RAPID PROGRESS.

Press, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20648, 10 September 1932, Page 7

RAPID PROGRESS.

ILgOVED INSTRUMENTS. IujSJMISSION AND RECEPTION. j, »piJ has been the progress of •-j— during recent years that it a stage where further must necessarily be slow. Ljgtfce "twenties" of this century and roception were j(j on with what people are noiv jhrf to regard, for the most part, jtanrbat erode instruments. But fc'jgitraaeats in general use for both iel ooi at the present time give Lghjfirljch demonstrate clearly that »Mt take place in wireless jjgft.iM »nd reception if the *J//ib&Kf instruments are to undergo jnfUfy beyond slight and gradual •lotion. are certainly many improvo--001 to be desired both in regard to jyfffmmiEirion and the reception of g£tu messages, anr ' some of these j—jrements are gradually being inMot* to Simplicity. Hgfef 1931, Improvements in the •' receiving sets were parftjJHy oetieeable, and the result has jvjltettef reception for those listeners ftfjd taVto-date appliances, while impgjl reception, noticed on many of tit&ix lets, Indicates clearly that mialiifoß methods have been Mfjtef "it anny of the public and aj«JMp tnunitting stations. In the Aff sfte* of one decade, wireless ■JntiMi hat been transformed from gltideaU to an extremely simple imp. jf while thero is still much A fl» tetb.er simplification the want MftleVvllid all at once. progress was mado last pif is ilort wave transmission, and Jgfrltiustl tarried out shed much light iajmUflM which hitherto had been Mat, ft* results of some of these *fy*«—«i ate undoubtedly destined fct«4f frMiralae in the future, par- , Jtat tarried out in reject 1 rf wavea. These results, 1 to be valuable for s idntU* for broadcasting i ftipKtt ttlMbfradcnsting in the i Immt&tto l*ta% at. least, is likely to i *• eanfet ni- gjMlpalJy on wave t fcifftaii«f{af fta#fr'tp 100 metres, i g £kns Mft has deservedly s fcewaßjeiiitpopalarlty during the past v

twelve months, and there aro indications that the short waves are likely to claim in the nekr futuro most listeners who do not regard their receiving sets as mere musical box.es. While the long wave listener is able to obtain second-hand entertainment in lii.-; own home, instead* of. going out to secure it at first hand and at higher cost, the short wave listener may obtain over the air news and education and entertainment which he <#buld not possibly receive at first hand. Transmission on the short waves has provided the illusion that distance has been annihilated, and enables the speech of a man located thousands of miles away to be heard as clearly as if he was in the same room.

The attention now being devoted byset manufacturers to the construction of short wave sets and to methods for adapting existing sets for short wave reception is indicative of the -worldwide interest now being displayed by listeners in respect of short wave reception. Intorest in short wave reception has been particularly noticeable in New Zealand and in countries similarly situated, whero the world's best programmes, broadcast on the long waves,, cannot be -received. To overcome this difficulty some stations aro now using two or more wave-lengths, long for local reception and short for~ distant listeners, and it is likely that this practice will become much more widespread in the future.

Comparison of Programmes. I The value of short nave reception cannot be over-estimated j even when the short wavos bring in nothing of outstanding importance, they provido the listener with opportunity to compare overseas programmes with those which aro broadcast locally. While the New Zealander cannot reasonably expect tho variety from his own stations that is obtainable from some overseas stations and the quality of work given by highly paid artists, the comparisons he is enabled to make regarding programme construction and the quality of the matter broudcast cannot fail to be helpful both to the listener and to the broadcaster.

This, however, refers solely to short wavo stations broadcasting commonI place programmes. The great valuo of the short wave stations to the listener lies in their being able to give him something entirely different from what is obtainable from his local stations, and, ultimately, to provide him with a broader outlook. The fact that by far the greater number of interesting and instructive items are broadcast on the short waves in the English language gives Britons, both Home and Colonial, a big advantage over non-English speaking people and makes the short waves especially attractive to Britons.