RADIO

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXIV, 31 May 1930, Page 3

RADIO

GENERAL WIRELESS NOTES A Simple "Clean-out" After the long spell of dry weather ti damp,spell may he expected, and this is liable to;reduce the efficiency of wireless receivers unless they are in a, dry place. Dampness is particularly liable to cause trouble if the set is dusty. An excellent way to get rid of dust in the interior of the set, when it is accessible, is to connect up the household vacuum cleaner (with the dust-bag removed) so that it blows through a nozzle (most of the machines are readily so changed), and give the receiver a thorough blasting. No damage will result, provided care is taken to give the cleaner a. short run iirst to get rid of any dust in it. Any loose dust in the set wilt be cleared away; ard> leakage paths will bo abolished. ...' -,

Jottings ,- ; v '.'« Unless yotiraerialMs very short there js no improvement noticed as a rule by using a twin aerial. An indoor or frame aerial reduces the signal strength by approximately 75 per cent., so that this type of aerial would be of no use on a.small set;

The importance" of having an aerial of thick or standard wire is generally realised;.but it must be remembered that it is just as important to have low loss wire for the aerial and lead-in.

Lonely Operators There returned to Sydney this month two men' who for. the past six and twelve months' respectively have, probably been the loneliest persons in Australia. They were Messrs K, J. Inglis and E. 6. KeithmuTler, who were operators at the meteorological station on Willis Island,, 250 "miles, east, of Cooktown (N.Q.j, in company with Mr Li Nl Day, meteorologist. Willis Island is on the edge of the Coral Sea, and the ! officials at this -station are its only residents. A ship calls every six months with changing officials and provisions. In the intervals turtles, which come ashore in hundreds, are the only signs ol life that the officials see on land.They have, however, one advantage in that there is no opportunity for them to spend money, so that Mr Inglis on arrival in Sydney was able to draw a cheque for 12 months' salary, and Mr Keithmuller for six,months. The object of this station is to send warnings of coming cyclones to the mainland meteorological stations. One for the Announcer There are dangers' and perils to announcing,, just as -there are in other walks, of life, so the broadcasting narrator found when 3YA, set out to describe the recent street celebrations held by Christchurch students m honour of Gapping Day. The main portion of the proceedings took" place on the balcony of a hotel in Cathedral Square, which was the cynosure of all eyes and of many other things. Precautions had been taken to protect the microphone with a Avaterproof covering, but there was no protection for the announcer, Mr J. Ball, who successfully dodged all the '■ mis-directed fruit and vegetables, until, just at the end of the .proceedings, an over-ripe tomato hit him fairly with a loud "plop," which all listeners must have heard. "Did you get that? —well, I did," said Mr Ball, as imperturbable as ever, wiping the remains of the tomato from his lace.

Blame it on Static Static was not the only difficulty in the recent two-way world-wide broadcast, in which Rear-Admiral Byrd in New Zealand participated. Australia served as a relay point. The Australians had trouble in understanding the American brand of English (states an exchange), . .., For instance, William Meenan, at Schenectady, said: "This is Bill Meenan speaking, Mr Burberry."

To which Mr Burberry at Sydney re plied: "Good .morning, Mr Birmingham."

Look to the Arrester Que cause of faulty reception lis a defective lightning arrester. Signals might lie very weak or the background might be very noisy, taore likely the former. Dirt or'-,water getting into the

'arrester is the cause, so if reception seems bad, and the receiver appears to be correct, do not omit to overhaul the arrester. Disconnecting it for the time being' is the best way to test, but be uorqtootuioD Tfi.ruo oift qrinfr o'as o}_ 3.lns. from the set, if it joins the unit, is not left open-circuited. ; Too Good to Miss An nnforseeri possibility in regard to train wireless is suggested by a cartoon in a French contemporary. A passenger wearing headphones is seen proffering his ticket to an inspector. "But, sir," says the inspector, "you have passed your station." "Xever mind," retorts the passenger. "Give me a supplementary ticket to the terminus! this programme is too good to miss,"

Getting Heaven The following story is related by a British lady'who is now residing in the United "■ States. Her little hoy, four years old, was called from his bed early one'morning in order to hear the voice of His Majesty, George V. While standing with his' father' he heard a voice over.the air say, "In a few minutes you

will hear His Majesty speaking before a golden microphone?" The little boy rushed to his mother's bedside and said, "Mother quick! Get up! Daddy's go*, ■Heaven!" . ' ' V . < Cheering the Sick •' The Opunake Hospital has now been equipped 'with radio. This is a cottago institution, and money for the installation was collected from those-inter.--ested, and a modern factory, recfeivdr' installed, with subsidiary. equipment consisting pf : a pair of head -'phones over each bed.