SIR T. M. WILFORD IMPRESSED.

Press, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20729, 14 December 1932, Page 11

SIR T. M. WILFORD IMPRESSED.

♦_- — EMPIRE BROADCASTING EXPERIMENTS. HELP FORTHCOMING FROM THE DOMINIONS. (vxrrnn j?kbss association—isi el::ctric TELEGRAPH—COPVBIGHT.) LONDON, December 12. So impressed was Sir Thomas Wilford (High Commissioner for New Zealand; on the occasion of a Press inspection of tho Davcntry radio station when the methods of Empire broadcasting were explained, that he informed the Controller, Admiral Sir Charles Carpendale, that the British Broadcasting Corporation need not fear that there would bo any lack of assistance from the Dominions and Colonics provided that tho experiments were successful. Admiral Carx)endale had been explaining that there was nothing in sight to recoup the corporation from overseas, though it was hoped that some (solution would accompany success* whether as a Dominions and Colonial Office gra'it, or as overseas subscriptions, or I ~ 'i. Ho added that reception tests in New Zealand hud been good and in Australia fair. Australia's system was so designed that the aerial and reflector were interchangeable, enabling the beam to be radiated round cither of the great circle routes according to atmospheric conditions. They were at present using the western circle but reception might bo better by tho eastern one. Australia was now getting 32 metre Indian Zone signals excellently. Tho corporation envisaged a regular exchange of programmes between England and the overseas possessions. DAVENTRY STATION, j THE QUESTION OF EXPENSE. LONDON, December 12. In tho House of Commons Mr K DoTan (Conservative, North Tottenham) asked whether in view of tho fact that the British Broadcasting Corporation's power was limited to establishing stations in Great Britain for the benefit of license-holders, would tho PostmasterGeneral prevent further work on tho Empire station at Davcntry. The Postmaster-General, Sir 'KingsIcy Wood, said that the 8.8.C. was authorised to establish stations as tho Postmaster-General approved, which, had been done in this instance. Mr Doran: In view of the capital cost of £SO,OOO and the yearly upkeep, £50,000, and also the technical difficulties involved, will tho PostmasterGeneral explain why in these days wo have so much money to spend in such a manner? Sir Kingslcy Wood: I cannot agree with any of your conclusions. There is a widespread desiro throughout tho Empire for such a station. Direct Empire- broadcasting on short waves for tho new Daventry station is to start on December 19th. Tho Empire has been divided into five zones tor tho purposes of the direct programme.?, and tho scheme is to give service for two hours daily to each zone. Details of the times and destinations of the broadcasts are:— 9.30 a.m. to 11.30 a.m.—Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. 2.30 p.m. to 4.30 p.m.—lndia, Burma, Ceylon, and tho Malay States. C p.m. to 8 p.m. —East Africa, taking in Mauritius, Egypt, Malta, and Pales tine. 8.30 p.m. to 10.30 p.m.—West Africa, Falkland Islands, and possibly South America. 1 a.m. to 3 a .in.—Canada, West Indies, Honduras, otc. No ono in England will b© able to bear these Empire broadcasts, as they are sent out on a special short-wave length which is inaudible inside a radius of about 500 miles. The wavelengths chosen vary between 16 metres and oO metres, but at tho moment all theso are experimental. They will vary according to the season of tho year. The Aim of the 8.8.C. According to our London correspondent, Mr Cecil Graves, the Empire service director at the 8.8.C, said recently that for tho last six years it had been the desiro of tho 8.13.C. to institute an Empire programme. After tests and trials, they were able to advance proposals, but financial support was not forthcoming. They felt, however, that the prestige of British broadcasting was at stake, and consequently decided that out of their own funds they would build a station for the purpose. For the present, added Mr Graves, it was felt that it would bo no use embarking on an ambitious programme schenjo; for the first few months it was obvious they must wait and see what results were attained. They were most anxious to know everything possible about tho service in the first months of its operation. They wanted to know all about the rocoption, conditions, if the programmes were popular. Indeed, any suggestions and criticisms made by New Zealanders and other people overseas would be most welcome at 8.8.C. headquarter?. Mr Noel Ashbridgo, tho chief engineer of the 8.8.C, dealt with the subject from tho technical side, anticipating much more satisfactory results from the Daventry station than the original Chelmsford station, which had been set un for experimental purposes. Daventrv is situated about 500 ft above sea level.