ON THE AIR

Hawera Star, Volume XLVI, 12 February 1927, Page 13

ON THE AIR

(By “Wavelength.”) Atmospheric conditions continue to improve, and on several occasions last week the Australian stations came through very well. Reception of several American stations was also reported bv some enthusiasts. An exchange states that the new steel towers on the top of A. R. Harris and Co.’s new building for the aerial oi UYA (Christchurch) rivals the do structor chimney as a prominent landmark. No city in New Zealand wnl have anything over Christchurch as far as an up-to-date aerial equipment is concerned, and the same applies to the new studio which is now finished Listeners to 3YA have been treated tc some very interesting and well deli vered talks by Air J. Prentice. Everyone will agree with the writer that this announcer is hard to beat. All the arrangements are said to bo on a grander scale than at IYA. A new feature of 3YA is the fading-out device when changing over from the studio, to a relay. The announcer’s voice fades out and the relayed music, comes in gradually, without the sudden click peculiar to the customary method. 2F-C, Sydney, has been employing the fading-out method for some time past. Mis Eileen Elza Harper, winner of the 3LO, Alelbourne, “3LO girl” competition, who is at present touring the South Island at the expense of the proprietors of 3LO, will arrive at Wellington from Nelson next Thursday. To identify and get the names of the various items of 13 American stations, and hear others not identified was the record put up by Air E. P. Smith at Giodloy Heads on the night of January 23. Among those who heard this performance were Messrs H. Smith, Hannah, Gibbs, and several ladies. This reception without doubt constitutes a New Zealand record and congratulations go to Air Smith. When it is considered that the machine had only five valves the effect of unobstructed view such as that obtained on the heads, coupled with no interference and a good machine, it can be seen what can be done in the way of radio reception. Marconi chose St. John's, Newfoundland, as the most suitable place for the reception of wireless signals on tho other side of tho Atlantic. He arrived there with two assistants on December fi, 1001, and immediately made preparations for carrying out experiments at the old hospital building at Signal Hill. In order to avoid delay it was decided to. try an experiment with an aerial suspended from a balloon or kite. The balloons that were used were blown away in a sqall, but on December 12 a kite was successfully flown, with 500 feet of twin wire, and the signals sent from Poldhu were received. A well-neutralised neutrodyne receiving set cannot howl so as to cause interference with other listeners, but lately I had occasion to check up a neutrodyne which was not properly neutralised (writes a correspondent to an exchange). Listening at a distance of half a mile from the set I could hear it howling loudly on my set. I had prearranged signals with the owner with the neutrodyne. and I was able to identify his set immediately. This should be a warning to owners of neutrodyncs to see that their sets are properly balanced; neglect may lead to a prosecution. An additional radio inspector has now taken up his duties at Wellington. Changing from one make of valve to another on the radio frequency side of a neutrodyne is the cause"of the trouble, even if the set were originally correctly balanced. The readjustment "of the neutralising condenser is easily effected by any radio mechanic or experienced amateur. “I was almost astounded,” said Sir George Allard, of Amalgamated Wireless, Ltd., “as I stood in that room watching a small apparatus —about the size of a sewing machine —automatically reeling out a tape on which was printed a succession of Aforse lettering. That lettering skilled operators were able to read with case and transcribe on to typewriters in plain language or the usual telegraphic code words. One felt that here was something mysterious, uncanny, when one realised that the Morse-covered tape was printed and poured forth into that Melbourne room as the effect of a similar machine operating in tho London Post Office, at precisely the same moment. The time taken to go half round the world was infinitesimal. “ ‘Look,’ said the operator to me, ‘l’ll toll London to stop transmitting.’ He moved his transmitting key for a second, giving the Ahorse signal to stop. Quicker than I can tell you, the tape ceased to record. Thus, in two moments Alelbourne communicated with London, and across the world, Alclbonrne observed the result.” At the close of Friday’s session, Sir George Allard sent a message to Viscount Wolmer, Deputy-Postmaster-Gen-eral, and received a reply at the beginning of the next session. “The process of dispatching the message.” said Sir George Allard, “was intensely interesting. First, on what looked like an ordinary typewriter, tho operator tapped the keys, and from tho machine ran out a tape punched with small holes which represented Alorse lettering. This tape was fed into a small transmitting machine, and in a few seconds it passed through at the rate of 175 words to the minute. As I stood there the operator told mo that the message had been transmitted and received. At that speed, of course, the message was perfectly secret, and certainly not available to listeners-in. ‘One amusing incident occurred during the tests. The British officer at tho Skegness beam transmitting station wished at one stage to request the operator in London to hold down a key to his board, but because of trouble on the lines from Skegness to London he was unable to communicate. Therc- ' fore, ho sent a message over the beam to Melbourne, asking that a message should be sent to London, requesting the operator there to hold down the key. This was done. The request was sent 24.000 miles instead of 120 miles from Skegness to London.’’

There are at the present time, excluding the transmitting man, two types of radio enthusiasts: The man in the street who looks on radio as a means of securing music and other entertainment from near and distant stations, who is slightly enthusiastic about the wonders of radio and vet does not care to know very much what is inside the box as long as it goes. The second type of man has an electrical turn

of mind, bo likes to dabble round in things electrical, knows how to handle tools, reads the radio publications, and knows how to follow a circuit diagram. This man’s pleasure is in building the receiver, adjusting it and then probably taking it to bits to improve it. Give him a factory-built set and he would probably not be satisfied for even a week. To suggest as our contemporary lias done that if say a lawyer, or land agent is given a collection of coils, condensers, sockets, and other apparatus he can build a receiver equal to a factorybuilt article is absurd. Even if tiro diagram which the. prospective set owner uses is correct—-and many of them are not —a man who has not dabbled in radio can hardly be expected to know the various parts of a set and exactly whore the wires should go. Some kits or parts can be had complete with everything, including wire, but even then the novice finds many diffiicutties which to the experienced amateur are non-existent.