ON THE WAVELENGHTS

Evening Star, Issue 23065, 17 September 1938, Page 4

ON THE WAVELENGHTS

UNDECLARED WAR BROADCAST PROPAGANDA POSITION IN EUROPE A relentless radio propaganda war is raging over the whole of the Continent of Europe at the present time, and the following observations by Michael Norton, waiting in ‘ Wireless Weekly,’ give a clear insight into the seriousness of the position : The use of “wireless” (radio) as a national weapon began during the Great War. in 1916, when the Germans could no longer use their submarine cables, they communicated with their military attache in Washington by radio messages in code, sent by indirect routes. Unfortunately for them this code soon fell into the hands of th« British. Towards the end of the war there tras so much use of codes that when Idle news of the armistice was announced from the Eiffel Tower, not in code, several operators refused to believe what they heardj thinking the enemy was playing a trick! Oyer here in England radio sets were forbidden during the war, and it’ was rumoured that listeners had secret antennas fixed in disused chimneys. This may have been true; but I know that a simitar thing occurred in Germany just after the war. In the occupied area the Allies forbade the . use of broadcasting and its reception within the area. Sortie German friends living in Cologne told me that they had an indoor'antenna and so did many of their friends. The antenna was taken down when the set was not in use. The first radio propaganda on a big scale was put out by Moscow. The Russians now broadcast propaganda in aljout 15 different languages, and they haive the most powerful transmitter in Europe. It has the same power as WLW, Cincinnati. Soon, however, the

British Broadcasting Corporation is to build tiro powerful short wave transmitters which will be the most powerful in the world. , The Russians are fortunate in that their time is two hours ahead of Central European' time, so that after their own programmes they can use nearly all their stations for broadcasting to the rest of Europe. The Germans have made great efforts to jam the Russian transmissions. Some German friends of mine had a town house which they were compelled to lease to the secret police. The owners discovered by accident that the police had installed'a Storsender. or “interrupting station.” It was intended for the interruption of the transmissions of the Russian station of Minsk .a town less than 50 miles from Russia’s western frontier.

Thie moment that the propaganda in - German starts from the Moscow station interference begins. On the long wive* it takes the form of Morse (code) or a kind pi dynamo hum. On the ■ short wave transmission the . German interference is usually made by the continual playing of a phonograph record; The record is usually one of the waltz ‘ Ramona,’ but , the Germans do use one other record, and this is of a slow fox-trot. I know several Germans who listen to the Russian transmissions. This ; means that the jamming is not always successful. This is especially noticeable on the short waves, where the skip distance effect may mean that you can hear the transmission but not the interruption. On the medium waves things are different. Only a few weeks ago a German told me that he tried to hear the speeches of Herr von Schuschnigg, the former Austrian Chancellor, hilt that he was unable to because they were jammed by the German authorities. The most exciting event on the short waves took place last spring, when a mystery German Station suddenly appealed oh a wave length of 29.8 metres. Some say that it must be outside Germany, but nothing has ever been proved about this station. From 10 till 11 every night it gives anti-Nazi propaganda, talking, for example, of the “ gruesome barbarities of the Hitler regime.” A German told me that the first night after this station was first heard in Berlin, half the population of the town knew about it. The station was said by the announcer to be in Berlin, but it could not be traced. It was thought that the transmitter was placed inside a car. and the vehicle driven round the town; but when I listened here in England, the signal strength seemed too constant for that to he the case. After a time, the German authorities caused such severe jamming that it became very difficult, almost impossible, to hear this station. But it still broadcasts, and is pow to be heard on a wave length of 23.8 metres. It remains a real mystery. The Spanish trouble has added greatly to the war on the air. First of all, Moscow transmitted more Spanish talks than formerly, saying to the Republicans; “We are with you with all our soul.” Then General Franco captured several broadcasting Stations sharing wave lengths with those still in Government hands. ' Another feature of the struggle has been the entirely illegal use of the amateur tVave lengths on the 40-metre band for nows and propaganda. A strange happening in the Spanish war has been the transmissions of a station calling itself “ Radio Vcrdad,” and broadcasting in Spanish. (Verdad ii Spanish for truth.) As they use several Italian wave lengths on the medium band, I thought that either the Italians were closing down their stations to allow the Spanish station to broadcast its “ truth ” propaganda, or that the Italians were responsible for the whole thing. They gave an address in Salamanca to which listeners are asked to write. I wrote, but have had no answer. When listening to Rome at 7 o’clock, G.M.T.. I heard the station sign off, aftd then (he carrier disappear, before Radio Verdad made its trnu.sTnis.sion. But Radio Verdad’s announcer has a slight Catalan accent, which shows that lie docs not '■nine from Salamanca. TVs 'made mo M'=jii.-fnu« Then a friend used dhe-ihiifll »*ireuna> mi the mjniou, and ikdis was prove’)

NEWS, and COMMENTS by “HENRY”

BACH CANTATA 4YA STUDIO PERFORMANCE OTHER PROGRAMME ARRANGEMENTS A special studio presentation of the Bach cantata, ‘A Safe Stronghold,’ which will be performed by the Bach Cantata Choir in collaboration with the 4YA Concert Orchestra, will be the main feature of Monday's programme. The performance will be under the direction of Dr V, E. Galway, and the soloists will be Margaret Elder, Mrs C. M. Barnett, and Alfred Walmsley.

