Our Mail Bag

Radio Record, Volume V, Issue 51, 1 July 1932, Page 12

Our Mail Bag

Answer to Correspondent. ai 0.3. (Wellington) : If you write to * the Radio Inspector, care of the P. and T. Department, Wellington, he ‘will clear the matter up for you. H.M.G. (Wanganui): It is not the Registrar who is refusing you your certificate, but the Wireman’s. Registration Board. Altogether the position is unsatisfactory, and needs straightening out in the near future. Thank you for pointing out that.case of plagiarism : we noticed it just after it was too late: fortunately not to stop the award.

The Orchestra and the Standard of Music. Micur I express my appreciation of the 2YA Concert Orchestra and of the work.of Mr. Leon de Mauny to further the cause of good music. Thanks are also due to Signo: Tinda and Mr. Dixon for the work their combinations did. It is a gross injustice. to abuse Mr. de Mauny or Mr. Dixon as Mr. K. Johns has done. 1 am in agreement with the sentiments expressed by Chas. Smith, Karori, Classic and operatic music are types that appeal to the writer, and in a small place like this where no choir, orchestra, opera company or eminent soloists touch, there is only the wireless to bring to one’s hearing the works of the masters, The orchestras of 2YA have been a great boon to me in that respect. In my opinion they have the responsibility of giving forth to the public the finest and noblest expressions of the mind as found by those who are preeminent in the world of music. In fact it is their duty to educate the public. not the public to educate them. ‘Any reasonable man can see that the programmes cater as far as possible for all tastes; itis surprising how the Standard is maintained. I was impressed by the generally low standard of music in New Zealand when just after the war I used to spend thé evenings at the Cologne Opera House, and later at Covent Garden. The vaudeville shows were packed, and only what might be called a sprinkling of New Zealanders were to be seen at the opera houses, The reception of the 2YA Orchestra appears to depend on locality. I was listening to "Orpheus in the Underworld," ‘Sylvan Scenes," "Lres Jolie," tising a horn and large moving-coil speaker, the latter with a threc-feet baffle, and standing out in the room. The reproduction was distinctly good. the. "inners" were clean and precise. and the double basses had a clean, full tone, To my way of thinking the gradation of tone should be worked back from a strong f, giving a much softer level for PP. When ff and beyond are reached clarity suffers, A big responsibility rests on the monitoring, and it is not a job for boys. Without being deemed inconsistent, might I put forward a suggestion for Mr. de Mauny’s consideration. that of using the double bass for solo work, with. piano or orchestral saccompaniment, The plea may, be put forward that they are not recognised solo instruments, but the performers on these instruments can be just as much artists as those on violins, flutes and cornets. They could play "slow melody" solos such as "On Heaven’s Just Cause Relying," from Les Huguenots, also others of that type and class. Of course one does not expect "Yo Here the Gentle Lark," and that type of solo to be attempted on these instruments, Bass ‘solos are given in vhoirs by men, and in

brass bands there are some wonderful exponents on the double basses,-...s0 why not solos in orchestras? Classic music requires the use of the intellect, and for that reason does not appeal to many people. I trust that the orchestra will continue to develop and give still more pleasure to those of us who live in remote valleys and iso-

lated districts.-

A. E.

Elliston

Reet-

ton).

The Case For B Stations. (THE letters of Mr. Fitzgerald and DX42W regarding B stations are to the point. Generally speaking, the B stations give the finest programmes --recordings, for the most part. These recordings of all kinds represent the best work of the world’s leading urtists, bands and orchestras. Ience vhe great popularity of the B broad: casts with the listening public. The present co-ordination of YA and B stations should not be interfered with, for { am sure that any action tending to close down-the B stations will be resented by. listeners generally. The B services are so good and nre so widely enjoyed that many radio owners would not continue to pay fees in order to listen to the YA stations alone. From time to time we read of harsh criti-

cism of local talent, which, admittedly. is not. generally up to, say, Australian standard. Still, the YA stations must use the best available talcnt in their centres--and. they have nn. exacting public to cater for. Uniform pleasure and satisfaction all the time cannot be given by our group of YA stations; go our B stations have their place and the authorities ¢ontrolling radio service in New Zealand will, I hope, wisely recognise this fact. The correct policy is co-operation. between VA and the leading B stations,

K.

H.

(Auckland).

