RADIO RECORD

Greymouth Evening Star, 19 January 1939, Page 9

RADIO RECORD

NOTES FOR LISTENERS-IN

(By

“Reception”)

SOUTH PACIFIC NETWORK.

ANOTHER NEW STATION

Opening of a new radio station at Pukapuka, in the northern group of the Cook Islands, is a reminder of the way in which a radio net is being woven in the South Pacific.

An immense area in the south-west-ern section of the great ocean is now in touch with New Zealand. This wide stretch of water stood in need of some effective intercommunication such as radio has supplied, and in establishing these contacts the New Zealand Post Office has done much pioneering work. Radio in the South Pacific is group'd around five main centres. In the Cook Islands group four low-powered stations to the north and south maintain contact with the central station at Rarotonga which in turn keeps a daily schedule with ZLW. Wellington.

Two days away from Rarotonga by boat, to the north-east, is the Society Islands group, a French possession, which has a central radio station at Papeete and a set-up which now lists five outlying stations. Papeete also keeps daily contact with ZLW, Wellington, and also with Saigon, French Indo-China, far away to the west. The Tongan radio system revolves round Nukualofa and includes four subsidiaries. These also make daily contacts with Suva. In the New Zealand territory of Western Samoa there is a very complete radio set-up. The chief station at Apia calls Wellington frequently every day and also links up seven smaller stations which penetrate northward into the Union Islands. A 1 new development has been the opening of an ultra-short wave service for communication between ships in Apia harbour and the Apia Post Office. There are six minor stations in the Fiji service, the main plant being at Suva which calls Australia and Samoa every day, but has to use the cable to reach New Zealand direct. Most of these radio transmitters are operated on small power. At the Chatham Islands, owned by New Zealand, a wind-driven generator easily maintains communication with the mainland 300 miles away. The Cook Islands administration relies on dry batteries for most of Its stations, but the new one at Pukapuka, in the northern part of the group, a wind-driven generator is being used. To this wide chain, extending over 3,000 miles north and south and almost 4,000 miles east and west, go radio operators trained in the New Zealand service. To all these stations the New Zealand Post Office gives advice and technical assistance. Some of the small subsidiary stations are now operated by natives who are proving efficient in this role, and after six months’ training at Apia, are able to give good service as operators and also to remedy any of the principal faults which are found in equipment. There is on record the case of one native radio operator who arrived at Apia from one of the Samoan Islands bringing his radio station under his arm “to be fixed.” The service which radio gives the islanders ranges all the way from commerce to personal. When natives are growing fruit for export, old troubles of delay in arrival of freighters and consequent deterioration of fruit while waiting for them, have now been virtually overcome. The radio keeps the shippers in day to day touch with the movements of the ships and thus gives them exact knowledge of when to send forward their highly-perishable cargo. LISTENERS AND DRAMA The Australian Broadcasting Commission recently conducted an “investigation” into the likes and dislikes of listeners to radio drama. This was carried out on the 8.8. C. “panel'' system. a hundred selected persons agreeing to give attention to all plays broadcast by national stations over a period of three months, and then to fill in a questionnaire submitted to them. This system is open to criticism, as the listeners are selected and they are required to answer set questions. One can easily imagine the N.B.S. by this method obtaining favourable reports on its own productions, although these find favour with only a minority of Newr Zealand licensees. For what they are worth, the Australian conclusions' were that coined}- is preferred to other types of plays, but that there was a distinct aversion to anything suggestive to “outback.” The thriller was listed only fifth in popularity and preference was expressed for plays lasting not longer than 30 minutes. NO TELEVISION YET. There is still no prospect., of television for Australia, according to a technical authority. “The year 1939,” he says, “is not likely to see any local television activities. Despite the progress made abroad, there appears as yet no prospect of the major problems being solved. The cost of television is still far too high to be practicable (for Australia), and the service is still limited. We may expect that costs will continue to fail slowly, but only radical changes can cause radical price reductions of transmitters, receivers and services. Undoubtedly more television sets will be sold in England, but there will need to be. The number of ‘lookers-in’ is now so small that it. could be increased ten times and the total still be most inadequate to justify the expense of the service. Australia must look further than 1939 for television” —and that goes for New Zealand, too. NEW CIRCUITS UNLIKELY. An overseas radio engineer cannot see any indications of major developments or inventions affecting radio circuits. Fundamentally there have been few innovations worthy of being called important, since the wholesale adaptation of the superhet electric circuit several years ago. Components have been improved, better valves have been made, and dual-wave tuners have appeared on even cheap seis. In 193!), differences in radio ’.'.ill be mainly those of fashion —dift'ereti'. cabin 1. nntomotln tuning gadgets and

externals —hut there is no reason to <!,• pi-ct ninth difference to take place inside

INFLUENCE OF RADIO.

