OVER the AERIAL

Auckland Star, Volume LXI, Issue 102, 2 May 1930, Page 17

OVER the AERIAL

It is likely that the continuity will be interrupted from time to time, however, to allow of the broadcasting of results in the ParneH by-election. Mr. S. J. Hayden, formerly station director at IYA, and now on the head office-staff of the R.B.C. at Christchurch, is at present in Auckland on holiday. The Eev. Jasper Calder will have charge of the programme to be broadcast by IYA on Wednesday night, so there is an assurance that it will be at least breezy. 2FC has made arrangements for broadcasting each Sunday, at 10.30 local time, a quarter hour address by a "celebrity speaker." The first of these, talks will be heard on Sunday evening next. On Friday next there will be a "Brahms Night" from the local station. It is the intention of IYA to mark the birthdays of groat composers by devoting special nights to their works. The idea is a good one, provided it is not overdone. An hour of such a type would be better, and more appreciated, than a full evening.

Do listeners as a body notice interference with reception through the buzz of an automatic telephone being heard at times? • The writer has found this disconcerting, and wonders whether others have had the same experience when tuned in to IYA. At first he was inclined to blame his own telephone, but noted that there was no occurrence of the buzz when Wellington was tuned in.

Something in the way of light entertainment for a Sunday evening will be obtainable from Australia on Sunday next, when 2BL will broadcast Aubers comic opera, "Fra Diavolo," with full cast and cnorus. \, Tuesday's thunderstorm seriously marred reception from Australia during the evening. Static was most pronounced and to a great extent ruined the enjoyment of an excellent description given of the- characters at the Sydney Shakespearean Ball—an item so cleverly given that otherwise it would have been a treat. "Nothing But the Truth" provided an agreeable change from the usually tooheavy .Tuesday evening programme this week. Most listeners had seen the talking film which handled this comedy, and had the chance to make comparisons between the celluloid-recorded dialogue and that which came direct from the studio. The impression left on the writer's mind after listening-in on Tuesday was that considerable of the brightness of the comedy was lost through "overdoing it."

With the -wrestling season now supplanting the broadsiding one, there is a likelihood of fewer silent nights in the future. The account of Monday night's unusual contest received full justice in description through IYA. Football, too, again came on the air last Saturday, this time with Mr. Gordon Hutter at the microphone. Mr. W. J. Meredith, who did such excellent work in describing football matches in past seasons, i 3 now located in Rotorua. Anzac Day passed off with successful relays of morning and afternoon ceremonies, but here it was devoid of any radio originality. There was a marked contrast when one tuned in. Sydney during the evening. There the stations made the occasion an opportunity for encouraging local writers of broadcasting scenas to perpetuate the memory of Gallipoli in presentations that were both novel and gripping. The broadcast from 2BL, with its wide range and its homely touches, must have made a heart appeal to hundreds of thousands. NEXT WEEK'S FEATURES FROM SYDNEY. Sunday. —2FC, from 7.30 p.m.—there being no church relay from, this station —a varied studio programme including songs by Vladimir Elin, Russian baritone; 2BL, 10 p.m., light opera, "Fra Diavolo," in which the ex-Aucklander Maurice Ballance will take the part of the innkeeper. Monday.—2FC, 9.37, Colin Crane, baritone; 9.54, radio scena, "The Black Prince"; 11.2, a comedy half-hour, "Home from Home"; 2BL, Bondi Band beach concert, interspersed with studio items. ■ Tuesday.—2FC, the usual dance band night; 2BL, Australian composers' proeramme by artists from the studio. Wednesday. —2FC, classical hour presented by Cyril Monkj 10.32, a radio play in one act, arranged by Muriel Starr; 2BL, 10.3, Jerome K. Jerome' 3 play, "The Violin Maker of Cremona." Thursday. —2FC, programme presented by'the Goulburn Liedertafel; 10.57, "The Story of the Helen B. Sterling."; 2BL, the British all-talking film, "Splinters." Friday. —2FC, recital from the Aeolian Hall, followed by programme from Malvern Tramways. Band; 2BL, studio concert, including" items by Muriel Starr at 9.54. Saturday.—2FC, relay from Melbourne of the orchestral concert directed by Fritz Hart, of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra; 2BL, studio programme, and at 10 p.m. boxing relay from the Sydney Stadium.

WIRELESS NEWS FROM FAR AND NEAR. (By "PHONOS.")

BLAME IT ON STATIC. Static was not the only difficulty in the recent two-way world-wide broadcast in which Rear Admiral Byrd in New Zealand participated. Australia served as a relay point. The Australians had trouble in understanding the American brand of English. For instance, William Meenan, at Schenectady, said: "This is Bill Meenan speaking, Mr. Burberry." To which Mr. Burberry at Sydney replied: "Good morning, Mr. Birmingham." A NEW STUDY. An electron, a tiny speck of electricity, so small that the most powerful microscope cannot detect it, is assigned a vital role in radio, and as such i≤ the basis of a new industry called electronics. These Iktle particle's of electricity are pictured by one scientist who states that if a drop of water, which includes a great number of electrons, because of the hydrogen and oxygen within it, were magnified to the size of the earth, each electron magnified in proportion would be about as large as a grain of t-and. As the temperature of a material is increased, the speed of the elctrons in it is increased, and if the temperature is made, high enough, the electrons will jump off the surface of the material into space. That is what happens when the filament of a vacuum tube is heated. The electrons leap from the filament to the positively charged plate within the glass bulb with tremendous velocity. It is estimated that the electrons leaving the filament of a radio receiving tube move at a speed of about 50,000 miles a second.

LICENSE RENEWALS. Reminders to the tardy ones that renewals of licenses are now overdue, are still being broadcast. Listeners should be aware that unless they notify their intention to discontinue, they become liable for payment of this year's 30/. Despite the present bad times, it is not anticipated that the first official figures soon to be announced will show the considerable initial drop that has marked previous years. Broadcasting has passed the novelty stage in its appeal to public taste. What it now needs most is a "novelty stage" in its nightly offerings. We have still much to expect in initiative if our radio entertainment is to keep pace with that of our neighbours. BEWARE OF THE NEW TOY. A "radio" watchdog, with an electric eye, that will run after an intruder and actually try to bite him as long as the rays of his flashlight are turned in the dog's direction was exhibited at the recent Radio Show in Paris. The secret of the "dog" lies in the use of a photoelectric cell placed inside the head of the mechanical beast behind one of the lenses of one of its eyes. When "the light from the flash impinges on the cell an electric current is produced in the "dog's" electric "brain" which operates relays fco make the motor apparatus cause the "dog" to move. One motor rotates wheels under the "dog's" feet and another opens and closes the "dog's" mouth—and tightly, too —as he chases after the light and the unfortunate burglar. IS "DEADENING" ADVISABLE? At the time when the studio of IYA was equipped, it was an almost universal procedure for rooms which are the source of radio programmes to be heavily draped, with the object of precluding any possible echo of voice or instrument. The writer is not aware whether this procedure is still adopted in the big broadcasting studios where most careful observations, are made of all transmissions, but comparisons of studio and relayed items by the same local performers indicate that there is better resonance observable when a vocalist or instrumentalist performs, say, in the Town Hall, than when the same artist is heard from IYA studio. If listeners take the trouble to listen to a singer at one of the municipal concerts ond then later hear the same singer from the studio, the difference in tonal quality is immediately noticeable. The studio at 2YA is not "deadened" to the same extent that the local one is, or was. This may to some extent account for the superiority of tone noticeable in both the.orchestra and the trio at Wellington, when comparing them with their local counterparts.