Shortening the News’ Session. (yet here, with a bi-weekly mail ser--yice, we depend largely on 2Y¥A for up-to-date news. as also do many other country listeners. I view with alarm the gradual shortening of the pews session. On some night each week recently this session has been shortened to 30 minutes, of which 8 minutes are taken up with shipping und weather. 1 hope this is not the beginning of a general shortening of this session, which I do nat think is grudged by the city listeners. . Also. I suggest that a fixed time be allotted for the weather report, and that all

shipping round the coasts be cut outs Who is interested in the arrival. of the Kuku at Patea? I hope "the powers that be" are considering the heterodyne trouble. Up here 2YA has a verv loud howl from 16.80 to 18.00, due to WGN. At times it is hard to- hear what Mr. Announcer ig saying, and to listen to the Children’s Session is usually futile. T hope that ‘before the Rugby games in Australia are broadcast 2YA has had 1 10 ke. change--DX12HB. "Lucia di Lammermoor." ] WISH’ to offer my congratulations tg the YA stations on their relay of the opera "Lucia di Lammermoor." 1YA was not-up to the standard of the other YA’s, apparently due to transmission trouble. 3YA was a vast improvement, but 83HA, Hamilton, Victoria, was better. However, I realise this is the first attempt at relaying on opera, and [I know 4 big improvement ean and will be made,-Onehunga. ( . Radio Servicemen’s Baa : A® you have so far not published any adverse comments on the last radio servicemen’s exam., I should like to give f my views on the subject, which I think I may fairly claim are held by all the candidates (in Auckland, at least), and © nlarge number of others connected with the radio business. 1. In the first place, the examiners appear to have lost sight of the fact that this exam. is not for the purpose of conferring degrees, but merely to permit servicemen to perform simple repitirs, involving as a rule nothing more; intricate than the replacement of aN transformer, choke, resistor, or other component, Involved calculations concerning the amount of current at various points of a circuit, and other questions such as these, may be necessary for a set builder, but ate totally outside the seope of a serviceman’s work. 2. It is a universal practice, where the repair involved is anything more serious than the above, to send the set to the distributors, or agents, who usually have all the necessary testing ~ gear, spares, and a complete knowledge of the weak points of that particular set. This procedure is, I submit, far more satisfactory to all conterned than turning a customer’s drawing room into a workshop. , 8, Several questions read: "Describe fully--,’ "Describe in detail-." On some of these subjects books might have been written, The result was that some candidates who attempted to carry this out were unable to finish the paper. . 4 4, Unless I am much mistaken, the term "free bias" is a slang term, and not to be found in technical works. It was not known to some candidates whe were quire well up in their subject. 5. The professed object of this. exam. is to protect the public. As it is. now conducted, it is doing just the reverse, in that a dealer may now sell his sets and is prevented by law from servicingy them. Radio may now become a profit-) able business aftér all. 6 The great majority of the candilates are boys round about the age of 20, who have served 2 few years with wireless dealers, and are very efficient indeed at practical work, but will never be able to pass extims. of the standard of the recent one, not having had 8 (Continued on page 19.)

Our Mailbag

(Continued from page 12.) sufficiently advanced course in mathematics. Formulae which appear simple to a college man are Greek to the average schoolboy, particularly when they are

set in conjunction with a trap composed of a network of resistors, and, incidentally, a valve circuit which has nothing to do with the question. Some of these boys, real practical servicemen, in responsible positions, write so badly that it is doubtful whether an examiner would have the patience to read through their papers. This is not an exam. for handwriting, yet these boys will never pass a written exam. I trust the matter will not be allowed to drop, and that other protests will be made by radio clubs, and other organisations who are able to view the subject from all angles, and not merely from the narrow view of the board of examiners, whose sole purpose and delight is to trip up the poor candidate, and collect another 12/6 from him at the next exam.-‘Aerial" (Auckland). Radio Servicemen’s Exam. Now that the Radio Service examination is an established event, one can only wonder when the Government will cease to interfere with private business. The regulations appear to be just another example of Government bungling. In the first place the regulations were unnecessary. Under the pretence of protecting the listener, the law was framed to protect the big business man. We shall soon have licensed motor mechanics for surely our car deserves the same protection as our radio set. Properly administered the regulations would be pardonable. The service "ticket" should have been given as a recognition of merit and could have been used by its possessors to induce, not enforce patronage, but the listener should be free to decide whom to entrust with the work. In many small towns only one man has the required "ticket" and no matter how much he is disliked (professionally) -or how high his fees, there is no alternative, There are many young men who have made a study of radio and have the knowledge required to effect smal! repairs. Some of them are unemployed and would be glad of the chance to earn a few shillings from the application of their knowledge. The regulations now require that they have had three years in the profession before they can obtain a certificate. They are prohibited from doing even: the simplest jobs. .