CHILDREN SING YOUNGER

Children begin singing mucli earlier to-day than several years ago, because of the influence of radio and motion pictures, according to Dr. Lazar S. Samoilol'f of Los Angeles; voice teacher, who includes Nelson Eddy among his pupils. “Before the radio.” declared Dr, Samoiloff, “it was the rule that boys should not begin taking lessons before 19, and girls before they v/cre 17 years old. But now children begin singing early because they become interested in voices they hear over the radio, and begin to develop their own voices, sooner.

“And because a couple of children made good in the motion pictures, all mothers expect their youngsters to be wonder children, too. So they are taken to teachers to' try and develop their voices.” Climate is not the reason so many youthful American singers went to European countries such us Italy and Switzerland to study music, he stated, scorning the theory that the climate in such sectors greatly favoured one’s voice.

“Before the war. every city of 20,000 or more in Italy hud an opera company, and American students could go there and in time make their debut in grand opera in an Italian opera house. This was good advertising for the unknown singer. But to-day all this is changed. There arc only a few opera companies, and they are for Italian singers, not for foreigners. NEW ENTERTAINERS. Jack Win and his sister Nora, known professionally as "Win and Windle,” have commenced a tour of the Dominion N.B.S. stations. They are outstanding personalities in Australian radio, their clever wit, individual in its make-up, being thoroughly appreciated by listeners. " Jack Win is an Irishman from County Antrim, and a descendant of the preacher John Wesley. After serving in the South African War, he went to London, where he became a drawingroom entertainer, doing sketches, monologues, and magic. Later he joined a touring company, and when the principal comedian took ill, Mr. Win was such a success as an understudy that he was immediately booked for a London pantomime. Thirteen years ago, J. C. Williamson booked Jack Win and -his sister for an Australian engagement, and subsequent to this they toured Fullers’ Theatres throughout the Commonwealth and New Zealand. Turning to broadcasting at the advent of the “talkie” film, they have performed at all the principal Australian stations. and recently concluded a contract with the 8.8. C.

RANGE OF TELEVISION SERVICES

Au ingenious method of extending the range of television services lias been proposed with a view to avoiding the cost of the complex cable which is necessary fur long-distance transmission to a relay transmitter. The suggested connecting link with the relay station is a radio link. The receiver at the relay point is provided with means for avoiding fading effects by changing the wave-length of the transmission. This is effected automatically as soon as there is a difference in the receiver signal picked up by two aerials at the receiver point. The tuning of the receiver is automatically changed, and simultaneously the wavelength of the transmitter is correspondingly altered by impulses fed back through a simple telephone line. SHORTER WAVE BANDS. Experiments on the shorter wave bands continue and quite a deal of use is being made of lengths around one metre, using a special type of aerial, which is, to all intents and purposes, the radiating equivalent of a motor-car headlamp. The radiating rod or rods are at. about the. focal centre of a reflecting system, thus resulting in a comparatively narrow directed beam. It has been discovered that such an arrangement on short waves requires an unobstructed path if efficient reception is to be had. Indeed, for optimum results, there should be no object within 30ft of a line drawn between receiving and transmitting antennas. Triode valves are employed and the receivers are adapted superhetrodyne receivers, not dissimilar in principle lo the conventional broadcast set. RADIO AS ALARM CLOCK

For those who each morning feel the urge to hurl the alarm clock through the bedroom window, radio manufacturers are offering a clock and radio combination. The receiver is a sixvalve affair built into an exceedingly compact chassis, but the usual dial is replaced by a clock face, on which the electric clock shows accurate . time. The two mechanisms are interlinked and one can pre-set the apparatus so that one’s favourite station is brought to sufficient volume to waken one at the desired time. The receiver can also be adjusted to turn itself off at any desired time, thus affording, according to the manufacturers, an opportunity of enjoying “soothing lullabies” on retiring without fear of leaving the set operating all night. A.V.C. DEFECT. No receiver to-day is considered modern unless it is equipped with automatic volume conirol. but. it is debatable whether this is a I together ati advantage. A.V.C. certainly eliminates or largely overcomes fading, but it destroys selectivity or appears Lo have this effect by unduly broadening the signal of nearby powerful stations.