60 KILOWATTS

Press, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22003, 29 January 1937, Page 8

60 KILOWATTS

TO THE EDITOK OT THB PBBSB. Sir,—Like E. G. Shipley, I want to know what is wrong with the new station at 2YA. I was dumbfounded the other evening to find a much clearer reception from Dunedin than Wellington. My set is a five-valve old, model, and probably the valves are worn, but situated at Avonhead road, five miles from the city and 60 feet above Christchurch at least, half a mile away from the tram lines and 10 chains from the road, with no large trees near the aerial, which faces the open country, my radio would not be subject to the same interference or blanketing that a similar set in the heart of the city might experience. Last night I made another round of YA stations, thinking perhaps the previous evening things were not quite ready for the opening occasion. After 3YA last night Dunedin was again next best, and IYA, Auckland, came third leaving Wellington a bad last. Speaking as a listener, I assert there is need for searching enquiry- Apparently Christchurch and Wellington are not suitable locations for national stations, for 1 have been told that Lake Coleridge residents get a better reception from Auckland and Sydney than they do from Christchurch. So here's to a new big station at Auckland, and let us hope it will be made from the latest gear and contain no second-hand works. I will be pleased to give my name to those interested.— Yours, etc., „ AVONHEAD ROAD. January 28, 1937.

TO THE EDITOR OT THE PKESS.

Sir,—My experience of 2YA is m accord with that of E. G. Shipley. Either by day or night, tin a fourvalve superhet, I can get 4YA on its 10 kilowatts much better than 2YA on its 60 kilowatts. I suggest two reasons for this; viz., the disconnexion of the land between Wellington and Christchurch by Cook Strait, and the Pacific Ocean. It seems to me that the sea, a good conductor, receives most of the oscillation and takes it straight to ea.rth. The same condition applies to Dunedin, but the land is not disconnected, thus the lower side of the aerial condenser functions without interruption.—Yours, DISAPPOINTED. January 28, 1937.

TO THE EDITOR OT THB FBES£.

Sir, —Our experience of reception of the broadcasts from the new 2YA transmitter at Titahi Bay, Wellington, has been as stated by your correspondent, Mr E. G. Shipley. • Our set is of t.r.f. circuity with wave band in degrees, working inversely to kilocycles, and 2YA, Wellington comes in near the bottom end, at about 95 degrees, where the set is not very sensitive, and in consequence reception from the old 2YA of 5 k.w. was very poor. In view of the supposed great power of the new transmitter we had high hopes of the reception therefrom, but great has been our surprise and disappointment to find that it is received at very little increased signal strength in spite of tuning of the trimmer condensers; in fact, the reception is almost useless to us. We get 4YA of 10 k.w. excellently, in fact almost as good as 3YA, and we attribute this partly to its position higher up on our wave band.—Yours, etc LISTENER. January 28 19i7.