WIRELESS WORLD

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXVI, 29 June 1935, Page 3

WIRELESS WORLD

RADIO NOTES THE NEW 4YA STATION With a power of 20 times that of the existing station, 4YA’s new transmitter, which should lie operating from IlighclifF in about five months’ time, will probably necessitate a review of the question of coverage in tiie South Island (states the “Otago i Daily Times”). Even though the Christchurch station will also have its power increased to 10 kilowatts, it may lie found that coverage is not sufficient, and in that event, it is possible that the plant at present in us e at 4YA may he insalled in some other centre, where it will be employed to remedy any defect in respect to coverage. Central Otago is one locality that might be suggested as a suitable situation for another station, and good work might also be done on the West Coast and in Nelson. Work at the site of the new station at Highcliir is proceeding, and it should not be long before the new road which ir-. to give access to the buildings that are to be erected, is far enough advanced to allow of heavy building plant being hauled to the ground. Excavations have been made for the foundations of the transmitter house, while a special reservoir has been sunk some distance in the ground. The work entailed in making this was somewhat retarded by the presence of large rocks under "the surface, but the.se were taken out and the requisite depth reached. It should be explained that this reservoir 'is ' necessary to supply the water to. co.ol .the valves working in the transmitting circuit. After recent rains one had to wade through immense areas of sodden ground and even running water on the •site, but the contractors met this difficulty by running two furrows up the bill to meet at a point at the top These furrows successfully drained the areas, the two cuts being immediately filled. INCREASES JN LICENSES According to the official figures released by the Director-general of the Tost and Telegraph Department, the number of radio licenses -in the Dominion continues’ to increase, and the grand total of licenses taken out, for the period ended on Mist March is 154, 923, which includes 152,489 licenses for receivers. The figures for receivers show an increase for 12 months of 34,705, compared with 24,573 for the preceding year. The following table show the figures for receiving licenses for flip respective districts: District Licenses. Increase. Auckland 4(i,OMS 11,712 Canterbury 27.792 0,823 Otago 20.904 5.351 Wellington 57.095 10.819 In addition to the listeners" licenses there arc 1214 dealers’ license's, 873 issued for experimental amateurs, three for experimental research, 319 free to blind persons and institutions lor tin' blind, and 25 broadcasting licenses. INTERFEEENCE PROBLEM Elimination of interference is one of the heaviest, tasks ahead of the radio authorities of New Zealand, according to Dr J\. Kreielshcimer. who has been doing radio research work for the past

year at Auckland University College under a grant from the Academic Assistance Council of England. Referring in an interview to the development of radio, the doctor said that static was one of the first evils that would have to be conquered, especially iu. New Zealand, where it was particularly bad. He believed that radio transmitting stations would he reduced in number but increased in power. The two huge 500 kilowatt stations of Moscow and Berlin were an indication of this trend for more powerful stations. The doctor said that he thought tiie fading that was complained of some miles away away from a broadcasting station, was not the fault of tiie station, but happened with all transmitters at certain distances. Ho suggested that if aerials in these affected localities were ’ altered to a more vertical position to receive only' the ground wave and no reflections the trouble would probably bo cured. GIL DECII Mr Gil Dccli is to accompany Miss Gladys Moncrieff throughout her broadcasting tour of New Zealand. No doubt many listeners have already heard recorded versions of this accomplished Australian pianist and orchestral conductor. The tour is to start early in July. Miss Moncrieff will arrive in Wellington on 3rd July, but her first broadcast will take place at Auckland. Arrangements have been made for her to appear at the 2YA microphone on 11th July at a charity concert. She will then continue her lour of the whole of New Zealand, which will last some weeks, and opportunity will he given for her to be heard by every owner of a set. SOME RADIO HINTS It is not wise to connect the aerial to an electric light pole, or even to a pole carrying telephone wires. Connecting it to these will give noisy reception and, in the case of electric light poles, adds a danger of being electrocuted should the power line come in contact with the aerial. A broken electric light globe contains a very good cat-whisker—the platinum in the stem. it will assume a spiral form if you wind it tightly around a nail; anil in contact with llic majority of types of crystals it makes a splendid combination. Wavering signals, or reception that fades away and comes again strongly, is caused by leakage in tiie aerial due to swinging or contact with some object, sooty or dirty insulators, loose bearings iu condensers, poorly soldered wiring contacts, or, possibly, the "howling” of a neighbouring regenerative receiver. In making soldered connections lo the terminals of a fixed condenser, great care should be taken to keep the flux paste or liquid from seeping between the plates of the condenser and the mica separators, or across the ends of lhe plates ami separators, otherwise the condenser will be useless. One must remember that for satisfactory short-wave reception perfect valves must be used. Valves that will operate on the broadcast waveband may be altogether unsatisfactory on shortwaves. Poor or weak,, valves may result in noisy reception, erratic volume and regeneration control, and bad microphonic conditions. A little pea-lamp cl about two and n half volts makes an excellent hightension- fuse, and one that you never grumble at replacing when you remember how much a valve would have cost if the fuse had not been there. The lamp is connected in series with the valve and any great increase of tho current will burn it out and “open” the circuit.