RADIO RECORD

Greymouth Evening Star, 7 May 1936, Page 9

RADIO RECORD

NOTES FOR LISTENERS-IN

(By

“Reception” )

8.8. C. BULLETIN.

NEW IRISH STATION:

The new high-powered regional 1 transmitter of the BBC at Lisburn, I Nci thorn Ireland, was opened on March 20 by his Grace, the Governor lot Northern Ireland, the Duke of Abercorn. K.G., K.P., in the presence of the Members of the Cabinet of Noithein Ireland; Mr Robert Norman, Chairman of the BBC., and Sir John Reith, Director-General (states the 8.8. C. Overseas Press Bulletin. The new station, which operates on a wave-length of 307.1 metres with a power of 100 k.w. in the aerial, is de“igred mainly for the benefit of listener- in Northern Ireland, and replaces the IKW transmitter which has been in operation since 1924. Incidentally, the opening of this new transmitter provides yet another’ alternative programme during most hours of the day to listeners with receivers of moderate power throughout Great Britain, and from our own experience its signal can be received with the utmost clarity on a 3-valve receiver in the South of England. The giant mast —475 feet in height —is of special interest, since ‘the steel structure itself is used as an aerial. It is surmounted by a sliding top mast which has an additional maximum height of 75 feet. This tbp mast is adjusted in height to suit the wavelength on which the station operates. The top mast again is surmounted by a ring 26 feet in diameter, a combination which, to our noni technical eyes, gives it the appearance of a giant umbrella, but which, our friends the BBC engineers explain, is ‘for the purpose of reducing the length of top mast necessary by about 25 feet.” The Utopia of the BBC, engineers—in other words, the day when listeners throughout Great Britain will be able to hear two programmes on the most simple apparatus in the most unfavourable areas for reception has now almost been reached. For ourselves —resident in the heart of the Great Metropolis—we are well content. ’ With our own receivers we can hear both the BBC National programme from Droitwich or Brookman’s Park, and the London Regional programme without any interference whatsoever, while at the same time excellent reception of the programmes broadcast from West Regional, Midland Regional, North Regional, Scottish Regional, and now Northern Ireland Regional can be obtained except on occasions when static is at its worst. ELECTRICAL INTERFERENCE. Many listeners in Great Britain and abroad have at some time or other experienced the annoyance of electrical interference. In the course of one year the British Post Office inves tigates as many as 40,000 complaints, and in a large number of instances faulty reception is found in fact to be due to this cause. Usually, the appropriate remedy recommended by the P.O. engineers is to add a small piece of apparatus either to the interfering instrument at the expense of the owner, or to the wireless receiver at the expense of the listenei. The cost usually ranges from 5/- to £1 but in the case of certain special’types of electrical apparatus, the application of corrective measures mav cost as much as £2O or even £5O In about 4,000 cases a year, however, where the listener for his part has no means of remedying the trouble, the owner or user of the interfering apparatus declines to take action or to incur the necessary expenditure. Compulsory powers are at present lacking. The Broadcasting Committee (1935) in its report to the Postmaster-General has suggested that, if the Postmaster-General needs further powers for the purpose of protecting the listener, requisite powers, subject to suitable safeguards, should be sought.

BIG BEN. The 8.8. C. recently received a letter from an Empire listener, who wrote, “When my mother-in-law listens to Big Ben she is silent foi ten minutes. Carry on with the good work.” We are. It was on November 11,, 1927, that Big Ben was first heard by a large body of Empire listeners through the medium of GSSW, the original and experimental shortwave transmitter of the BBC. At that time there were modest prophecies that at some remote date Big Ben would set the time for the British Empire. These prophecies have now come true. The first broadcast from Big Ben in 1923 was, in those far-off days, quite a daring experiment. The first sonorous tones were picked up from a microphone placed on the roof of an adjoining building. Then a microphone was housed in a football bladder, and hung peramently in the tower. Unfortunately, the pigeons which swarm inside and outside the tower either fancied themselves as budding League Champions or broadcasters, so that later the microphone was encased, as now, in a speciallyinsulated container beyond the reach of pigeons and damp. Although the noise of Big Ben is almost deafening to the human ear, it is extraordinary that the pigeons can lay their eggs and rear their young in close proximity to the great bell. Big Ben weighs thirteen and a-half tons. The clock is the largest striking clock in the world. Its pendulum is fifteen feet long and weighs six hundred and eighty pounds. Each of the dials is twenty-two feet, six inches in diameter. The minute' hands are fourteen feet long. The chimes, with which the listeners are so familiar, are said to have been set to the lines: — “All through this hour, “Lord, be my Guide,

“And by Thy Power, “No foot shall slide.”

