THE NEW SERVANT.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 26 June 1924, Page 3

THE NEW SERVANT.

-—-— WIRELESS IN THE COUNTRY. ENTERTAINMENT AND HELP. The role of wireless in the country is a .subject of great interest, and is well worth attention by New Zealand farmers and their associates (says an exchange) . It is not every farm that pan be oou- j nected with the telephone service; I every farm cannot be alongside the post office; every farm cannot have the doily paper dropped at the gate, fresh from the press; every farm cannot supply auditors to city concert ha-lls every night. But most farmers can afford a wireless receiving set. For about £SO at the outside one can buy in every i detail a wireless set which will receive transmissions from every broadcast station in New Zealand, with more than ample loudness for so employing the curious electric head-sets to go round the family. The installation of the r set is a simple matter for any handy (man; and the upkeep cost is negligible. 'lt should certainly not exceed £5 a year. As for the operation of the set, “a child can do it.” In fact the difficulty usually is to- prevent the children doing it-. Until recently the use of a sensitive set employing .the curious electric lamps known as “valves” was complicated by the fact- that accumulators had to be used to light them, and this meant a good deal of trouble in keeping them charged. Nowadays this drawback has gone;‘valves of high efficiency are available for use with a few dry cells. The first cost mentioned may be considerably reduced if the purchaser is content with less volume of sound, or if he does not want to receive the more distant stations; on the other hand, a slight increase will extend the receiving range enormously, and in favourable atmospheric conditions a really good set will give enjoyable reception, for part of an evening, of concerts broadcasted from California, as well as from Australia.

The farmer user of a wireless may re-1 garcl his outfit from two points of view —as a source of entertainment and as a business help. Even now, when broadcasting has been only tentatively established and is by no means what it is hoped it will become, both these services are being carried out in many country homes. Within a short time, measurable in months, a plan for establishing broadcasting services upon a much better basis is to be brought into operation. Four big stations will be run. each sufficiently powerful to be audible- up to perhaps fifty miles with very cheap receivers costing £5 or so, all in. These, according to- the plan, will broadcast concerts of high quality. Such a. system, of 'course, will costmoney, but tlie cost will be distributed among the users, who will be. chained a license fee. The exact amount has not yet been fixed, but it will be i-u the neighbmirhoocl of £1 a year—a low enough charge for a choice of four concerts a night, year in and year out. Some people who • have not experienced a, wireless concert, or who have

perhaps been unfortunate In hearing a bad demonstration, have their doubts; but the fact is that music? and speech heard by wireless, when the apparatus is operated according to simple rules, is delightful. 'Wireless transmission is, or should lie, clearer than over a good telephone line, with every delicate shade of musical Lone clearly and properly heard.

As an aid to his business, the farmer can rely upon wireless to a definite, though necessarily limited extent. Broadcasting stations distribute market reports by speech, 'and they get to the interested parties 'by the quickest route. There is no- delay of mails about radio. The chief limitation is that one cannot ask questions.