Editorial Notes

Radio Record, Volume VI, Issue 21, 2 December 1932, Page 4

Editorial Notes

Wellington, Friday, December 2, 1932.

AT last the long-hoped-for Empire broadcasting station is a reality, and Britain has come into line with the other principal Empires, and will provide a service for her Dominions, Britain for some time has recognised the desirability of such a station and to no one more than the B.B.C. has the idea of exchanging programmes with the Dominions appealed with greater force. But it has been felt that if the project was to be undertaken it must be one in which some reliance could be placed. With a view ‘to obtaining this reliability, exhaustive experiments were made, the most outstanding of which was the establishment, in 1927, of G5SW, the experimental transmitter at Chelmsford. It was primarily intended for two-way work with ‘America, the programme material being taken as a rule from the Daventry programme with the important limitation that no news bulletins were permitted. Tests were carried out with American shortwave stations, and listeners everywhere were invited to send in reports. bd ole ah

~~" nd BY 1929 the B.B.C. had amassed an immense amount of material consisting of data and reports from thousands of appreciative corres-pondents-not only expert shortwave enthusiasts, but ordinary listeners-and there was a widespread hope entertained that a regular service would be undertaken. As was, perhaps, natural, the interest was greatest in those colonics which had no local broadcasting service, or only a rudimentary service. The Dominions, with their owti broadcasting arrangements, were more interested in special transmissions of outstanding events, such as the Armistice Day ceremony, the Boat Race, and the Derby. = " .

QN the basis of these reports the B.B.C. submitted a scheme to the Colonial Office for consideration. The main points were; (1) The provision of a_ shortwave station capable of transmitting normally the same programme on two wavelengths in order to reach all parts of the Empire in various conditions of light and darkness. (2) The provision of a pro-

gramine and news service suitable in point of time and content to all parts of the Empire. This scheme, with two variants of it, was considered by the Imperial Conference of 1930, but owing to technical and financial difficulties it received only modified support. A special plan for the Colonies was devised, and received the warm approval of the Colonial Conference. This restricted scheme, however acceptable to the Colonies, could not

meet the needs of the Dominions, particularly of Australia, New Zealand and Canada, which would require their programmes before noon and after midnight for their evening transmissions. But the supreme difficulty in. the way of Empire Broadcasting was the financial crisis, which put an end to. all expectations that Imperial funds would be available for the service.

™ ad Sd THE B.B.C. had now to take stock of the situation, which was unsatisfactory. G5SW, by virtue of its intrinsic limitations, could never provide an adequate Empire service. At the same time, the expenditure on its maintenance, for which there was no return, was considerable. -There were three courses open to the Corporation: to abandon the scheme entirely; to allow certain schemes for outside broadcasting to develop; to assume the responsibility for an Empire service. Whatever difficulties there were in the way of the financial, co-operation of the broadcasting authorities throughout the Empire, there was no gainsaying the fact that in all parts of the Empire there was a widespread and deep-seated desire for the service. Further, if the short-wave project were abandoned, Britain would be without a

world voice, and would be placed at a disadvantage in comparison with those countries which, because of their short-wave equipment, were able to put their point of view before the whole world. a g og TN view of all the circumstances the B.B.C. felt that, having put its hand to the. plough, it must not turn. back, and accordingly, in November last, announced its intention of proceeding immediately with the plans for the erection of a shortwave Empire broadcasting station: "The object will be to give as many

listenets as "possible in all parts of the Empire a programme from the home country at hours when it is most convenient for them to listen." This announcement was received with immense satisfaction throughout the Empire, and the Press at Home was most generous in its references to the project. It was decided to replace the old experimental GSSW-which has been rented from the Marconi Company for some years- by the most modern station and equipment available, with two transmitters, eight wave~lengths and several aerials. It is not an exaggeration to say that the new B.B.C. shortwave station will be the finest in the world. onl

ALTHOUGH the first appeal of the station will be to the direct listener, there will be special programmes which the main broadcast- ( ing stations within the Empire will receive and rebroadcast. This will not be an easy matter because the Empire involves twenty hours of time difference from Greenwich, which means that it would not be possible to broadcast an evening programme simultaneously to South Africa and New Zealand. Nevertheless, the zoning scheme will to a certain extent help to overcome the difficulty, whilst the recording system referred to previously in these columns will simplify matters still more. as