RADIO WOULD

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLV, Issue 58, 7 February 1925, Page 11

RADIO WOULD

(By "Squealer."), Wireless in Palmerston North will very probably increase in popularity in the near luture, as 2GA is now being tested and t lie first transmitter in tho town is expect - (d to be on the air very shortly. Tho (lub will soon be operating its station and t lie reception of music will bo II very easy natter on a crystal. This method of re(eption may be obsolete and out of date, lut some of the squeals are eliminated «ven though long-distance musio is out of t le question.

Some of the older amateurs will rcmemler the pleasure (?) that was derived f -om a tuning coil and a crystal detector. Not one squealer to be heard, just a faint J pop" of statio now and again. Who, for i: istance, could ever forget the eternal s jarch for a "point," the holding of the I reath while that delicate search was made ? J t last it was found and after a long wait ALW would commence sending time. 1 hen, again, the expressions of joy when ii i the middle of receiving a signal a cart v ent past or someone coughed and jarred tlO "catswhisker" off the "point," and the v hole operation had to be gone through a rain. Tho amateur of to-day does not r lalise what has been done to bring the s lience to what it is at the present time. J owadays, the beginner thinks a single vdve set behind the times, and is not satisfied unless he can read KGO at loudsi leaker strength, NEWS FROM RADIOLAND. A Sydney report says:—A message from I is Excellency tho Governor to Boy Scouts was successfully transmitted over ordinary t( lephono wires for 90 miles and then b 'oadcast by wireless by Farmer's, Ltd. Ihe feat was particularly meritorious in y ew of the fact that it was the first time ii Australia that .an experiment had been n ade in using telephone linos over such a d stance for broadcasting. Tho effort was tl e outcome of the desire of -Mr Bennett, si cretary of the Boy Scouts, to have a nessage from Sir Dudley do Chair broadci st to the boys. In order to save His E ccellency the inconvenience of journey - irg from Sutton Forest to deliver the s] eech an engineer from Station 2FC was st nt with special collecting apparatus to " lill View," the Governor's oountry resi lence. The telephone line from "Hill View" was connected with tho trunk line fr )m. Moss Vale to Sydney and then with oi e of the broadcasting connecting lines to tl e company's studio. At about a quarterpi st 7 the Governor made his address befcro a small microphone attached to the oi dinary telephone lines. It was flashed tc the studio, and after being amplified wis sent along a trunk .line again to the bi oadcasting station at AVilloughby, from w lich it was radiated on the Boy Scouts at Port Komblo and to thousands of listener i-in in Now South Wales and other States of the Commonwealth.

3ignor Marconi says ho is confident that permanently adjusted wireless sets will e\ ontually bo plaoed in mines, and that by th s use of them men entombed will be al !o to direct rescue operations. tn order to further popularise radio a sr. jciol motor car equipped with a powerfu. receiving sot is touring the cities of th 3 United States, giving street domonst ations. It has 20 pairs of head 'phones ar d a loud-speaker, by means of which th 3 broadcasting is available to anyone. 'I wonder how many lives hovo boon sa red by wireless during the short life of tli3 magic science?" says Popular Wireless. "] n the early days I remember seeing a ta )le giving the exact number, with tho nc mes of different ships, Republic, Titanic. V ilturno, otc. (Thero were over 500 saved or the last alone.) Ten years ago tho to al became unmanageable and had to be es imated; and the full tale of wireless lif ;-saving in war time can never he, gi essed; exoept by those who saw behind th) scenes."

