Our Mail Bag

Radio Record, Volume VI, Issue 2, 22 July 1932, Page 9

Our Mail Bag

Sporting Results. PROTEST against the best broadcast of the week-the "community sing" --being interrupted with racing results Surely the "sports" could, wait one hour for their news. I would ‘like to congratulate the board on securing the services of "Mr. Heigh Ho." May we

hear him often.-

Amp

’ (King Goun-

+

_ [We have had other letters voicing a similar complaint-Hd.]_ . Performing Fees. N your issue of July 1, on page 7, reference is made to Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s' musical compositions. After referring to a fund having been opened for his widow the article states that "his dependants were never to reap any benefit from his life work of composing." Will you kindly grant us space to say that this is not the position as regards performing fees. . Samuel CGoleridge-Taylor died in September, 1912. The Hnglish Performing. Right was founded in 1914, and in 916 Mrs. Jessie F. Coleridge-Taylor was elected a member as legal representative of her deceased husband. In an interview with Mrs. ColeridgeTaylor, published in 1928, she referred to the "substantial benefits" she derived from the society by way of performing fees collected by it on her behalf, and the successful manner in which the society looked after the interests of its members. In passing it is interesting to note that even in 1928 Mrs. ColeridgeTaylor referred to the "misplaced optimism" of those who expected public performances to increase the sales of their music, and the greater reason, therefore, why performing right should be fully protected.-S. W. Hdwards, Secretary, Australasian Performing Right Association, Limited. Reception of 2YA. I CONSIDER it my duty to support the sentiments of DX4T and "Amicus" in this week’s "Radio Record." If ever I can listen to a station other than 2YA, I do. For the past twelve or eighteen months reception from 2YA has been mushy and unpleasant. It is not the fault of the district for, until March 8, I lived in the Manawatu, nor is it the fault of the set, for often in disgust I have switched over to 2FC, 2CO, 5CK or 4YA, and they all come in splendidly. DX4T’s idea about inter-changing programmes from 5 to 8 p.m. is excellent. One often comes home from work tired id perhaps a little irascible, and all is te listen to is that "tosh" eailed the children’s hour. Again. from 7 to 8 p.m. the average listener does not want to listen to the an. nouncer monotonously saying: "Norfolk Island, 30deg. 4 deg. west, moderate, ete." Surely we can be offered

some aiternative programme —

~DX33T .

(Patea).

Servicemen’s Exam. Justified. THE letter from ‘‘Aerial" appearing in a recent issue of the "Reeord" re radio servicemen’s exam. is really most amusing, He does not appear to understand the first thing about servicing, as it is absolutely necessary to know the amount of eur. rent at the various points of a cir. euit. He states that it is the "universal

practice’ where more than minor repairs are required to forward the set to the distributors of agents. ‘This is not so. An up-to-date serviceman is capable of effecting all repairs to any make of set quite as well as, if not better than, the distributors or agerts, who often have not the latest testers and "dope." A man who simply removes the chassis from the cabinet and forwards it to the agents for repairs may be an

expert packer but cannot claim te’ be a radio serviceman. No serviceman would think of turning a customer’s drawing-room into a workshop, as he is quite capable of taking the set to his own workshop for tepairs, It was not necessary to "write books" when asked "Describe fully---," "Deseribe in detail 2 A man well versed in his subject van describe tersely. . Verbosity cuts no ice with an examiner. It was not necessary to have .a college education to satisfy the examiners. What a reflection on the boasted educational system. of New Zealand to state that boys of 20 can not write legibly. The examiners, I presume, are perfectly capable of defending themselves, but I should like to mention that I consider ali the questions asked could be answered Without difficulty by any man who was

au Tait with his trade.-

Radio

Serviceman

(Stratford).

