RADIO Round the World

Radio Record, Volume VI, Issue 4, 5 August 1932, Unnumbered Page

RADIO Round the World

[HH new 200 kw. Luxembourg advertising station is to be equipped to receive sponsored programmes from the U.S.A. With this station on one side, and Ireland’s advertising station on the other, the broadcasting interests in Great Britain are becoming concerned, and it is thought in some quarters counter-action may be necessary. * a * DPURING Berlin’s Pedestrians’ Safety Week, loudspeakers at traffic centres issued warnings and admonitions to unwary walkers. Motor-cars, also equipped with loudspeakers, swooped down on pedestrians, stopping just in time to avoid accident, «and issuing reprimands if in the circumstances the frightened walker did the wrung thing. 8 % x N moving from Savoy Till to their new quarters, the B.B.C. was jinvolyed in the removal of 60 tons of musical scores. There were 10,000 bags of or-. chestral, 4000 bags of vocal, 12,000 bags of pianoforte, and 2000 bags of partsongs and anthems. * % s THE coming Presidential campaign in the U.S.A. is eagerly awaited by broadeast-station owners. Records show that both political parties spent a total of £215,737 on broadcast publicity during the 1928 campaign. The present rate of the N.B.C. und Columbia organisations’ combined facilities, works out at about £8314 per hour. Ed "wo houses inside one, triple walls, triple doors, and triple windows, is the basic plan on which Rome’s new broadcasting house has been built. The transmitter is situated eighteen miles away, and connected to the studio by special and private lines. ts us Psd qs an enlightened country where prisoners receive regular broadcast entertainment, a plebiscite has revealed the fact that old-time melodies are the favourites. "The Man Who Broke the Bank of Monte Carlo" is extremely popular. * * A SAN FRANCISCO stution recently broadcast the information that a young man in Kentucky had succeeded in creating a broadcast receiver of the all-electric a.c. type, that was entirely without valves. It was said that the invention practically eliminated static and needed no renewals to be kept 100 per cent. efficient. It was further stated that the scientific world was greatly interested, and a successful future for the invention was predicted. Equally large claims for useless contraptions have been made before, but in this instance there appears to be foundation for the claims. s fey tt is reported that radio and its kindred acoustical arts will shortly introduce the "reading machine," also yeferred to as the "talking book." The device will be attachable to the receiver through which full-length books, essays and the like will be read from sound tracks ona, film, .

"TWO-THIRDS of the broadcasting stations in the U.S.A. have now fitted. frequency control equipment capable of maintaining the operating frequency within 50 cycles of the frequency assigned. This is resultant upon new reguiations which hitherto allowed: a latitude of 500 cycles, but which were amended owing to complaints of heterodyning. & 8 y: FILM company in search of wildlife scenes in an African jungle found radio of immense utility in keeping in touch with headquarters. A sharp lookout had to be kept on the native women-accustomed to weur wire arm and ankle ornaments---in order to prevent them from stealing the aerial wire. cad oh * NE Buropean broadcasting station whose telephone callers cannot be attended to immediately, switches through to a small studio from which the caller may hear the programme being transmitted until the station’s official is able to give the caller attention. % Do ts LATEST statistics reveal that Tenmark has nearly half a million licensed listeners, which corresponds with a percentage of 18.8 licenses per hundred inhabitants, n Pad bd

S a result of criticisin directed at announcers who obtrude their personilities over the air, to the detriment of the progranunes, some of the American stations are experimenting with 2 method by which the announcer signs off by the use of code initials. If this system meets with listeners’ approval complete anonymity may be tried. * HK sdentification signal of a Russian Soviet broadcasting station is the striking of a hammer on an anvil. he Soviets’ "Coat of Arms" is a hammer and sickle. % 4 Tue new radio regulations in Canada will permit 5 per cent. of the programme time to be occupied by strictly censored commercial announcements. Broadcasting revenue will be derived tt om this source, and a license fee of $/- per annum, b=] a 9 At the International Broadcusting Union Conference, held at Montreaux last month, it was announced that the number of licenses in Europe alone increased by more than two millions between March, 1931, and March, 19382. * cS % LATEST figures from Australia reveal the fact that the number of licensed listeners in New South Wales worl C= ‘is now very little short of that of Victoria.’ The latter State still has a much greater license density than the major State, but the rapidity with which licenses are increasing in New South Wales suggests that Victoria may, not hold the palm very long. _

]{XPERIMENTS are being carried out to provide direct telephonic com. munication between air-taxis, now becoming quite common in England, and subscribers generally. . x * i "THE Canadian Broadcasting Bill before the House of Parliament, authorising a national system of broadcasting, received a unanimous vote. A board consisting of three, one of whom will be a French-Canadian, will control all operations. ; Bg oe % JYVERY Sunday night a tall is given by some eminent French politician, scientist or writer, from Radio Colonial shortwave station in France, for the special benefit of listeners in the United States of America. " ao = r

JT the recent Canadian Broadcasting Conference, the British representatives gave some interesting facts concerning the percentage costs of a typical 14-hour day B.B.C. programme. Approximately the apportionment is as follows :-Programmes themsel wey ab sorb 63 per cent.; maintenance of piant and power supply, 17 per cent.; and administration, 6 per cent. Depreciation und sundry other items absorb the remainder. 4 2 mR & Tue Breslau station is the first in Germany to abandon the policy of keeping announcers anonymous. At the beginning of the day’s broadcast the names of the announcers are stated, with the times that each will be on duty. It is thought that all other German stations will adopt the system and encourage the announcers to deyelop a radio personality. ? % * 3 JRROADCASTING is making rapid strides in Italy, although the increase in licenses has not been very marked. During the last twelve months three new powerful stations have been opened at Palermo, Trieste, aud Bolzano, while the power of the: Genou transmitter has been increased. A chain of permanent land lines, connecting «wl stations to the centre, is proceeding, and with respect to the northern stutions is nearing completion. The Rome Broadcasting House is a new building, constructed in accordance with modern scentific developments, and those competent to judge declare that it is not surpassed anywhere in the world. * Ne fipeen rise of the National Broadcasting Company of America in the Chicago district has been phenomenal. In 1929 the Chicago staff numbered only twelve. This year it totals (50, and it is estimated that over 1200 exjertninments of all classes are produced each month from the local studios. * * bd . A§ it is considered that much valuable time is lost in a working day, both by announcers and speakers, in reiterating the phrase "Ladies and Gentlemen," the National Broadcasting Company of America has issued instructions for the phrase to be deleted. Hxception is made only when addresses are given by such people as the Presideut or. other notable persons. Do a Bo HE Queensland division of the Wiveless Institute of Australia has decided to construct and operate its own official publicity broadcasting station. Work is to commence immediate dy, and the call sign will be VE4WL TS ent Eee,