RADIO NOTES

Dominion, Volume 20, Issue 75, 22 December 1926, Page 7

RADI O NOTES

(By

"Aerial.")

"S.N.T.” (Thorndon): "Plug” (Palmerston North), “AH.T.” (Lyall Bay), and "Aero” (New Plymouth) must forward a stamped addressed envelope for a reply by post. Letters ale being forwarded to ‘‘Arc” (Petone), "Series” (Napier), "Antenna” (Hamilton), “Battery ’ (Wanganui), "J.D.” (Lower Hutt), and "Bottle” (Eketahuna). In reply to "Ampere” (Kelburn), it would be better not to purchase radio 'material on behalf of a potential "pirate." The fact that you gave your correct name and address to the radio dealer is merely begging the question. "Pirates” are not helping the public in obtaining better broadcasting. Several up-country correspondents have written suggesting that the results of the Plunket Shield matches be broadcasted by the various New Zealand stations. 3 The Radio Broadcasting Company of New Zealand announces that the 3YA, Christchurch, silent day will be observed on Tuesdays in future instead of Thursdays. All stations are to remain silent on Christmas Day. No afternoon concert sessions will he broadcast on Boxing Day and New Year’s Day, or children’s and news sessions. LYA.and 3YA will observe three hour dance sessions on such days from 8 p.m. until 11 p.m. 2YK. Wellington, will also hold dance sessions. IYA, Auckland, will broadcast descriptions of the summer meeting races from Boxing Day onwards (further particulars later). The management of 2FC, Sydney, have received a letter from the Department of the Naval Service. Digbv Island, Prince Rupert, British Columbia, government

radio station, reporting reception of 2FC with a five-valve Browning Drake circuit, set regularly for a month, so strong in sotne instances that commercial stations have been drowned out.

. Last Wednesday night eighty radio licensees, comprising members of the "trade" and broadcast listeners, assembled in conference in response to' an in-

vitation, by the Amateur Radio Society of Wellington, to discuss broadcast matters. The gathering may be accepted as evidence of an approaching storm. Things are far from satisfactory in connection with, broadcasting, and while smooth words wen*-spoken by a P. and 1. Department official who was present, a great deal has to Ire accomplished before radio licensees will be satisfied. Already overtures are being mode towards tlie holding of a Dominion conference of those interested in broadcast listening; The (rouble, it is reported, is to be thoroughly ventilated when Parliament resumes. A matter which requires particular notice was the delay in replving to a communication forwarded from' the Amateur Radio Society of Wellington to the Postmaster-General about a month before, last \v edhesday’s. conference. The secretary, of the society exercised..by the absence of a.reply was compelled to write a second time to the .Minister, and eventually a letter dated on the very day of the Conference- was received by the” society. Naturally the arrival of the Min- I ister s letter at the last minute precluded due consideration of its contents by the executive of the society prior to the conference.’

Hero is the Minister's eleventh-hour reply to, the. Amateur Radio Society’s letf? r: ' ”1 'rill take the resolutions serinUm: (1) It is. not explained why the society should draw my attention .to the number of paid-up jhares issued by the company. Tlie company has erected no’,?J!l'' t 0 sta tions at a cost of over iZU.tNMI, . consec|uehtly the reference to £4OOO and its significance is not under-’’ stood. (2) As already announced, action was taken some lime ago in regard to a new station for- Wellington, and it is lipped that, the station will/-be on the air early next Winter. .(3) It is. admitLed that in the pa«t there has been i-onie distortion, but with greater experience in operating the distortion is {gradually

disappearing. A very great - improvement has been noticed lately. Distortion niay be ascribed to various causes, and it is quite evident'' that the company’s troubles in this aspect are gradually; being overcome.- The question of fading at the Auckland station has not escaped the Department’s notice, and the cause is being investigated. Tn view of tlie met that a now station will be erected in Wellington at an early date, I do not intend to call on the company, to incur heavy expenditure, in the direction of improving the existing station. The company will, however, be expected to maintain as satisfactory a stamlard of transmission .as possible until the new station is

erected. (4) I wish to make the definite statement tfiat there is no intention at present of changing the wave-lengths of the company’s stations. Nearly all the high-powered statibns in tlie world are operating on wave-lengths over 300 metres, and the existing wave-lengths in ths Dominion were selected after very careful consideration. Tlie engineers of tlie Western Electric Company, which manufactured the Auckland and Christchurch stations, are strongly of opinion that the existing wave-lengths should not be reduced. In addition to the opinion of the company’s experts there are a number of important technical and other reasons why, in the interests of transmission and the public generally, a change to a shorter wavelength band would be undesirable. The Department is. however, in communication with the Commonwealth authorities, and it is understood that a conference will take place in Australia in February next. When the result of the conference is known, further consideration will be given to the question of wavelengths." With regard to the society’s drawing of the Postmaster-General’s notice to tho fact that the company had not complied with their agreement to operate with a capital of .£20,000, it was obvious that the society feared, in the absence of any statement regarding the finances of the company, that the company was being handicapped in supplying a satisfactory broadcasting service through financial reasons. One may accept with complete confidence the Minister’s statement that the significance of the society’s question was not understood. It would not be out of place if tlie Minister could find time to have a round-the-table talk with the executive of the society so that he could increase his understanding of the existing broadcasting problems.