NEW ORGANS.

The BBC has announced that contracts have been placed with the famous John Compton organ company for the erection of two new orgdns—one a theatre organ to be built in St. George’s Hall, for the benefit of the 8.8. C. Variety Department; and the other a concert organ at the new London studios of the 8.8. C, in Maida Vale, to be used, to accompany the 8.8. C. Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. The new concert organ will be a three-manual instrument of about

fifty speaking registers. The full power will be comparable with the volume produced by a symphony orchestra of 116 players. The now famous organ in the Concert Hall at Broadcasting House will continue to be used by performers. The new theatre organ, will be one of the most elaborate in the world. IL will have four manuals and almost every tone colour known to the modern organ designer. A grand pianoforte can be played from the organ console. The’organ will be fitted with the new Compton electrone unit, which produces melodious effects of many different qualities by purely electrical means. In addition, it will have very complete equipment of percussion effects, including marimba-harp, xylophone, glockenspiel, tubular chimes, and vibraphone. There will be, as well, a complete set of drums and a number of stage effects such as a steamboat siren and a crockerysmash. The console will be on a movable platform with sufficient length of cable to enable it to be put in any part of the hall. It is hoped’ that this new organ will be heard by listeners before the end of 1936.

RADIO IN RUSSIA.

HOW SOVIETS USE IT.

Readers may agree or disagree with the Soviet system, but they must appreciate the use the Soviets make of the wireless. “Give Caesar what is duo to Caesar,” and to the Soviets what is duo to them. Wireless, technically speaking, is a mere instrument, perhaps a complicated one, but only an instrument. For any society, wireless organisation has a broader meaning. In this sense, it can be understood as an instrument of social advancement, it has a deep ‘‘institutional” significance. The value of wireless depends largely upon the use that, is made of it. and the Soviets must be given credit for deriving the greatest utility from it, and making it an integral part of everyday life of the individual and of the Soviet, collective or group life.

VSEM, VSEM, VSEM! So starts the Soviet announcer. These words mean: “To all, to all, to all!” To the whole world! _ TO _ VA—RI—SH—CHI! ” “Comrades!” Or sometimes “Citizens!”

“Comrades! It is time to rise! The weather promises to be fine, the temperature is—lo d>»ree C., and the snow 10 centimetres high. The air is dry and you will feel refreshed on your way to the works.

“Comrades! Commence the exercise: One. two, three, etc. • “Brush your teeth; they are as important for your organism as the heavy industries are for the First Five Years’ Plan.

“Apropos the Plan —the Jula iron works report an increase in production of 5 per cent, and, as they have lagged behind the estimates, they must be commended for their shockbrigade efforts. f “Now, comrades, do not forget that soap and water • are the, best friends of the Soviet citizen —Cleanliness is next to Socialism.” That is how the day starts. And then come the various broadcasts, music, lectures, talks, speeches by overseas delegates. reports of the progress of the Five Years’ Plan, fig ures, figures, and again figures. The wireless stations are owned and managed by the State. The chief use made of wireless is for com munication and news, transmission for political propaganda, and for educational purposes. From the economic point of view the importance of wireless in such a vast country as the Soviet Union is immense.

During Soviet holidays such as May Day, or the anniversary of the October revolution —the speeches of the leaders are broadcast and reverently listened to. The most important is, however, the service that wireless renders in the education of the masses. It transmits human words —and these words convey knowledge. The masses of peasants, though being taught to read and write, are, on the whole, ignorant. and therefore the spoken word, rather than the written, appeals to them most. For their trials, the Soviets use wireless; the accused must address the microphone. Public opinion is a very severe judge, and the accused do their best to create the best impression on the listeners. There are also wireless sets in prison cells. BLUE GLOW IN VALVES. Often in certain valves of a receiver a blue colour of either a steady or flickering nature, may be observed inside the glass envelope. If this glow is confined only to the interior walls of the bulb there is no need for any action, as it is a fluorescence due to bombardment of the glass by electrons which escape past the electrodes. It is really a sign of an extremely high vacuum, always a desirable state in a valve. If the glow occurs in the space between the elect rodes or in the form of streamers extending away from the plate, it is due to the presence of gas within the envelope, and it is usually a sure sign that the valve is defective, if not completely unusable. It is important to distinguish between the types of glow due to harmless fluorescence which occurs only on the inside of the glass, and that due to the presence of gas which occupies some of the space within the envelope. The harmless type will move about in step with a magnet held close to the glass bulb.