"SHORT WAVES BROUGHT THE THRILL BACK INTO RADIO"

Radio Record, Volume VIII, Issue 33, 22 February 1935, Page 55

"SHORT WAVES BROUGHT THE THRILL BACK INTO RADIO"

American Visitor Talks On Radio In The States A NOTED personality from the American radio world at present in New Zealand is Mr.. W. T. Cranmer, who left the States early in December for a trip to Australia and New Zee. land.. Mr. Cranmer is the export manager of the Philadelphia Storage Battery Company, manufacturers of the famous Phileo radios. In conversation with a "Radio Record" representative,

Mr. Cranmer had some very interesting comments to make on tke latest trends of radio in the States. "All-wave sets," he remarked, "have now progressed to a point where users can listen comfortably to foreign stations for the better part of the year, depending on location, and now, no set can be regarded as giving the ultimate in entertainment unless it provides for shortwave reception. Research into the design of special aerials, together with the development of all-wave sets, has lifted shortwave. entertainment into line with broadeast. I think myself that shortwaves have brought the thrill back into radio. I know I get a great ‘kick’ out of listening to Paris ang London and other stations such as these. "High fidelity is another new phase in radio that has made its appearance recently. The first high fidelity Philco receiver was demonstrated at our annual convention of distributors, held last May. There were 700 men there, and they were all amazed at the remarkable reproduction the set gave. Demonstrations have since been given all over the country-in dealers’ stores, musie emporinums, halls, and over the air--in a most interesting way. "Two girls who are very clever pian- ists give the demonstration, The radio

set is placed near one plano, while another piano is located some distance away, together with a microphone iw provide for reproduction through the. set. Both artists play the same piece, in perfect time, and at intervals the musie from the distant piano is ‘cut in’ through the set.. People are asked if they can distinguish when the perform: ance is first-hand or reproduced through the set, but they neyer can Even a group of 20 or 30 eminent musical critics who attended a- private audition found.it impossible’ to decide .With any certainty which was which. As the piano is a very. difficult instrument to reproduce in all its tones, th's shows what real high fidelity means. The ordinary set usually ‘euts off’ at 4000 cycles or 5000-.cycles at the most, but the extended frequency range Phileo reproduces faithfully all frequencies fr0ss 50 to 7500 cycles,