Huge Sunday B Station Hook-Up

Radio Record, 21 August 1936, Page 24

Huge Sunday B Station Hook-Up

Arrangements For Great Welcome Home to Uncle Scrim Next Sunday Night-Speaker to Use New Type Microphone Attached to Coat . Lapel-Famous Criminal Trials Series From 4ZB.

HE biggest hook-up of radio B stations and public address systems ever. uttempted in New Zealand has been arranged by the Friendly Road for Sunday next, on the occasion of the public weleome to the Rey.-C. G, Scrimgeour, founder’ of the Friendly Road and director of 1ZB, who returns from Sydney on Saturday after a long visit to Australia. He is to be given a welcome in the Town Hall on Sunday next at 8 pm, Three days after the box plan opened, the Town Hall was booked out, and last week, in order to cope with the requests for accommodation, the largest theatre in Auckland, the Civic, was engaged.’ Between them, the Town. Hall and the Civie Theatre will seat nearly 6000 persons, The Rt. Hon. M. J. Savage, Prime Minister, speaking from. Wellington by radio telephone, will make a presentation to "Uncle Secrim" on behalf of grateful travellers on the Friendly Road. The whole of the function will be broadcast by 1ZB, and relayed to 1ZM, Manurewa, 2ZO Palmerston North, 2ZR Nelson and 4ZM Dunedin, while a Christchurch B station will either relay or rebroadcast the rally. WORKING in conjunction with the Post and Telegraph Department, the technical staff of 1ZB have been busy checking up the many small details that arise in an undertaking of such magnitude. In order that people in both the Town Hall and Civic Theatre . might hear every werd, an ingenious system of loudspeakers and amplifiers has been. devised. .For the first time in New Zealand, "Unele Serim" will use an astatie microphone, fitted to the lapel of his coat, in order to broadcast his message. This is a mike no bigger than a half-erown and has been specially loaned to him by an Auckland importer for the occasion. N Wednesday last, listeners had the pleasure of hearing the first of a series of fortnightly talks from 4ZB on famous criminal trials given by a barrister of the Supreme Court of New Zealand. The speaker dealt with, as his first subject, the trial of the Seddons. He requested to be excused if his speech did not sound as fluent as it might have been owing to the fact that he was speaking without notes. Far from not being fiuent, it was a very effective speech, and the speaker's method of delivery created a very favourable impression in the minds of listeners, Too many talks of this nature are spoilt by reading the full seript, and the. method of delivery adopted by the speaker was a welcome change to "reading the speech." Listeners are looking forward to his next talk, to be given on August 26, the speaker having chosen for his next subject, "Palmer, the Poisoner." ,

Something Happened QUCcH is the mystery of radio that despite all difficulties met with. listeners are unaware of anything wiitoward happening. On Sunday of last week, when 1ZB was carrying out a theme programme, "A Tale of Old Iveland," the electric light in the studio suddenly failed. The artists carried on with the singing of their numbers with the aid of the old-fashioned candle light. In the shadowy light it would not have tuken much imagination to picture in one’s mind a real Irish wake Although undertaken with difficulty, listeners knew nothing of the trials in that studio. Big Link-up QTATION +ZM is preparing to take part in the mass. meeting to be held in the Auckland Town Hall next

Sunday evening by making arrangements to rebroadcast 1ZM, which will be relaying the proceedings. The latter station has communicated with 42M, asking that, if possible, it should carry out a rebroadcast of the welcomg to the Rey. C. G. Scrimgeour on his, return from Australia. It is probable that 2ZO, Palmerston North, and 3ZM, Christchurch, will also rebroadcast, so that, should reception of 1ZM not be strong in Dunedin, 4ZM should be able to. obtain more satisfactory results from either of the others mentioned. The stations concerned are to carry out tests on Saturday evening, and the actual broadcast is to take place between 6.45 and 8.15 the following night,