Radio Serviceman’s Exam. APPARENTLY all your correspondents have averlooked the rea} grievance, though they are aware that an injustice is being done to radio dealers. (1) In my opinion the exam is very necessary, but should -be earried farther, as, why should not all dealers in electrical appliances sit? | Appar. ently the R.S. exam. is mainly to pro tect the public-from the electrical hazard through sets not being installed correctly... This "electrical «hazard" also ‘applies to. nearly all electrical ap-

pliances and in some cases more so than to radio sets. This, as all will see, is very unfair as a great handicap is placed on the radio dealer while dealers in other electrical appliances have no examinations and no new regulations to contend with: It may be said that a radio set can still be sold without the salesman haying passed the exam., but it has to be fitted by someone who has passed or by a registered wireman. This should apply to all electrical appliances -but does it? (2) Why is it that registered wiremen do not have to sit for the R.S. exam.? They probably are capable of installing the set as far as the wiring of the power is concerned, but many wiremen are not capable of servicing a set, yet they are legally entitled to do so. (3) In the event of his not passing the R.S. exam. (and & very great many haven’t) a.country dealer is particularly hampered as he has to call in the services of a registered man who is often not nearet than 40 or 80 miles. This is almost prohibitive and immediately reflects on the clients of a country dealer as he is now no longer able to service the sets he has sold, though he has been doing so for a number of years. It will be said that he will have to swat up and pass the exam., but how about in the meantime? The exams. are only every six months and then one has to wait two months before. one knows whether they have passed or not. In view of the above I make the suggestion that dealers who have sat for the exam. and have done reasonably well should be given a temporary provisional license to continue providing they sit again for the next exam. In the main I agree with "Aerial" and 73W in your last issue, but as I have stated, I don’t think they see the real injustice nor its impor-

tanve.

Radio Dealer

(Ward).

[The regulations do not prevent anyone servicing a set providing they do not interfere with the connections be gs the primary and the wall plug. Exam. Thought Unnecessary. Now that the results of the second radio serviceman’s exam. are out it is apparert that there is something very much amiss either with the paper set or with the method of marking. I do not propose to express my opin ions or those of anyone else, but mere ly to state some facts, In the first place, several candidates have secured passes who are not practical men, but who hold posts not involving work of a service nature. On the other hand, a very large number of really skilled men have failed both exams, In support of the statement that they are skilled men, I krow of several holding yvesponsible positions. For example, the head servicemen of two firms who have sold, to my certain knowledge, over 20,000 sets, have failed twice. Yet these men have for years been servicing te the satisfaction of the firms concerned, and to the public. this immense number of sets. Tn another instance the proprietor of a radio service station, capable of doing anything up to building a complete set, has been unable to. satisfy the examiners. cn , » Obviously there is something

clientes and, ‘as: an ‘unsuccessful candidate, I. ‘propose to point out one or two ob" vious faults on the part of the examiners, In: part "B" we were instructed te. do "at least four questions." If we ‘were required to do four questions,’ and that number was sufficient, why i not say so? The wording of the. instructions ins : plied that it would be advisable ‘te answer all six, and personally I attris : bute my failure to this point, in that: I attempted two questions on which. I was somewhat hazy. However, .the greatest inconsistency is shown by the examiners in their. answers to the questions published in . the "Radio Times." After stating in last month’s issue that they required brevity, and. that one .candidate whose answérg were. condensed into a space’ of one and a half pages had secured top marks, they proceed to give their own answers, which cover several pages of the "Rae dio Times," and go into a wealth of detail regarding sections and paragraphs which no ordinary person could possibly carry in his head. It would have been far more helpful to have published the type of answers required. Personally I cannot see the necessity for such an examination, any more than it is hecessary for a carpenter to pass an exam. in architecture (im fact, far less). As regards the radio side, practicale ty all men engaged in the business are capable of doing most of the ordinary repairs met with from day to day, and if the power boards require some knowledge of their regulations, the essential points are very few, and a far more satisfactory method of secure ing their fulfilment would be to ime pose penalties on their infringement. I have yet to hear of any accidents, far less fatalities, caused by inefficient

servicemen:

Trier

(Te Atatu),