HOME CONSTRUCTION

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXIV, Issue 280, 10 November 1934, Page 12

HOME CONSTRUCTION

Making of Own Radio Sets IS REVIVAL POSSIBLE? Will there be a revival of interest in 'the home construction of wireless sets this year? Myself, I am rather inclinend to regard it as more than likely, provided that something can be done to get rid of the “its” and tho “buts” of last season (says an English writer). Up to a little more than a year ago, hundreds of thousands of wireless sets were made annually at home with many excellent results. A fine new hobby presented itself, and quite a big proportion of our population gained some first-hand knowledge of practical electricity. There is one very great advantage about making one’s own sets: it is easy, and by no means costly, to keep them always up-to-date. On the other hand, if a set is bought ready-made, the purchaser is wedded to it until he can afford to make a change. With so much in its favour, why did home construction slump, as undoubted'ly it has slumped during the past twelve months? There are a good many reasons, the most important of which is that the home constructor found that he was not always receiving what he considered to be fair treatment. A bewildering multiplicity of designs was published', all of which were boosted to tho skies, though many had no special merits and were in fact the merest pot-boilers. In one year alone about 300 designs and kits made their appearance! What the home-constructor desires is that designs should be comparatively few in number and' all of sterling merit. Each must be the outcome of genuine experiment, and not just the result of throwing together a number of indifferent components. What, perhaps, made the constructor feel most sore was that in so many cases last season he paid good money for a set of parts, built his apparatus carefully in accordance with tho design, and then found that it would not work. In the vast majority of cases the failure was due to the presence of one or more “dud” components. I speak with some feeling, for never have so many defective compohents come my way as in the course of last year. There are signs that manufacturers ara turning over a new leaf, and that in the future there will be a considerable—and very much wanted' —tightening up of their testing departments. Given good designs and good components, I foresee a revival in home construction. Those are the two biggest “ifs,” and the most important “but” is: but will the powers that be realise iu time the error of their ways and amend them? 1 am not suggesting that tho lioiueconstructod' set is at all likely to oust or even to compete seriously with the manufactured article. The number of those who buy their sets in complete form will always vastly exceed that of the home constructors. But set manufacturers, too, must realise that their house requires some setting in order. Some makes of receiving sets are as good and as reliable as they should be. Breakdowns are rare, and when they do ocCur, firstrate service is given at small cost. But there are others in which, as my correspondence shows, breakdowns ar'' of far too frequent occurrence, and after-servicing charges are much heavier than they could and should be