During the band programme on Tuesday Grace Wilkinson, the visiting contralto, will be heard in two studio recitals, while Wednesday's concert will follow the usual lines. Thursday’s symphonic programme will embrace further solo items by Grace-Wilkinson, and, of course, the ‘ Masterpieces ’ session, which will be conducted by Dr V. E. Galway, and which will deal with orchestral works by Beethoven and Wagner. Recordings, including the weekly features, will be broadcast on Friday, and at the usual time Professor T. D. Adams will give further readings his choice on this occasion being from a work by Charles Kingsley. The final match of the local Rugby season will be described on Saturday afternoon, and at night Vaida M‘Curdy (soprano) and C. R. Williamson (tenor) will supplement the programme by recorded orchestras. Dance music will be played from 9.5. The programmes will include the following items;—

MONDAY. 7.30 p.m.: Talk to Young Farmers’ Clubs, arranged by the Department of Agriculture. 8.10: The Bach Cantata Choir, with the 4YA Concert Orchestra. ■8.40; Mr J. T. Paul’s world affairs talk. 9.5: ‘The Mystery Club: The Butler’s, Secret.’ 9.33; ‘ Khyber: Hand to Hand ’ (3). 10; Dance Music. TUESDAY. 7.30 p.m.; Talk by Dr F. G. Soper, ‘ The, World "of Science : Great Chemists arid Physicians.’ . 8 :' Recordings, .featuring at 8.38 Carson Robison and his Buckaroos. ■ 8.50; Recorded talk by Mr S. K. Ratcliffe, ‘ Changing England.’ 9.5: Band programme, featuring contralto recitals by Grace Wilkinson. • 9.27: Eb and Zeb. 10: Music, mirth, and melody. WEDNESDAY. 30.45 a.m : * Cooking by Electricity,’ a talk. 12: South Dunedin community sing. 3.15: ‘ The Iron in Your Garden,’ an 'A.C.E. talk. . . .. „ x „ , 7.30: ‘ Helpful Hints to Motorists. 8: Recordings. ■ 8.40: Talk by Dr G. C. Billing, Raw Materials for Modern Industry: (1) Minerals of Industry and Where They are Found.’ . . ~ 9.5; Carson Robison and his Buckaroos. 9.18; ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame ’ (17). 9.31: The Masked Masqueraders. 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 programme featuring Grace Wilkinson (coritralto) and ‘ Masterpieces of Music,’ with illustrations and comments by Dr V. E. Galway. 8.40;- Talk by Mrs F. J. Turner, ‘ Women In Medicine.’ 10: Music, mirth, and melody. FRIDAY. 10.45 a.m.: ' Cooking and Recipes,’ a talk by Miss I. Findlay. 12.15: Community sing. 3.15: ‘Refinishings for Furniture.’ an A.C.E. talk 7.30: ‘ Children’s Art,’ a talk by Mr Gordon Tovey. 8: ‘ Dad and Dave from Snake Gully.’ 8.18: ‘ A Valued Partner ’ (Japanese liouseboy). 8.43: ‘ Book Clubs,’ a talk by Dr K. J. Sheen. 9.20; Readings by Professor T. D. Adams. 10: Relay of dance music from the Savoy. ~ ' SATURDAY. 3.15 p.m.: Relay of running commentary on the Rugby match at Carisbrook. 8: Light orchestral and ballad programme by recorded orchestras, Valda M'Curdy (soprano), and C. 11. Williamson (tenor). 9.5: Dance music.

to be the Italians masquerading as Spaniards The Italian broadcasts from Romo and Bari in Arabic have raised much protest over here in England. But in addition to those in Arabic, there are others in Chinese and other Oriental languages. It is these Arabic transmissions that have compelled, the British Broadcasting Corporation to broadcast in Arabic in order that Palestine should have a source of radio news other than from Italy.

And so the 8.8. C. feels compelled to broadcast in foreign language; it began with Arabic early this year. When I first listened to these broadcasts, I felt certain that there was a definite effort being made to jam them. I could hear the chimes o£ Big Ben perfectly, hut the moment the Arabic announcement was made, it was overwhelmed by interruption. Whether this interruption was successful in preventing recentiou in the East is another matter. Last night I listened to :he British transmissions in Spanish and Portuguese. The half-hour’s news bulletins came in .uninterrupted.

CALLS RECENTLY HEARD AUSTRALIAN RECEPTION CONSISTENT STATIC AND POWER INTERFERENCE Although static and power-line interference have been rather troublesome of late, quite a variety of good call signs have been heard, several being of the decidedly rare variety. As usual, Australian reception has been consistently strong and clear. With only a few exceptions, every Australian can be heard any night at some time between sunset and 3 a.m. Western Australia, which is some 3,000 miles west of Dunedin, is at present being heard from as early as 10 p.m. By midnight all the stations in this State are quite easy to log, even in the heart of Dunedin city. As some frequencies are shared by as many as four different Australians, it can readily be understood why a few of the smaller stations are difficult to receive. North American reception is really good at present between 4.30 and 7 ,p.m. Also, several Americans have been heard between midnight and 1.45 a.m. Those heard from midnight till 1.4.5 a.m. are on their “ early morning ” programmes. Following is a list of the easiest to hear:— 12.30 a.m.—KMTR, Hollywood (570 kc). 1 a.m.—KSL, Salt Lake City (l,130kc); KFOX, Long Beach (1,250 kc). 1.30 a.m.—KVI, Tacoma (570 kc): KHJ. Los Angeles (900 kc); KMO, Tacoma (1,330 kc). KFAC, Los Angeles, operating 24 hours daily on -1,300 kc, is at present best heard between 5.J30 and 8 p.m., and