"As for the electrical hazard, one can only say that all men are not fools and point to our 800 practising amateurs. {t is to this highly respected fratern-ity-the hams-that the regulations become an insult. For years they have operated stations of their on construction. Are they now to call in an "expert," who probably has never seen a transmitter before, to make their adjustments; or have they to start studying servicing and put in years of work in a business which does not interest them. Then again there should be two grades of "tickets." One for those who passed the first test and one for those wlio passed the second. Is it fair that the examination standard should be altered at each sitting? If the Govern--ment cannot yet decide what they require, then all candidates should be re-examined when the standard is fixed. That is if the heads are determined to interfere.--73W. A’s versus B’s. I WAS pleased to see by the letters of DX42W and DX4T that the clud is becoming interested in the B station elimination contest. _ The country has many associations, but listeners have been "pretty slow off the mark,’ and now when a strong organisation is needed we are not prepared, not because we have not had enough warning or that everybody is satisfied, but because we think that at the finish common-sense by the Broadcasting Board must prevail. The only organisation with any foundation at all, that is, still alive although scattered, seems to be the DX Club. Although it -is probably outside the objects for which the club was formed, I think district secretaries should call a general meeting to consider this question, as it affects all members probably more than the average listener. Listeners have not exactly realised what it would be like to be without B. stations and to have to depend entirely on the YA’s. While

a few say they are satisfied, it is in most eases becaused they cannot, or do not, go farther afield, and consequently do not know what they are missing. How many turn their sets off at 10 p.m. when the YA stations close down, and then complain as far as they are concerned broadcasting has ceased for the night? This when there are excellent pregrammes offering for them from B stations till probably 12 p.m. TI have listened to 4ZL, to mention one, when there has been no other station at speaker strength with the exception of Perth. One might say nobody wants to listen at that time, but this can be countered ‘by the fact that these programmes are usually all request ones. This is only a detail of the service B stations are giving in general. I keep in touch with dozens of stations, both A and B, and I am quite satisfied that in eight cases out of ten the YA’s lose by comparison with the B’s, when it is considered that the B stations are working under a severe ‘handicap. -! :

Concerning the YA programmes: We must cultivate local talent, certainly, but why practise on us? The board knows full well what the public wants, but refuses to give it. This is proved by the fact ‘that there are no screeching sopranos put on at the Sunday night band coucert, Let any of the regular studio items be put on at one of these coucert and then an item by, say, to mention two, Dan Foley or Herbert Wood, and compare the applause. "Why the board and YA _ supporters want to put B stations off the air is beyond me. Even granted there is nothing in’ their favour, surely there is nothing against them. If a listener tunes to a YA station for his programme, the B stations are not interfering with him. The only thing unsatisfactory with B stations at present seems to be the matter of hours’ service, but this ¢an easily be overcome. I think the majority of listeners would not object to sponsored programmes and advertising to the extent of, say. 25 words every fourth recording. The board, with their present apparently hostile attitude toward B stations, would undoubtedly not allow them to overstep the mark, and I am sure the B stations in their own interests would not do so. ' Regarding heterodyne interference, this could be eliminated to a great extent. There are a good many Bstations which are not capable of covering a great distance, yet are strong enough to be a nuisance. By reducing their power still lower they’ could be more or less localised. No more licenses should be granted unless in a district where they are absolutely necessary, or in the event of a station closing down for any reason. Some stations could be cut out where they are serving the same locality, but we must have B stations. Allow them the revenue IT have mentioned, give ‘hem a five-year license and a free hand reecardine nroserammes and thev will pro-

vide all we want for nothing.-

B.

W.

(Stratford).

[The correspondent takes a great deal for granted. The Board has not pronounced its policy with respect to "B’ stations, nor has it given any indicition of its attitude toward: them.-Ed.] [The correspondent takes a great ‘deal for granted, The Board has not pronounced its policy with respect to "B" stations, nor has it given any indication of its attitude’ toward them.-Ed.]