, wavelength, power and schedule. Then there are the Australians, and the scheduleg are given for all night sessions, except for the more powerful stations, for which all sessions are given. There igs a very representative list of the American, Canadian, Japanese, Mexican and Huropean stations. Provision has been made for dial readings, and the date the station has been logged.. There igs. the inevitable list of short-wave broadcasting stations compiled by Mr. F. W. Sellens, the president of the New Zealand Short-wave Club. This undoubtedly is one of the most accurate lists which any paper ever publishes on short-wave schedules. In the Reference. Section will be found many varied and useful tables, including the radio symbols adopted as standard in the "Radio Record." There is a wire table, a chart for solenoid coil construction, small power transformers, chokes, speakers, capacity in series and in parallel, and many others. Also in this section is the complete text of the New Zealand Broadcasting Bill. The "Guide" is completed with an up-to-date Glossary of radio terms. Many of the old terms have been redefined and simplified, while new ones have been added to keep the reader apace of technical developments. _An account of the "Radio Guide" would not be complete without reference to its cover. Done in the familiar blue and orange colours, it is of modern design portraying a valve on 4a. background of wireless waves. It stands out well and can be easily recognised. , An Invaluable Publication. HE "Guide" is a publication invalu- ~ able to anyone interested in radio, and our advice is to secure one before it is too late. In previous years we have had ‘to either reprint or allow the late would-be purchasers to go without their copy. This year, we shall not be reprinting and do not want to see anyone disappointed. The moral is, buy your copy early. It may be had from most booksellers and dealers, or failing them, direct from the publishers, Box 1032, Wellington, to whom dealers and booksellers are referred for further information.