ST. ANDREW’S CHURCH, HASTINGS

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXII, Issue 155, 16 June 1932, Page 8

ST. ANDREW’S CHURCH, HASTINGS

SERVICES RELAYED TO ST. JOHN’S HALL AT MAHORA. Some time ago the minister and office-bearers of St. Andrew’s Church, Hastings, resolved to experiment in the matter of relaying the evening service to the newly-erected St. John’s Hall at Mahora. The experiment proving successful, it was decided to instal the apparatus in permanent form and relay the service every Sunday evening. A slight delay occurred owing to the fact that such a thing had never been done, and the Telegraph Department had no regulations dealing directly with such a case. Every assistance was given by the officers of the department, and after the Postmaster-General had been consulted, a satisfactory arrangement was agreed upon. The whole thing is now working most satisfactorily, and those who worship in St. John’s Hall every Sunday evening are very appreciative of what has been done on their behalf. Tho installation was carried out by Sutcliffe's, through their radio engineer, Mi Barchain.

The microphone in front of the pulpit in St. Andrew’s is of the Western Electric double button type, it feeds into a single stage pre-ampiifier worked entirely troin dry cells. The preamplifier tfeeds into the line through an impedance matching transformer ana the sound is carried along about a mile and a half of cable to St. John’s Hall. There the line is coupfed to a LoftinVVhite amplifier through a further line impedance matching transformer. This amplifier drives a concert-type Jensen A.C. dynamic speaker. The volume is controlled by a switch operated from the back of the hall, and the whole apparatus is brought into use by a switch at St.. Andrew’s Church. The whole service goes through in a natural way, and there is nothing txi detract from the reverent atmosphere of worship. Thus the congregation at St. John’s Hall joins in the singing of the hymns, being led by the pipe organ and choir of St. Andrew’s. There is no trouble with static and no fading away of the sound.

The minister and office-bearers of St. Andrew’s Church are to be congratulated on discovering and carrying out a new method of church extension. In this way a minister is enabled to conduct two or more services simultaneously, thus solving one of tho church’s problems in connection with suburban areas. As this method becomes known it will no doubt be applied in many other parts of the country.