RADIO NOTES

Dominion, Volume 16, Issue 156, 20 March 1923, Page 11

RADIO NOTES

(By

“Aerial.”)

Aether, or ether, is the all-pervad-ing medium in which radio waves are supposed to travel. This medium must not be confused with air or the chemical of the same name used by dentists. An aerial should not be hoisted up perfectly tight, but it should be allowed to hang somewhat loose, so that it will not put too much Strain on the poles and ropes when the wind blows. Wellington wind is proverbial, and this warning has a special significance for local wireless amateurs. A crystal receiver set will not take broadcast concerts, as a rule, at a greater range than between 15 miles and. 25 miles. They are not practical for use with the ordinary loudspeaker. Crystal sets will receive Morse signals at a distance of some hundreds of miles. A one-valve set. on the other hand, can be constructed to receive broadcast concerts at a range of hundreds of miles, and will receive the Bordeaux station Morse signals at a distance of 12,500 miles. 1 “F.T.” 1 (Mastertoil) writes: “What is wireless regeneration?” It is the process of introducing the output of a vacuum tube into the input •of the same tube, 'and thereby gaining in-, creased power to the tube. The process is also known as a feed-back.

The Federal Wireless Service will give their usual broadcast concerts this evening to-morrow, and Thursday evenings. To-morrow evening, however, in conjunction with the customary gramophone items, varieties items, including banjo numbers, will' be given. The Federal people propose to apply for permission from Aho authorities to broadcast an address riexib Sunday evening, the speaker to be a lay preacher. Suitable vocal and instrumental numbers would supplement the address.

In reply to “T. 8. (Levin), he could not do better than communicate with any of the wireless companies whose advertisements appear in the adjoining column. The most useful set he could procure depends upon the amount he is prepared to expend. A ’three-valve regenerator set with coils to cover all wave lengths would satisfy the.needs of one who is prepared to pay up to £7O for his equipment. Ho should add a loud-speaker to his set, thus enabling the whole household to liston in when a.conqert is in progress. All Wellington coincarts would • thu's be heard quite loudly in his house. A one-valve set, with all accessories, could be purchased from £2l to' £3O, about, but it would no be effective with a loud-speaker, head ’phones being used instead. A. R. Christian, Ltd., of Lower Tory Street, if permission can be obtained from the authorities, propose to install a receiving set, with loudspeaker attached, in a Willis Street pharmacy, so that on broadcast concert nights the public will be able to listen-in gratis. Mr. Christian has some Eclipse sets admirably suited to this class of work. . This scheme 19 extensively exploited in America, where at some newspaper offices radio shops, etc., every move at a big baseball game is announced by wireless, an expert being located at the scene of the game, his voice being' broadcasted for thousands of miles as he describes the. play. Nothing can excel the scheme proposed by Mr. Christian for popularising wireloss telephony. The Federal Wireless Company, Willis Street, showed me a new universal receiving set which embodies some novel features. It is constructed on the single valve unit principle, with a long and short wave receiver, guaranteed to receive up to a range of 8000 miles. With two steps of amplification it will have a world-wide range. The set takes waves from 150 metres to 30,000 metres. It can be fitted with basket, honeycomb coils or variometers. There are “Precision” yernjer condensers for. tuning, anti-capacity coil mountings, and a .“series,” and “parallel” condenser switch. On the detector panel are a vernier-controlled rheostat, a- potentiometer for' minute plate control, variable ’phone and grid condensers, and a variable grid-leak. The tube is fixed in an easily accessible socket in the front of the panel. The whole set Is mounted in an oak cabinet with de-luxe finish. Without any accessories, the set is marketed at £2l 10s. One of the keenest amateur radio experts in New Zealand is Mr. Wilfred T. Barton, of Trentham, who possesses a particularly fine wireless installation. Mr. Barton owns a number of sets. His largest is a four-valve equipment, comprising one Dp Forest degenerator receiver and threo expanse audio frequency amplifieys, giving a wave-length range from 150 to 25,000 metres. Mr. Barton has a single Bovpn-strand 16 gauge single wire copper aerial, 100 ft. high, about 300 ft. in length, with a 100 ft. lead-in. The height of his aerial is attained by lashing Oregon pine masts to the tops of two big trees. Mr. Barton runs his “earth” to a creek.

