Is the B.B.C. Giving Empire the Best?

Radio Record, Volume IX, Issue 14, 11 October 1935, Page 51

Is the B.B.C. Giving Empire the Best?

To the Editor Sir,-I bought a shortwave é6et three months ago for the purpose of listening to the Empire broadcasts. There are no complaints about the set, but there are several about the broadcasts -in fact, unless they are remedied, I shall have to brush up my French and learn German, and listen to Paris and Berlin. before I get value from the set. When I bought it I did not expect to receive enjoyable music, but one can do so from Paris and Berlin very frequently-from Daventry, never. It cannot be suggested that the French and Germans have any inherent superiority in transmisison-all that is wanted is better machinery at’ Daventry. So far as speech: goes, I have heard long political speeches from Berlin, in which every word was: distinct, but even when conditions are good it is an effort to listen to Daventry, and one bas to guess at occasional words. Then, the timing of the programmes is appalling. When Wngland went back to standard time on September 1],. all programmes were delayed an hour for

the convenience of the transmittersit. did not occur to any one that there was no change at the receiving end. Now that the All Blacks are Home, the obvious thing is to summarise the matches about 7 or 8 a.m.; but nc--the summary comes through at 6.10 in the evening, when most of us are at our evening meal, and when we can read the whole thing in comfort in the evening papers. And on Sunday, when the whole of New Zealand was talking All Blacks, and there was no evening paper, the summary did not come through at all, Surely the B.B.C. knows ‘that the customer ds always right. The faults do not all lie at the other end. I spoke to a radio inspector about interference the other day, and he told me he was not interested it shortwave interference, as it did not come within the province of the Broadcasting Board. I do not know whether this is the policy of the Government, bat it is not encouraging to those who would like to use shortwave sets for legitimate purposes, There is a further inconvenience which you can remedy. If I want to. see the full programme I have to buy the "Australian Wireless Weekly." You print only the evening transmissionmost of us like to listen before breakfast. Can you not print the morning trensmission as well?-I am, ete.,

IGNORAMUS

Wellington.

{The Empire programme transmission printed by the "Radio Record" is that specially devised for Australian and New Zealand listeners, ‘Transmission 4, which covers the New Zealand breakfast period, is of a similar nature, qa mixture of music, news and commentaries, but publication of this transmission would serve fewer than those programmes at present publishel. Regarding interference, it has been repeatedly pointed out in the "Radio Record" that the prime duty of the Inspector’s Branch is to try to ensure satisfactory reception of New Zealand stations. In doing so, they are going a long way toward eliminating interference with overseas reception.-Ed.} \