'I would sooner pin my fnith to the R igby high-power, long-wave wireless static ii, than to n beam station, such as is advocated by Marconi," said Mr C. F. ElW< 11, tho wireless expert. "At least wo ki ow what a long-wave station will do, wl ilo wo aro only guessing about the be Ml. Let Marconi's complete stations for a twenty-four hour service with Canada, m. king sure that they can do it, and also sh >w that they can carry on a service with Scith Africa, which is 6000 miles away. Ai stralia is double that, so let us crawl be oro we try to walk. If Australia is not ca eful, and persists with wireless beam stf ti.ons, New Zrland may do the wise th; rig and instal.! high-power, long-wave tin lions, Which will undoubtedly work for tw ?nty-four hours daily with England," ad' led Mr Elwell. "Then Australia, pinnii g her faith to the beam, might find he self limited to twelve to fifteen hours da ly, and bo compelled, therefore, to send ur| ;ent messages to Now Zealand for transmi sion thence to England. If New Zealar i built a station, working direct with En rland, she would be paramount. New Ze: .land would be backing a horse that ha; won before, while Australia would be del ending on a promising filly." 1; is officially stated that tho Broadcasting Company which is to undertake the opt rations of wireless broadcasting stations ha: been formed in Wellington, and that its registration awaits the issue of the new reg illations under the legislation passed by Pa: liament last session. The company conten plates making an early start with broadens ing when the regulations are gazetted. 'I he amendment to the postal law passed last session authorises the application of.a pre portion of fees received in respect of wii ?less licenses to the assisting of broadcas ing agencies, or of persons or companies who, in consideration of such payment, agi je to undertake a broadcasting service in New Zealand. 1 hus Mr J. C. W. Keith, managing direc or of a British broadcasting company: "I wish to submit that broadcasting is a pot ;ntial influence, national and intcrnatioi al, of the highest importance. Sooner or ater it will cross all pathn, and the full ext ;nt of the influence, beneficent, elevating and consolidating, which it is destined to sxercise, be realised. It is neither the par.icular distraction of the poor, nor the exe usivo perquisite of the rich, for its bee ["fits are available for all alike, and its applications aro universal; there is no hoi: ie, Jppowever favoured, but to it some nov interest may bo carried. An essential of friendship is service, and the broadcasling service is essentially friendly. To inv* lids and aged folk, to those whoso lot is c ist in loneliness, through either insularity in space or isolation of spirit, there cones with special significance the frendly rone s of the speaker, the cheering strains of music. To those shut off from the vali ed privileges of the sanctuary there com 3, Sunday by Sunday, the musio and the message of the peace which is not of this world, for the Christian religion finds an appropriate place in the works of the wee i, and is appreciated in a remarkable degi ee, not only by those who would attenc church and cannot, but by those who coull and do not,"

SOME USEFUL DONT'S. Don't expect your high-tension battery to list for ever. When your set is in use, ther) is a constant flow of current from the high-tension battery, which, sooner or latei, must come to augend. When the batt ry is exhausted of its current it cannot be recharged, and must therefore be repliced by a new one. D< n't use a "low resistance" telephone with a crystal if you want to get the best resul ts. It is desirable to have a lot of wire wound round the telephone magnets, in*o: der t>o make the latter exorcise a good strorg pull on the diaphragms. Unfortuna ely, by increasing the number of turm of_ wires round the magnets, the total resistance of the wire is alto increas sd. But this cannot be helped, and must be regarded as a necessary evil. Telephones of 8000 ohms resistance (4000 each ear-piece) are likely to give the best resul ;s. Don't use a frame aerial with a crystal recei'er: you wpn't hear a murmur. Neither will you hear anything if you connect a loud speaker to a crystal receiver. You will need at kast two valves to operate a louMi speaker. Do l't us* a fierce contaot between a crystd and the spiral spring, or "cat'awhisl er," that connects it to the telephonss. la.\ most cases the lighter the contact he batter. Do. l't use a thick "cafs-whisker." A tola [Tire with a fits point will enabloyou

to obtain a much more sensitive oontact than a thick wire which exhibits a minimum amount of springiness. Don't continue to meddle with your crystal once you have secured a good contact. "Leave well alone." You can easily spoil an evening's entertainment by being over-ambitious in this respect.