RADIO AND THE CENTENARY RACE

Evening Star, Issue 21880, 17 November 1934, Page 4

RADIO AND THE CENTENARY RACE

If the early founders of Victoria could have visioned the hundredth anniversary of their landing, the wildest flight of their imagination could not have been equal to portraying the part which radio was destined to play in the Celebrations (says a writer in the ‘ Listener In ’). With two short wave stations carrying the principal national and “ B ” class programmes in Victoria, plans and projects for international relays, special Empire broadcasts, and the snort wave apparatus with which some of the planes in the air race were equipped, there was promise of much of interest during the height of the festivities. The American contacts with Sydney were to be our chief standby, but in the rush of events which followed the commencement of the air race W2XAF was consigned to second place. Because of its international character, perhaps the air race provided the “ piece de resistance ” of the feast. The commencement on Saturday was ominously quiet, because, although we expected the British station to describe the despatch of the planes from Mildenhall, some last-mnmto hitch prevented anything but an . “ eye-wit-neSs ”■ account, which was made some hours later. Sunday was also very quiet, and it was not until the leaders approached Australia that the control points appeared to get into swing and keep us informed of the contestants’ positions. From then on the interest and excitement increased, culminating on Tuesday night in the Dutch entrants getting" off their course in the Albury district. And what a dramatic incident it provided! ‘ At 11 p.m. all seemed well, the plane being reported as passing over Albury with about an hour’s run to Melbourne. At 11.30 it was still in the Albury district, being reported from such places as Wangaratta, Tallangatta, Yackandandah, Corryong, and other places off the true course, and at one time it was as far south as Marysville, and thus only about sixty miles from the goal, but flying east and west instead of in a south-westerly direction. Flying over the ranges in the North-east of Victoria is a highly dangerous proceeding in daytime during a rain storm even to pilots experienced in the route, and the risk was increased tremendously by the darkness. Knowing the excellent crew, which included a wireless operator, and the equipment carried by the plane, most of .the,listeners have been puzzled by the apparent failure to maintain contact with the Laverton station, and thus find their true position and correct course to take.

The possible explanation is not at all hard to understand. Round about Albury the short wave length signals which were being employed by the plane and Laverton station were lost because the plane was too close to the goal, and had passed into the skip distance. Having lost signals on one wave length, finding another one suitable (and for both stations to strike the same one simultaneously) would be like looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack, and the chances of it coming off would be very slender. What actually happened was that the plane’s operator wisely decided to go up on to the ordinary calling wave for ships and mobile stations—6oo metres—assuming that one of the coastal station watchkeepers would be certain to hear him. This was done by the Hobax-t coastal station, which passed the information on to Lavertop, who, of course, answered the call there, and in the normal procedure arranged for a new working wave and gave the necessary information about landing at Albury. During the week we had excellent reception from everywhere—France, Germany, England, America, Java, Japan, Russia, and Siberia. Radio Paris on 25.2 m. was heard at full speaker strength in a special programme from 7 a.m. on Friday, October 26, which will have puzzled many listeners. It was a programme which originated in Czechoslovakia, and announcements were made in several languages, including English, German, and French, and was evidently in celebration of the National Day of Independence, which was celebrated in Melbourne on Sunday, October 28.

The Empire station is being heard to excellent advantage from 9 p.m. on 19.82 m. (GSG), in addition to the afternoon periods, which are always splendid through GSB on 31.55 m., and GSD on 25.53 m., and the early morning sessions. Zeesen, Germany, is to put on a special daily transmission for Australia from November 1, approximately, on 19.73 m. (DJB) and 25.51 m. (DJB) between the hours of 8.45 p.m. and midnight Melbourne time. Tills departure is the result of the special scries of observations which members of the short wave group of the W.I.A. undertook over a twelve months’ period at the request of the Consul-General for Germany. Readers of these notes who assisted will be gratified at this tangible expression of appreciation of the value of their somewhat monotonous job. Radio Paris on 19.68 m. is now heard well from 11 p.m., and the Dutch station PHI is back of 25.57 m. for the summer months, being beard at maximum strength from 11 p.m.