The Minister’s reference to the admission that in the past there has been some iistortion bv the broadcast stations, but, 'with greater experience in operating them, is gradually disappearing,” means hat the inexperienced men who are in charge of the stations are after many months gradually learning to work the stations properly. There is still a good deal of distortion which is ruining the reputation of broadcasting, and the company should, as urged at the Wellington Society’s conference, engage the services, front abroad, of a man who is operating up-to-date broadcast stations. The Minister also states in his letter that "nearly all the high-powered stations in ' the world are operating on wave-lengths over 300 metres.” This manifestly implies that the New Zealand stations are high powered, which only goes to show how utterly out of touch with broadcasting matters are the .Minister’s advisors. Not by any stretch of imagination can the New Zealand stations with their 500-watt aerial power be assessed as "high powered” when considering the world’s broadcasting. "Aerial” can name many really high-power-ed broadcasting stations operating on wave-lengths shorter than 300 metres. These stations include: Belgium, Radio Belgique Co., 265 metres, 1600 watts; Lyons, 287 metres, 2000 watts; Toulouse, 274 metres, 2000 watts; Dresden, 280 metres, 1500 watts; SASC, Malmo, Sweden, 270 metres, 1500 watts; KSL, Salt Lake City, 299' metres, 1000 watts; KMMJ, Clay Center, Nebraska, 228-9 metres, 1000 watts; KFKX, Hastings, Nebraska, 288.3 metres, 5000 watts; KFFB, San Diego, 245 metres, 1000 watts; KF NF, Shenandoah, 263 metres, 1000 watts; KFQB, Texas, 263 metres, 1000 watts; KT AB, 240 metres, 1000 watts; WAPI, Auburn, Ala., 248 metres, 1000 watts; WBAL, Baltimore, 245.8 metres. 1000 watts. If, as it is.said .by the Minister, the stations at Auckland and Christchurch, offer ■ technical difficulties which would render a change of wave-length undesirable it seems rather plain that when these stations were ordered, due consideration was not given to the conditions obtaining in New Zealand. However, if these

stations will not operate efficiently on shorter wave-lengths they could be al- . tered to do so. At all events a representative of the P. and T. Department should be sent to the conference to be held in Australia during February when the question of re-allocating wave-lengths is to be considered. Then the New Zealand scheme as a whole could be dealt ivith and made to dove-tail with that of Australia, instead of clashing as in the case of Christchurch and Brisbane as at present.

Judging by the expressions of Mr. McNamara, Secretary of the P. and T. Department,, the Broadcasting,- Company cannot be expected to spend ample money on their broadcasting scheme unless more licenses are taken out. This is a remarkable attitude to adopt, and one that shows a. deplorable lack of ’ vision. Experience in Australia, and many other countries, shows that when a first-class service is provided, the public will respond in their thousands. Give rhe New Zealand public a really first- ■ class broadcast service and the' 40,000 radio licensees will soon bo forthcoming. Mr. McNamara remarked nt the conference: “We feel that there is little response from the licensees, yet much criticism. When wo found, with a station. put on at Auckland, that the total number of licenses was only 4000 it was too small altogether. To-day we have 10,000, very no-'rlv 11,000. The” number is growing rapidly." No great imagination is required to perceive the lesson to be gathered from the increase of licensees since the Auckland station (even as it is) was put up. Mr. McNamara has failed to see the

noint. Patronage will follow service as assuredly as night follows day. but service must come first. A speaker at last Wednesday night’s conference challenged the P. and T. Department to proye that they had taken one step towards reducing the man-made electrical interference which is rampant in and around Wellington. In other countries the broadcasting concerns have tackler! this very serious interference with broadcast listening in a businesslike manner. Motor vehicles fitted with

receiving sets and direction-finding loop aerials are sent to each area from where

the trouble is reported. Faulty streel transformers, noises from the commuta-

tors of dynamos, etc., etc., are thus quickly located. The P. and T. Department lies neglected ils duly in Ibis mat

ter. Ono cannot expect- complete immunity from IJjis form of interference, but a reduction to tolerable proportions could be obtained. There are periods on some evenings when, owing to local electrical noises, it is quite out of the question for listeners in various areas of Wellington Io hear the Auckland or Christchurch stations with any degree of pleasure.