Mr. Barton has a special cabin erected for his wireless room, and a large concert Magnavox amplifier reproduces entertainments with such loudness that the items can be heard a quarter of a mile away. Mr. Barton is past master at Morse work,! having started at the dot and dasji language before he was in his teens. He easily reads 30 words a minute. With such a fine equipment one need not be surprised that the owner gets the Bordeaux (France) time signals any morning, not to mention the numerous American stations which send out Press news. Tire latter proves most interesting, and contains a good deal that does not .come to New Zealand by cablegram. \ The luxurious 40ft. motor launch Selwyn, formerly, used for mission work in the Marlborough Sounds, has lately been purchased by Mr. Barton. He in-, tends to keep the Selwyn at Picton, and is making application to the authorities for a permit-to install a onevalvo regenerator receiving set on the Selwyn for the purpose of picking up weather reports and time signals. Novices should bear in mind that aP wireless receiving sets should hove a first-class earth connection. The best is obtained by running a copper wire to the nearest water-pipe. _ The latter ought to be cleaned till it is quite bright, and then the copper wire should be soldered around it. ’ What New Zealand amateur wireless men are in need of is a first-class broadcast station in each of the four centres. At present there are some 650 broadcast stations in the United States. Following is a typical day’s programme issued by a noted American broadcast station: — WJZ (NEWARK, N.J.) 360 Metres (Westinghouse*.) 11 a.m.—Standard time signals and weather forecast. 12.1 p.m. —Opening prices on active bonds and stocks, grain, coffee and sugar; midday reports and prices on farm products; musical programme. 4 p.m.—Closing prices on stocks and bonds, grain, coffee, and sugar. 4.50 p.m.—“Fashions” from Women’s Wear daily newspaper5.30 p.m. —Closing prices on stocks, bonds, grain, coffee, and sugar. 5.45 p.m.—Resume of sporting events, etc. 6 p.m.—Musical programme. 7 p.m. —“Uncle Wiggily Stories, ’by Howard R. Garis, author. 8.30 p m. —Amy Lowell, poetess, will read “Purple Grackles,” “Apology,” .“A Tulip Garden,” “To Sinky,” “Texas,” “The Paper Windmill,” “Four Sides to a House,” which have woji her

considerable fame, and the readings given before large audiences at Columbia University, University of Michigan, and numerous universities. 8.45 p.m.—“Etiquette,” by Emily Post (Mrs. Price Post), ■ author of ‘■■‘Etiquette of Society, in Business, in Politics, and at Home, “Purple and Fine Linen,” etc. Mrs. Post will tell the radio audience how two people should be introduced, how a matrimonial engagement should be announced, and what you should wear at a wedding, and answer numerous other questions of propriety. .. 9 p.m.—Dance music by the Original Black and White Melody Boys of Paterson; S. Dunkel, manager. Programme —“Chicago,” . ‘Early in the Morning Blues,” “Send Back My Honeymoon,’! “Blue,” “Struttin at the Strutters’ Ball,” “Coal Black Mammy,” “Tommoro,” “Why-Should I Cry Over You?” “I’ll Build a Sta.irway'to Paradise,” “Truly,” “Homesick Blues,” “My Mammy’s Lovin Arms.” „ , _ 9.30 p.m.—Recital by Vaughn De Leath, the original radio girl, who presented a programme of tuneful melodies and smart lyrics to WJZ’s audiences several months ago. 9.55-10 p.m—Arlington time signals, weather forecast. 10.01 p.m. —Continuation of programme by Vaughn De Leath and the Original Black and White Melody-Boys. A moderate-priced single valve set wi l l receive portion of the above programme in any part of the United States at night time. During the day such a Ret could listcn-in at any point in the States except from the West of the Middle-West to the Pacific. Anyone possessing a wireless set can hear these programmes every day without any payment. . _ Excellent broadcast receiving has been recorded by Mr. R. S. Taylor, radio operator on the Union Company s R M.S. Maunganui, during the run between Wellington and San Francisco. Mr. Taylor hears wireless concerts sent out from Los Angeles at a distance of 3800 miles, or 4100 miles from San Francisco. This feat was accomplished on the latest commercial receiving Pl type, supplied by the Amalgamated Wireless Company, Ltd. (Australasia), made to do all work on one valve —an “Expanse” B valve, manufactured also by the Amalgamated people.