CHOOSING A SET

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXVI, Issue 79, 14 March 1936, Page 12

CHOOSING A SET

Overcoming Difficulties of Selection A BEWILDERING VARIETY Perhaps the greatest difficulty which presents itself to anyone who is confronted with the task of choosing a wireless receiver is occasioned by the vast number which are now offered. He finds it difficult to decide which set to buy, not because of a scarcity of good ones, but because he is bewildered by their numbers. His only hope of obtaining anything approaching his needs, therefore, is to adopt a systematic method of weeding out in order to reduce the number of possibles to a minimum. Price is usually an important matter, and once a maximum figure has been decided upon a considerable reduction in the number of possible sets has been made. Price is. however, largely hound up with performance and appearance, and there is little point in deciding not to expend more than some modest amount if what one requires is an all-wave receiver in radio-gramo-phone form complete with automatic record-changer. Radio-gramophones are naturally more expensive than table models having a similar performance, if only on account of the larger cabinet and the gramophone equipment, and models with an automatic record-changer are more expensive still. It is true that radio-gramophones can be had at the same price as table models, but as one can never get something for nothing it is only reasonable to conclude that they do not give such a good performance on the radio side. WORTH-WHILE REFINEMENTS, The vast majority of receivers now offered as table models- are basically the same, but they are very different in performance, appearance, and ease of handling. Such setts are almost invariably superheterodynes with a degree of sensitivity with quite a modest aerial, and’they have a degree of selectivity commensurate with their sensitivity. The volume is usually adequate for most domestic purposes and the quality of reproduction, too, is good. The cheapest receivers can be relied upon to give a standard of performance which would have been considered an unapproachable ideal very few years ago. Higher priced sets may give better performance or may be virtually the same set in a better cabinet or fitted with refinements, such as a visual tuning indicator. The still more expensive receivers not only have these refinements as a matter ot course, but are often considerably more sensitive and selective and give a higher standard of quality. Some models are fitted with variable-selec-tivity, and this is certainly an important advantage if any stress is placed on the quality of reproduction. Quality and selectivity are mutually conflicting requirements, and one cannot have both to a high degree at the same time. Variable-selectivity thus enables one to obtain the best balance between quality and interference on any and every station. Automatic volume control is another fitting which is very helpful in reducing fading ; although it is only of great advantage in distant reception, it is now practically always included in all but the cheapest sets, SHORT WAVE SETS. The all-wave receiver costs more than its counterpart covering only the medium and long wavebands, but it has a great appeal. Signals from all parts of the world can be obtained with such sets, but it must always be remembered that short waves are very variable and one cannot expect the same consistence of reception as on the ordinary broadcast bands. Fading is prevalent aud conditions are unreliable, so that although high quality reception at large volume of distant stations may oitei’ be obtained, the next night programmes from the same station may be unintelligible. No receiver yet made will give reliable reception, day after day and night after night, of short-wave signals. The chief value of the short-waves lies in their interest, for one never knows what to expect next. Their very uncertainty can be a source of joy, for whereas the very consistency of medium and long-wave reception tends to make searching the ether a tame business nowadays, this certainty does not apply to the short waves. In the more expensive class of receivers, provision for all-wave reception is gradually becoming a matter of course, but in less expensive sets, the number embodying it is comparatively few. One must, therefore, to some extent, choose between all-wave reception or the medium and long wavebands only, with a somewhat better performance over those bands.