The WORLD on SHORTWAVE

Radio Record, 12 June 1936, Page 55

The WORLD on SHORTWAVE

Conducted try the

ON.3. Shortwave Club

Shortwave Club Notes

From the Secretary’s Pen

(By

A. B.

MeDonagh

. 4 Queen Street,

Wellington, E.1.) HOSE who receive German programmes may be mystified by the item "A Little German ABC." This refers to the lessons in German which take place at about 11.45 p.m, on. Tuesdays and Fridays. Unfortunately at the -present time it is hard to pick up the 19-metre transmissions, JVH. Japan, is on 20.55 metres (14.60 m.c.), but I have heard this all used simultaneously on other telephony sta tions right down to,16 metres, when «ail: ing FYA. a. French telephone station. on the 19-metre hand nsing a peculiar toreenote whistle. "At times FYA_ piays weird little fune of S to & notes, which ig kant ap until eontact is made> with VI. KAZ Manila. 30.09 metres (9.97 m.c.) was used for phoning PLV, but has been rebroadeasting KZRM. and looks as though it wil} settle down to a regular schedule, The mystery station on 44.65 metres has for the first two letters of his eall "VM, and the words ‘"Bandoeng, Java," have heen heard RV15. ‘Kharbarovsk op, 70.2 metres ‘4,25 m.ec.) is back to form. Those who have very early copies of the "Radie Record". will see this station reportec inder the original call of REM by Mr ®. W. Sellens and Mr. A. P. Morrison. F31CD, Saigon, about 44. metres, ane Shanghai, on the 31 metre band, have 50 far failed to appear’ As YDB. Java. and CQN Macao, are on mos! nights on the latter band many people are confusing them. There are also two Japanese there and an Italian East African station. ‘ZEK (ZBW), Hong Kong, 384.29 metres (8.75 m.e.), seems to be among our winter "gone.but. not forgotten" stations, Very close to him are harmonics of RV15.and a Java station. An Australian listener heard a station just below RV15. He is quite’ right, there is a weak Java station there, and also one above 60. and yet another away up above the amateurs, Most’ radio ‘listeners appear to tune within a limited space.on both the medium waves (what we term broadcast in New Zealand). and from 25 to 49 metres on shortwave,’ but there are stations from below 5 metres to nearly 2000. What is above we do not know, but it is. stated

thar vode stations are up to 5000 metres. When the Empire stationg commence to come in later in the evenings, France and Germany will be better. The B.B.C. engineers study each report from overseas and so they have found that in order to present a reliable service they have to commence our traNsmission much earlier, otherwise, owing to seasonal conditions, our average reception would not be what we ‘wish it to be. . _In a recent talk on "Selectivity" from aventry, the chief engineer dealt with some very interesting subjects, and particularly mentioned the congestion on the 49-metre band, explaining why for "local" purposes this is so, T «understood him to say that the B.B.C. had printed a pamphlet on his talk, Al! these talks are printed in’ the "Weekly Newsletter." which is posted. fo: 5/- per annum, but, as the programmes arrive too late, listeners should pick out the sitems they like from the advance .programmes in ‘this naper, . VK3XB and VK4KLI do not use telephony and any transmissions on voice, using these calls, are "pirates." (Per ZLVAG.) In yiew of very many requests from Australia it has been decided to make. the N.Z.S.W.C.-VK2DL i-metre Challenge Cun open to the first New Zealand or Australian listener who secures a 5-metre verification from across the Tasman. VK2DL transmits for ZL2QZ experimental receiving station each . Sundays night from 8380 to 10.80, when he transmits slow morse for learners. [p order to cover cost of printing and postage, listeners who wish for a snapshot of 2DL are asked to send 4d. in Australian stamps to Mr W Phelps, VK2DL, a | Watkin Street. Canterbury, Sydney, New Nonth Wales, Australia. ‘ Some of the letters [ receive are prac ically examination papers, but one. short and sweet, reads: "Please send me price of shortwave set and oblige." This reminds me of when. during the early days of the elub, in 1930. a very youns boy wrote that Dad had given him an old valve and asked if I could tell him how to make a radio set with it.