WIRELESS WORLD

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXX, 28 March 1936, Page 12

WIRELESS WORLD

OVER THE AERIAL

THRILL FOR LISTENERS APPEAL FOR HELP Oil Tliusi'day evening of last week, listeners received quite a thrill when IYA broadcast an appeal to all those listeners in the vicinity of t'hc upper harbour reaches to proceed to the rescue of eight men who were clinging to the bottom of an overturned eight-oared racing skiff which rvas drifting from the Whau Estuary out to sea, says the “Record.” The men were struggling lor over an hour in the darkness against a strong ebb tide until a dramatic rescue was effected by men from the Ilobsonvillo Air Base 'staff in the fast launch kept at the base. The following day the executive of the West End Rowing Club, in an advertisement, expressed its deepest appreciation to Squadron-Leader L. M. Isitt and the crew of the launch, also to the following who gave invaluable assistance The Auckland police, naval authorities at Devon port, St. John Ambulance, stations 'IYA and IYX and to many private citizens unknown to the executive. CRITICISM OF QUESTIONNAIRE Some criticism is being offered in Auckland concerning the form of the questionnaire to be issued at the end of the month when licenses are to be renewed. Objection is being made to the question, “To which of the 30 stations in New Zealand do you listen most?” The contention is that listening to some B stations lacks entertainment because (a) B stations have been allotted frequencies where interference is most troublesome; and (b) that they have been limited in power to an absurd extent—in some cases to a mere fraction of that permitted to amateurs for hobby purposes. Their hours have been restricted to a severe extent. It is absurd, say the critics, to ask listeners to which of the P stations they listen. They claim that the proper thing would be to ask what station listeners would patronise were the many hampering and useless restrictions removed, and were it made an offence to interfere _ with transmissions from B stations, as is the case with YA stations, reports the “Radio Record.”

LISTENERS’ OPINIONS SOUGHT

BOARD’S SECOND QUESTIONNAIRE The general manager of the New Zealand Broadcasting Board '(Mr E'. C. Hands) has announced the board’s intention to have another questionnaire dealing with many aspects of broadcasting. The forms are being printed, and will be distributed to all post offices in the course of the next few days. Mr Hands said the board hopes that all listeners will assist by replying to all the questions set out on the form. A previous plebiscite was taken in 1932, when the opinions of nearly 50 per cent, of listeners were registered. This time, Mr Hands said, it was hoped that the percentage of replies would be much higher.

AUSTRALIAN PROGRAMME FEATURES

SOME FAMOUS AKTISTS

During the current year the Australian Broadcasting Commission proposes to feature the following in its programmes: — Elizabeth Eethberg, among the greatest of - living sopranos, and Ezio Pinza, world-famous bass-baritone, will make public appearances in each State. Eileen Joyce, brilliant young Australian who has made a name for herself a pianist, in studio, and public recitals. Dorothea Helmrich, another Australian who has made a name for herslef abroad as a Lieder singer. Celebrity concerts, featuring the A.B.C. Symphony Orchestra, conducted by a famous conductor, and leading arHoward . Jacobs, dance band leader, and solo saxophonist at Claridge’s, the Berkeley and Savoy Hotels, London, in public appearances .with the Commission’s Dance Band. A prominent English arranger will accompany Howard Jacobs to introduce the latest Continental ideas. A.B.C. Dance Band, which will be a combination second to none in Australia, under the able leadership of wellknown and popular A 1 Hammett. The Spivakovsky-Kurtz Trio, Isador Goodman, pianist, and Raymond Lambert, pianist, in classical music. Senia Chostiakoff, tenor, Browning Mummery, baritone, Clem Williams, baritone, Stella Power, soprano, and Dorothy Clarke, soprano. All of the last eight, with the exception of Isadore Goodman, have appeared under engagement to the New Zealand Broadcasting Board. PURCHASER’S ODDITY Some of the tests imposed by prospective purchasers of radio sets aro extraordinary. An Aucklander recently passed over a very excellent receiver in favour of a decidedly inferior one, solely because the selected .set. would bring in certain local stations without either aerial or earth, whereas the better set was “dead” until properly connected. Needless to say every receiver must, in some way or other, collect sufficient energy from the ether., and thus an aerial is necessary unless fhe set is insufficiently shielded or unless there is some coupling to an energy collector, usually through the flex to the power pine. Complete shielding is essential and the transfer of the signal to ( he sef thronn-h the power flex highly undesirable. Thus the ideal receiver will not receive even a local station unless it has either a small aerial lead or an earth connection. COMING ATTRACTIONS Tn addition to Florence Austral, the voted Australian vocalist., John Lemone (flautist,l, Sydney de Vries (baritone!, and Browning Mummery (operatic tenor!, whose projected tours were announced some time ago, the Broadcasting Board lias arranged for Dorothv Helmrich. an Australian vocalist, wbo has done much singing for Hip British Broadcasting Corporation, and Glndvs Lorimer. a New Zealand soprano, who has recently completed a season at Covent Garden, to tone the main stations. The. whole group is to broadcast, in July, and the present intention is to form the artists into a company to present charity concerts at each of the main cities. It is understood that the board is negotiating with other instrumentalists and vocalists and that a, further announcement will he made shortly. TELEVISION IN GERMANY The new television service in Berlin consists of a daily programme of one hour’s duration from 8 to 9 in the even- 1

