The World at Call on Shortwave

Radio Record, Volume V, Issue 51, 1 July 1932, Page 3

The World at Call on Shortwave

by

Observer

? Ny HE successful rebroadcast of the Australian short-wave station 2ME’s description of the Rugby match, All Blacks: versus. New South Wales, once again emphasises the tremendous value and possibilities of short-wave broadcasting.. It brings home the fact that short-wave broadcasting is now well past the experimental stage, and that on these frequencies there is a great amount of real news and entertainment to be picked up. While this great match was certainly something out of the common, and was consequently rebroadcast by the YA stations, rebroadcasts are aot always possible or even desirable, and there is much of interest on short wave that the broadcast listener misses. Last Saturday we listened to the broadcast and were thrilled Wawith the description. Because of radio we followed the teams up and down the field, and saw in mind’s eye the huge crowd that forgathered to see the event. But the description of this-one ‘match is nothing out of the common’as a short-wave feat. Descriptions of other matches of the tour will be on the air, irrespective of, whether the YA stations broadcast them or not, and they require only a simple short-wave set in order to bring them in. . Football enthusiasts are not the only. ones who are catered for. The many sporting activities that are taking place on the other side uv of the Tasman, and elsewhere for that matter, are put on the air in this manner. Take, for iristance, the Kirk-Windeyer Cup golfing results. All these were broadcast soon after they were known in Australia, and any golfing enthusiast with a short-wave receiver was able to get them direct and hear them long before they were broadcast from our ordinary broadcast stations.

TEs there are the descriptions of the famous . Australian horse races. These go on the air but cannot be tuned in unless one has a receiver that is able to pick them up. The recent boxing match for the world’s championship was likewise on the air, and similarly the Eucharistic Congress. One could go on instancing a thousand events of world importance that have been broad¢ast on these high frequencies. [hey are on the broadcast band, too, but the peculiarity about radio waves is that the longer the wavelength the shorter the range of the station, so that if these broadcasts are made on long wave it is impossble for them.to be picked up at any great distance. Many of the Australian stations were broadcasting the All Blacks’ match on Saturday, but only the short waves were able to be picked up here satisfactorily. Similarly with other events around the world. ‘They are all on the air, but they can be received only on short vaves. Just why it is possible for short waves to penetrate further ‘han the broadcast is another story; sufficient, then, to say they do. Until: only recently the receptions of short wave meant a battery set or a battery adapter. It meant pulling out valves from the main set and plugging in the adapter. It meant jiggling two or more dials,

several controls, and sets of coils, but modern radio development has made all this unnecessary. One can use a modern adapter which, a.c. operated, fits into a neat cabinet to be placed ‘on the. ordinary radio set. The aerial is attached to the adapter and a connection

is made between this and the set. The earth is connected, and the set is ready to do its work, to bring in the broadcasts from near and far. Generally, there is a switch in the adapter with which one can select the wavebands and also cut the adapter completely out of the circuit. In a modern instrument there are no coils to change and no regeneration to master. Short-wave tuning is not quite as simple as broadcast, but it does not take long to learn the principles involved: