ON ALL WAVELENGTHS

Evening Star, Issue 22975, 4 June 1938, Page 4

ON ALL WAVELENGTHS

JUST SING IT NEW RADIO TONGUE EVOLVED BUT MANY YEARS LATE Based on music, which is regarded as the universal language, a new system of speech sounds may shortly be heard broadcast on short wave. Therefore, if listeners should hear an announcer say “ Sirefa Spatari, mibososi misi,” they need not think they have found a new foreign station, because the interpretation of that peculiarsounding sentence in simply: “We are pleased to announce Spatari, speaking his new radio language.” Mr Carlo Spatari, the inventor of this strange tongue, lives in New York, and once he used to earn a very meagre living as a musician. _ Now, at the age of 49, he has turned inventor, and has devised a language, which he modestly calls Spatari, for the exchange of news and other information by radio between people of different tongues. The language will not be spoken in conversation, he says, and in this respect it is unlike Esperanto, Volapuk, and other “ universal ” languages. In fact, Spatari is not even phonetic, being based on the designations do, re, mi, so, fa, la, ti (only he uses si in the American fashion). Yet the syllables must be enunciated and not played or sung. Actually, Spatari is an elaborate coding system, making use of combination syllables, and giving them quite arbitrary_ meanings. Already 7,000 combinations have been devised, and Mr - Spatari claims that they cover virtually every contingency in the way of hews information. In fact, as he says impressively, the combinations run from Dodo, right at the bottom of the scale, to Sibobobo at the very top. He even ■claims that decoding is simplicity itself - in any language, and he offers the following example of the use of the root combination Solado, which relates to disasters Soladodo—Floods overwhelm county Soladore—Terrific storms hit . . . Soladomi—Landslides occurred in Soladofa—Snowstorm in . . . Sol adosa—Lightning struck . . , Soladola—Cloudburst descending on Soladosi—Fixe broke out . . . Soladobo—Earthquake rocked . . . Handbooks containing combinations .ike this are being distributed to short wave radio stations all over the world, and already minor tests have been made. Recently the following message was flashed from one short wave station :—“ Fasibodo. Gluglielmo Marconi la fi fasisibo Rome bomiredo fasisila fa do doso fasisisi reso.” Another station had been advised of the transmission, and within a few minutes was able to announce in plain English:—“The world mourns the loss of Guglielmo Marconi. He was 63 years old. The body will lie in state in Rome. Funeral services will be held on Thursday.” For the last five years Mr Spatari has devoted all his time to the development of his new language, but actually he has been at work on it since 1905, when he arrived in America from Italy. The difficulty he had in mastering English convinced him that music was the common language. But one cannot help thinking that Mr Spatari is many years too late. One can do such a lot and get so far with English nowadays. TRAINED FOR OTHER WORK ARTISTS WHO CHANGED THEIR VOCATIONS An analysis of the career of the Australian Broadcasting Commission’s celebrity artists for 1938 makes interesting reading, for it shows that the majority of the artists were trained for oriier work. For instance, the famous Russian basso, Alexander Kipnis (coming to Dunedin next month) completed his training as a military band conductor before ne discovered his potentialities as a singer. Dino Borgioli studied for the legal profession, but became a grand opera star instead. Richard Tauber completed his training as an orchestral conductor before . he took up singing as a career. ' Dr Malcolm Sargent was for years a church organist in an English country r town before his genius for conducting ‘ was discovered. Although it was intended that Georg Szell should become a professional ' pianist, he himself was determined to bo - an orchestral conductor, and by a -fortunate chance, when at the age of : 16 he was called upon to deputise for an eminent conductor, he was able to convince people that he was a born conductor. HOME CONSTRUCTION TIPS FOR AMATEURS Those who delight in repairing and making alterations to their radio sets might find the following tips useful: — A fine little coil winder can be set up using your drilling machine clamped in the vyce. The coil bobbin has a ■¥. shaft fitted, this being .clamped in the drill chuck. When you are joining a twin flexible cable together, it is a good idea to cut one wire of each pair longer than the other. Thus the joints are not brought side by side, and the chances of a short circuit are minimised. The joins, of course, should be thoroughly taped. For very delicate soldering work use as an iron a piece of heavy copper wire fitted to a piece of dowel stick. When buying a wood rule avoid those that have a little spare length before the divisions start. Motor houses stock tubular brass brake or clutch lining rivets, also a “ rose punch ” for use with them. These rivets have many possibilities, such as fitting a valve socket to a chassis in a very professional manner.

NEWS and COMMENTS

by "HENRY”

A BUSY PERIOD EXTRA LOCAL BROADCASTS FURTHER POLITICAL ADDRESS Both the main stations will experience a busy period next week, when they will be asked to cope with many items which are additional to their usual programmes. The A station’s time will be fully occupied, and portions of its regular programmes will be transferred to the auxiliary transmitter. The series of political addresses will be continued on Monday night, when the Leader of the Opposition (tho Hon. Adam Hamilton) will give a public address, which will be relayed. The same night 4YO will be called upon to conduct an hour’s relay of the piping and dancing festival, followed by a description of the professional wrestling match at the Town Hall. Two speakers—Dr C. M. Focken and Mr W. G. M'Clymont—will discuss separate mattery during Tuesday evening’s programme, and the_ St. Kilda Band will later be heard in a studio concert, while on Wednesday the visiting bass-baritone, Frederick Collier, will provide ,a special recital, and ‘ The Hunchback ’ play will be advanced a stage before Dick Colvin and his Music take over the microphone at 10 o’clock. As _ Monday’s programmes will not permit of Mr J. _T. Paul’s usual talk on world affairs, this will be delayed until Thursday. The community sing will be relayed on Friday at midday, and the evening entertainment will include the weekly humorous items, a recital by Frederick Collier, and a Charles Kingsley reading by Professor T. D. Adams. Saturday’s studio artists will be the members of the orchestra and Dorothy Barron (soprano). On the sporting side of the week’s programmes there will he commentaries on the races at Winpatui on Monday and Saturday from 4YA, a description of the first cricket test match, Australia v. England, between 10 and 11 on Friday night (during which hour 4YO will relay the dance music from the Savoy), and a description of a Rugby match on Saturday afternoon through 4YO. The following is a list of selected items from the programmes;— MONDAY. ■ 8 p.m.: Political address by the Leader of the Opposition (the Hon. Adam Hamilton). TUESDAY. 5.30: Children’s feature, * Paradise Plumes and Head-Hunters,’ episode 7. 7.30: ‘ The Whirligig of Time: Ideas of the World and Space—the Medieval World and the Romance of Astronomy,’ a talk by Dr C., M. Focken. 8; Miscellaneous recordings. 8.40; ‘American Football,’ a talk by Mr W. G. M'Clymont. 9.5: Concert by the St. Kilda Band, with -interludes, including “Eb and Zeb ” at 9.31. 10: Music, mirth, and melody. WEDNESDAY. 3.15 p.m.: ‘For Young Children: Keep the Flavour Mild,’ a talk by the 'A.C.E. 7.30; Book talk by Mr John Harris. 8: Variety concert. 8.25: Frederick Collier (bass-bari-tone) in a studio recital. 8.40: ‘ The London Scene: The Luxurious West End,’ a talk by Miss Lorna Rowland. 9.5: The Masked Masqueraders present harmony and hilarity. 9.32: ‘ The Hunchback of Notre Dame,’ episode 3 of a recorded George Edwards production. 10: Dance music by Dick Colvin and his Music. THURSDAY. 1.30 p.m.: Educational session, rebroadcast from 2YA. 7.30: Gardening talk. 8: Symphonic music, with ‘ Masterpieces of Music,’ illustrated and told by Dr V. E. Galway, at 0.21. 8.40: A talk on world affairs by Mr J. T. Paul. 10: Music, mirth, and melody, with a further instalment of ‘ The Blue Danube.’ FRIDAY. 10.45: ‘Cooking and Recipes,’ a talk by Miss I. Findlay. 12.15 p.m.: Relay of tho community sing. i 3.15: ‘ Wet Day Games for Children,’ an A.C.E. talk. 5.30: ‘ Paradise Plumes and HeadHunters ’ (8). 8.5; ‘Dad and Dave From Snake Gully.’ 8.20: ‘Explanations,’ a Japanese honseboy episode. 8.45; ‘ Everest, the 1938 Attack,’ a talk by Mr L. V. Bryant, a member of the 1935 Everest Expedition. 9.5: A recital, by Frederick Collier (bass-baritone). 9.20: Readings by Professor T. D. Adams. 10: Description of play in the first cricket test match, Australia v. England, rebroadeast from the Empire station. SATURDAY. 6.45 p.m.: W, A. Oldfield’s commentary on tho cridcet test. 8: Concert by the 4YA Orchestra, Dorothy Barron (soprano), and recorded artists. 9.5: Dance music. ‘ 8.8. C. HANDBOOK ’ 'The 1938 edition of the * 8.8. C. Handbook ’is now procurable. As with previous publications, this issue is packed with interesting information on the continued growth of what has become recognised as the world’s foremost broadcasting organisation. Details and statistics concerning every department of tbe corporation are informative. and special interest attaches to references to tbe development and workings of the Empire service. A copy of tbe handbook has been received from the 8.8. C.

FOR NINE HOURS NIGHT RECEPTION OF AUSTRALIANS FOUR MORNING SESSIONS ALSO HEARD OXers have been making good use of their receiving sets during the last week, as reception of stations in Australia has been particularly good. Between the hours of 5 p.m. and 2 a.m. practically every channelfrom 550 kc to 1,500 kc has been fully occupied by „ stations from the six Australian States. Station SAU, Port Augusta, South Australia, on 1,400 kc, can be readily logged from midnight until 0.30 when the station closes with a male singing the well-known number, ‘ Time To Say Good-night.’ SAU has been operating for only a few weeks. Four Australian stations have been heard in the mornings until as late as 8.30. These are:—2BL, Sydney (740 kc, 3,500 watts); 2KY, Sydney (1,020 kc, 1,000 watts); 2NR, Lawrence (700 kc, 7,000 watts); and 2UE, Sydney (950 kc, 1,000 watts). New Zealand time at 8.30 a.m. is 7 a.m. Sydney time, which is daylight. This proves the claim that Australian reception is extremely good at the present time. 6WA, Minding, is the best heard West Australian station. It operates on 560 kc, with 10,000 watts of power. This station can be heard every night from 11 o’clock onward, and closes at 3 o’clock the following morning. 6WA relays many of the programmes of the famous 6WF, Perth, on 690 kc. Other frequently-heard West Australian stations are:—6GF, Kalgoorlie (720 kc, 2.000 watts) ; 6AM, Northnm (980 kc, 2.000 watts) ; 6ML, Perth (1,130 kc, 500 watts); 6KG, Kalgoorlie (1,210 kc, 500 watts); 6IX, Perth (1,240 kc, 500 watts). LATE AFTERNOON * CATCH.” During the last month, between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. (especially on Sundays), a South, American station— LSII, La Plata, Argentine—has been heard by several Otago listeners. LSII operates with 10,000 watts on 1,310 kc. At this time, of the year it is possible to hear several South Americans on the broadcast band between 3.30 p.m. and 5 p.m. These stations can readily be recognised because of the Spanish language and music generally used.

CZECHOSLOVAKIAN LECTURES

The Czechoslovakian broadcasting system, which now consists of . seven stations, delivers about 9,000 educational lectures annually; courses in eight different languages are broadcast. AERIAL OVERHAUL There are few listeners who ever bother to inspect the aerial one© it is erected. Engineers point out that the elements—sun, wind, rain, etc.—have such a damaging effect upon the aerial system over a period of time that they strongly advise that a new aerial be erected every year or so to ensure efficient operation of the receiver. Rapid deterioration of the aerial is more noticeable in some sections of the country than in others, particularly in and around industrial centres, where smoke and soot are extremely heavy and contain chemicals which collect on the insulators, aerial wire, lead-in, and antenna transformer, causing leakage, corrosion, and the changing of the original characteristics of the aerial system. This results in weak piok-up of the radio signal. One of tho most common causes of weak reception, when the aerial becomes defective, is leaking insulators. Dust and soot collect on the insulators, resulting in the aerial wire being partially shorted to ground. This condition causes what is known as loading of the antenna circuit, and replacement of the insulators is the only remedy.

REGENT ADVANCES NEWEST DEVELOPMENTS SHOWN Many of the more recent developments in radio communication were exemplified in a display at the recent exhibition in Sydney. Among these was a small portable plant for providing radio telephony over distances of 100 miles or so. The equipment, is employed in remote settlements to provide communication between the “ outback ” and the centres of population. It is also used by exploring parties in such places as New Guinea-, Papua, and Northern Australia. _ Two or three men can carry the entire outfit, and with its assistance the inconvenience and dangers of isolation are eliminated. The equipment which provides communication between travelling motor cars and a central station was also displayed. This illustrates how the police department of Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, and other cities and the Central District Ambulance of Sydney keep in touch with their headquarters while on patrol duty. A police car or an ambulance vehicle can be called up at a moment’s notice, and the driver given instructions. Detectives are thus kept informed of all developments in the crime while they are away from the city on investigation work. This has been one of the most useful adjuncts to the police and ambulance services. With the advances in aviation has come a corresponding advance in radio communications applied to aerial navigation. Indeed, the two are interdependent. The latest type of transmitter used at Australian aerodromes to inform pilots of weather conditions ahead, and to convey advice about landing, is also exhibited. Within the last two years the Civil Aviation Board has been providing complete radio equipment for the assistance of airmen flying over the main commercial routes.

LISTENERS’ TASTES LITTLE VARIATION IN FOUR YEARS In their main division listeners’ tastes, or rather listeners’ tastes as interpreted by_ the Australian Broadcasting Commission, do not seem to change widely through the years, but in some types of item there have been substantial changes in the time given to them (says an Australian writer). A comparison between the programme analyses published in the commission’s first and latest (fifth) annual reports shows this clearly. In the vear 1932-33 music occupied 52.76 per cent, of the programme time. Last year it occupied 51.68 per cent. Works classed as classical decreased slightly, those grouped as popular dropped more substantially (from 29.47 to 26.19 per cent.), but dance music of all types grew appreciably (from 5.68 to 7.42 per cent.). Community singing time decreased by one-tenth. The total time given to dramatic items has decreased materially, from 7.88 to 5.85 per cent. This is due to a large falling off in operatic items, which dropped by five-sixths, and a drop of more than a third in musical comedy, revue, etc.but plays and dramatised stories gained substantially, from 2.87 to 3.74 per cent. Talks and non-sporting descriptions have not changed very much. They took 11,37 of the time in 1936-37, compared to 11.07 in 1932-33, Sportin" commentaries, etc., made substantial headway, growing from 9.04 to 11.28. News and news commentaries also increased largely from 3.87 to 5.96 per cent. Reports have also increased, but announcements have been reduced by one-third. Church services and studio broadcasts of a devotional nature have increased considerably, but children’s sessions have lost a lot of time, dropping from 4.60 to 2.68 per cent. Tims, although the difference in the total time given to musical works and some other types of programme is not very large, other groups and some of the types in the main groups have shown considerable, expansion or contraction. For example, where half an hour was formerly given to _ dance music more than 40 minutes is now given. The same period for plays has grown to 39 minutes, for news to 46 minutes, for reports to 39 minutes, for sporting to 37i minutes, and for church services to 37 minutes. The same period formerly allotted to the following items has been reduced to the times shown: Popular music and community singing, 27 minutes each ; opera, 5 minutes; musical comedy, etc., 17J minutes ; announcements, 12 minutes; children’s sessions, 17| minutes. In the four years the total number of programme hours has grown from 49,133 to 84.299. due mainly to the addition of regional stations to the programme network. Performers in the first year numbered 20,099, and last year 22,118.

Finch Telecommunications Inc. has licensed three American commercial stations for broadcasting newspapers. The receiving sets, costing 12odol, will supply owners with a strip of orangecoloured paper, the same width as two columns in their daily newspapers, with printed matter, drawings, and pictures.