ing. repealed’ from 9io 10 p.m. Apart from this extension —the old service provided entertainment on only three evenings a week—the broadcasters have now obtained direct television facilities enabling them greatly to vary the programmes which, in the past, had been limited to films. Sight is broadcast on 6.72 metres and sound on 7.06 metres, definition remains at 180 lines, and the number of frames is still 25. It would not have been possible in so short a time to build suitable transmitters for higher definition. Inaugurating the programme, the deputy director of German Transmissions, Herr Boese, stated that the service was experimental. Public televiewing rooms in various parts of Berlin have been provided to permit the public to follow the service in its experimental stage and to become accustomed to it. The programmes of light entertainment consist of direct television by well-known artists, of excerpts from the latest film releases, and of a newsreel film specially made for television. The programme is changed each week.

NEWS AND NOTES

At 6.15 o’clock each morning the latest marketing information is brought to listeners by Mr W. Hardy from 2UW. Mr Hardy gives listeners the benefit of practical experience in fruit-: growing, market gardening, and poultry farming, together with the marketing of these products.

The C.B.S. recently t set out to find out which composer was most appreciated by Americans. Amongst dead composers. Beethoven came first with 1,878 votes, then Brahms 904, ..Wagner 788, and Tschaikowskv 648. Contemporary composers gathered the following votes: Sibelius 1,888, Ravel 910, Strauss 616, and Stravinsky 418.

On his return from Australia, Uncle Scrim, of IZB, Auckland, brought back from Australia a number of feature

programmes of special recordings. Each record runs for 15 minutes, and they include opera, musical comedy, anil plays of various descriptions. The new features will be heard during the coming week from the Friendly Road station.

Mr Gil. Dech, the conductor-pianist who came over from Australia to act as solo pianist and accompanist to Miss Gladys Moncrieff, durum her tour of the New Zealand stations for the Broadcasting Board, and also in concert work, has received an appointment to the New Zealand Broadcasting Board. Until he left Sydney nine months ago, Mr Dech was for seven years musical director for the Columbia Record Company, of Sydney. No doubt he will make use of his long experience of recording work to good effect in achieving the correct orchestral balance in the national studios. * * * * Regular interchange of broadcast news between America and France lias been arranged by the French. P.M.G., M. Mendel, in agreement with the Columbia; Broadcasting System. The American transmission is received and relayed by Paris P.T.T. France reciprocates with a broadcast from the Colonial station, which is relayed by the entire Columbia network. The news from America is given first in English and then in French; the French news is transmitted in English. • * • * Recent radio news from other countries reminds us of the infinite variety of broadcasting. Twenty thousand

more sets working in Egypt; a garden studio planned at .Cracow;; the,bellowing of stags in Pomeranian forestsrecorded for broadcasting in Poland; 680 schools listening ini Australia; wool auctions' relayed in New Zealand;. the sale of radio sets in the U.S:A. for this year estimated at 5,000,000, of which! 1,500,000 are car radios; Hungarian broadcasting keeping its tenth anniversary. So broadcasting goes on striving to hold the, rnirror up td life in. practically every country in the world. A