Australian Broadcast Reforms

Radio Record, Volume VI, Issue 1, 15 July 1932, Page 5

Australian Broadcast Reforms

British Expert’s Views HB suggestion that the wavelengths of the Australian broadcasting stations should be raised to somewhere between 1000 and 2000 metres instead of being concentrated between 200 ‘and 575 metres was made by Captain P. P. Eckersley, formerly chief engineer of the British Broadcasting ‘Corporation, who is now visiting Australia, Captain Hckersley declared also that Australia’s national broadcasting stations were of far too low power, and that instead of employing from 1 to 7% kilowatts, about 50 kilowatts or more should be used. Captain Hekersley speaks with au thority. He conducted the first broadcast in Britain in 1931, and as head: of the experimental section of the great Marconi Company established the first regular broadcasts in Hngland, attending. personally to the transmission, and also himself providing most of the programme. He joined the British Broadcasting Corporation at the. inception of public broadcasting, and until recently was its chief engineer. To him undoubtedly credit is due that.the technique of British broadcasting is the best in the world. When every European country start ed broadcasting and a tangle of overlapping wavelengths ensued, it was Captain Hckersley who, through the B.B.C., drew together representatives of the nations, formed the International Radio Union, and allocated 1006 wavelengths to the 28 broadcasting countries of Europe. Another of his contributions to radiocasting was the establishment of the regional scheme in Britain by means of which every listener has the choice of at least twe | programmes within easy reach of his : set. "All this in spite of the opposition ' of the British Postal Department," ob- : Serves Captain Hickersley reflectively. "British postal officials opposed our. regional scheme, they opposed the es-: tablishment of high-powered stations,' : they opposed the establishment of longe. Wave broadcasters, and had to admit, in the end, that all these things were right."

Captain Eckersley has come to Aus. tralia on the invitation of Amalgamated, Wireless, the semi-Government national wireless organisation, te study the conditions of radio. He stated that already he could see that broadcasting in Australia has grown in a haphazard way. He considered a mistake has been made in not utilising longwave broadcasting. Hxperience has shown himand everyone in Europe was now con« vinced-that the long waves were of fundamental importance. It was @ great pity that Australia had eliminated the long waves without full investigation. It was a country of great distances and the signals of longwave sta~ tions were much stronger at a distance than those of shortwave stations. In reply to the questions, "What about the inconveniénce and expense to the public of changing back to long waves? What about the cost of .buying new receivers?’ Captain Bckersley stated that the reintroduction of long waves could otily be made gradu‘ally. Listeners would eventually obtain new receivers to accommodate themselves to the change and they would find that the trouble was well worth while, ’