BITS ABOUT BROADCASTS.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LV, Issue 65, 13 February 1935, Page 3

BITS ABOUT BROADCASTS.

j-r xxx-'V/wx- xy x Vi.iu XU» AMERICA LISTENS IN. (By “Microphone.”) I’o listeners in the Dominion longdistance (DX) reception is confined in their consideration to that of American stations and rarely is thought given to the fact that the New Zealand transmitters themselves constitute DX for overseas listeners, particularly in tho United States. "With the changeover to 10 000 watts for the National stations this Dominion is likely to attract more attention, as is evidenced by tho 20 letters received at IYA by the last American mail following tho change.- To hand from the United States a few days ago, reports of reception are very interesting. From Wyoming one listener reports hearing the 500-watt 4ZP, Invercargill, on 020 kilocycles, and also 2YA and 3YA, all at 1.45 a.m. 2YA is stated to be con-

sistent and ‘drops in almost every morning with a very good signal” ; it is rated second in strength of 15 trans-Pacific stations, No. 1 being TGW Guatemala on 505 kilocycles, which sends out a terrific signal and on Sunday mornings (in America) spoils Wellington's signals. A power of 10,000 watts is used by TGW, which is reported from all over the States. It is evident that Australian stations reach out best, however. In Saskatchewan the reception in October from both the Dominion and Australia was very consistent, and some of the latter P stations were on a par with the A class. The strength, readability, and consistency oi 4BC, 2UE, 31IA. SCK, SCO, 3LO, 2BL, 4QO, 2UW, and OAR were especially noteworthy. At New York the order o! strengths is 2BL, 2CO, and 2VA. Long-distance listening is an art in America, both on the short-wave and b.osdcast bands. One enthusiast has equipped his receiver with a home-made recorder and has a unique collection of records of actual transmissions heard by him. All lie has to do is throw a switch, start a motor, and lie is ready to cut a record. The recorder is hooked up to his superheterodyne receiver (which has automatic volume control) and the signal is taken off the second detector tube, then through a 200-ohm transformer. He makes the impressions on ungrooved acetate. Not every station will verify reception, even though the items are correctly given. In a communication received from the British Broadcasting Corporation last week, a .statement is made on the availability of the Empire programmes in advance. “It is thus possible for any listener to check for himself reception- of the Empire station by consulting the published programmes, and no helpful purpose would be served by the 8.8. C. in officially confirming individual reports of reception,” it is stated. On the other hand the cornoration solicits re-

ports from overseas so as to check on the quality of the broadcasts, but it apparently lias no quarter for the DX ( enthusiast who seeks to establish a j collection of verifications from abroad. 1 THE STATIC STORM. I The unsettled conditions appertain- | ing at the week-end spoiled listening I to a large extent; even in the daylight 9 hours the static has been severe, indi- | eating that it has been localised, and I on Saturday, during the height of the | storm, listening was quite impossible shortly before the power cut-oif. The damage done by the lightning, though i no reports have been received that receivers were damaged, would seem to j 1 indicate the advisability of exercising 9 caution during an electrical storm. A 1 lightning arrester is absolutely indis- | pensable, and it is quite worth while, i 1 where practicable, to instal an aerial 1 j earth switch for connecting the lead-in directly to the earth wire. MID-OCEAN PROGRAMMES. Ever on the alert for the novel in ; radio programmes, the National Broad- | casting Company of America in the | • past tew days secured an unexpected , broadcast when the schooner Seth 1 ; Parkot met trouble in the Pacific. The ' owner, a Hollywood personality, set ; out from the United States for a . leisurely two-year cruise ot the world to discover now lands if possible and explore little-known ten itories. Eor | a time the broadcasts were dropped, 1 j but it seems that a resumption has s j been made. A powerful plant is em- . ' ployed so that the listening posts of , the N.B.C. may secure signals of sufficient strength to put on the Nat.onal network. Readers of the cables on Monday night would glimpse the glamour and novelty of the call sent out to America to stand by for the ocean programme, in which it was hoped to acknowledge the assistance of the warship Australia in the Pacific storm. It is not altogether a novel idea for a ship to send out broadcast programmes. The Seth Parker uses the call If NR A and operates on the short-wa.ve band hitherto used by the Byrd station KFZ at Little America and dismantled a few days ago when the expedition left that area. It would appear that this channel is particularly suitable for the American system’s reception. Several months ago listeners in the Dominion reported on the broadcast band excellent reception from the City of Panama, which investigation showed to be a vessel cruising in Mexican waters under the call RKXR. This was an unauthorised transmission given regularly, and in time the Federal radio authorities seized the ship and ended a novel broadcast for long-dis-tance listeners. Signals are being heard from the Seth Parker, and this ship may provide interesting matter for the listener fortunate enough to pick it up. ' THE CROWDED BAND. The crowding of the dial is becoming more a matter ot concern for many set owners, and the power increases bj' the National stations are not alleviating the position; new Australian transmitters are to take the air this year, and the immediate future is quite without indication as to its nature. Broadcasting is carried on between 200 and 500 metres, this being Die acknowledged “band,” but it lias been suggested that lack of space here may furnish the prelude to an invasion of the short-wave sphere, if the mass of transmitting there already will permit such a change 011 the longer- waves of this department. Just below 200 metres the United States is at present experimenting with “high fidelity” stations —it is now stated that the transmitters have fallen behind the receivers in the matter of true reception and transmission of music—using channels of 20 kilocycles, instead ot 10 as at present 011 the broadcast band. 011 ths other hand, other engineers are striving to acquire success with a 5 kilocycle margin. An American receiver manufacturer has produced in a publication a plan of the entire transmitting field and this, to hand recently, is particularly interesting as illustrative of the ramifications of radio. Only the frequencies between 125 kilocycles (2400 metres) and 33,000 kilocycles (9 metres) are traversed —and there are now signals being emitted on much shorter wave-lengths (even of centimetre measurement) —but it shows that listeners have the following choices (in America at least): From 2400 metres to 850, European long-wave stations (as Russia), aviation, weather, and again aviation transmissions; down to olio metres a gap is left; the broadcast band follows, embracing the countries of the world; from 200 metres to 75 metres the allocations are in the order of broadcast pick-up, police and lire, amateurs, television, more police and fire stations, ship, airway, aviation, Government stations, and amateurs again; from 75 to 25 metres the allocations embrace, in order, ships foreign traffic, relay air signals (foreign), American coastal shipping, air point to point, amateurs, point to point (recognised commercial traffic), Government ship to shore, relay broadcast, point to point, ship relay; then the final division quoted from 25 to 9 metres sees amateurs, point to point, miscellaneous (including ships), point to point, ship to shore, amateurs, and the ultra-short wave experimental band. . Thus, it will be easily recognised, the air l(as been tabulated and parcelled out (under international convention) lor specific transmissions, and—except perhaps in Mexico, and even she cannot always get away with the matter successfully—haphazard selections are not to ho tolorated. It ia a problem yet to bo met squarely and successfully.