WIRELESS WORLD

Evening Post, Volume CXX, Issue 124, 21 November 1935, Page 30

WIRELESS WORLD

NEARLY FORGOTTEN THE CRYSTAL RECEIVER IS REVIVAL WORTH WHILE? The majority of wireless receivers nowadays are powerful machines, and super-heterodynes are probably well in the majority. No such receiver is, apart from the matter being received, quite silent. Ears accustomed to them have learned to ignore the background of noise, just as they do the hiss that inevitably comes from even the finest gramophone records. It is possible, however; to have a receiver which is devoid of any extraneous noises, except \uhat hum (in a mains-driven set) is produced by the power supply. Such a receiver, however, is suitable only for "local" reception, which usually means two stations. An interesting point has recently been made by a correspondent writing to an English wireless journal. He had had trouble with .the "front end" of his big set,

and to continue to enjoy the broadcast service he rescued an old crystal set and fed its output to the audio amplifier of his "radiogram." The result was most gratifying.

"Although, of course, only one station can be received," he wrote, "the sound is practically flawless, the whole musical scale being reproduced most naturally, as are voices which might almost be in the room. One important thing contributes largely to this delightful effect, there is no audible background, and when the carrier wave is not being modulated it is indeed difficult to know that the set is operating. "A completely silent background has to be heard, or rather not heard, to appreciate its importance. The deception of radio is greatly enhanced when sound, be it speech, music, or noise, from the reproducer reaches one's ears pure and unadulterated by any other sound." Mi AUSTRALIAN INQUIRY Discussions which have taken place between representatives of the commercial broadcasting interests and the Australian Commonwealth Government regarding the amended wireless broadcasting regulations have been referred to the Postmaster-General (Senator McLachlan) and a Cabinet sub-commit-tee, so that they may investigate the position.

It is understood that among the requests made by the commercial interests is one for the appointment of a Federal radio commission, similar to that of the United States of America, comprising a Judge, a technical officer, and a business man, which would replace the Australian Broadcasting Commission. It has been suggested that the commission should be controlled by the Prime Minister's Department.

It is understood that the Ministry does not favour such a proposal, but that it will probably order a revision of the amended regulations. Mr. McCall, M.P., said today that he intended to move in the House of Representatives for the appointment of a select committee to inquire into wireless broadcasting matters. His desire was to have defined the relationship between A class and B class broadcasting stations, and to have framed abasis of national broadcasting policy, ___

A SUBJECT OF INTEREST Another aspect of the use of crystal receivers is given by another correspondent, who wrote:— "About four to five months ago some correspondence started in our local paper re the impossibility of receiving the long-wave station, Droitwich, on a crystal set. The 8.8.C. said it could be done, and the starter of the correspondence said it could not. He went as far as taking his old-fashioned set to the local 8.8.C. station and making them eat their words. "At this time I began to get interested, so I built up a set, very roughly, and found that, even with my poor aerial, ,35ft long, Bft high, it could be done. I wrote to the local paper, thinking one or two people might be interested, and said it could be done quite easily and anyone might try my set. Little did I think what the result of that letter would be. "On the evening my letter was published people started coming at 6.15 and the last caller came at 9.15. I then

sat down and wrote to the paper cancelling my offer to hear my set. I offered instead to send any party interested a diagram. Incidentally, at one period during the evening I had to give people chairs on my front lawn whilst others were inside listening to the set. "The demand for diagrams came in by every post for several days, so that I handed all correspondence to a radio shop in the town to do what they liked in the matter, as almost all those who called on me had asked me to make them a set.

"What really interested me, however, was the class of caller. There was no class. Rich people in thsir cars, ladies with their companions, music teachers, retired colonels, retired business men, ladies with limited incomes living in rooms, and in flats, young fellows of the shop assistant type, representatives from wireless shops, representatives of bed-rid-den men and women, but, with one exception, a boy of 13, no one under about the age of 25. "They all wanted the same thing, the National and Regional stations on a crystal set, nothing more. If I experienced all this through one letter in the Press and in one town, it is obvious that there is a real demand for a good crystal set." ELECTION BROADCASTS The decision of the party leaders not to use the broadcasting system for election speeches was no doubt welcomed by most listeners. There will, however, be plenty of election broadcasting on election night. The Broadcasting Board has made elaborate preparations for announcing the results, and from 8 p.m. or thereabouts the main stations will be used exclusively for election news. This service is expected to continue until about 1 a.m.

The Public Works Department has recently installed radio telephone sets at Mangahao and Waikaremoana. As the various hydro-electric generating stations are now linked for the supply of power, it is essential that communication between the stations be quickly effected at all times; and for this reason, the wireless sets have been installed,

and the Kremlin recognises this in the decree.

Virtually all Russian villages present their co-operatives housed in the shabbiest of buildings. The shelves are either empty or crowded with wares that nobody can use, and the doors are open at the whim of irresponsible shopkeepers. An example of this was found by the correspondent, who visited collective farms in the village of Kubenka, about 30 miles from Moscow, and talked with three farm workers. "MIGHT BE BETTEK." "It looks as if things might go better for us," one of them said. They were busy building a coffin, for their "kolkhoz," or collective farm, pay wages in goods, and it is necessary to do outside work to get cash. "Since the new decree was published our own store right down the street is carrying bread," the farmer continued. "Before, we had to run all the way to the station, a mile away, to get it." The new decree orders the establishment of 5000 large village stores during 1935 and 1936, in addition to the existing 4000, and instructs the State Bank to issue to Centroysoyuz, the central administration of the consumers' co-operatives, a loan of 30,000,000 roubles for the organisation and equipment of the new shops. I. Zelensky, chairman of Centroysoyuz, in an interview following the publication of the new decree, declared:

"The existing village stores have been unable to meet the increasing demands of collectivised farmers. They often have very little choice of goods.

"With the higher cultural level of the collective farmers has come a wider demand for better quality goods and the latest styles. Bedsteads, wardrobes, chairs, phonographs, radios, and bicycles are only a few of the commodities now demanded by the villages and we must get them.

"The village co-operatives in the past have not only failed to provide these commodities satisfactorily, but even such staple articles as salt. matches, kerosene, and soap." Mr. Zelensky said village stores under the new decree would be turned into a powerful instrument for improving the welfare of collective farmers of the whole nation,