NEWS BY WIRELESS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 20010, 28 July 1928, Page 11

NEWS BY WIRELESS.

FAILURE IN AUCKLAND. THE ETHER BLANKETEp. Owing to extremely bad conditions on the ether, wireless in Auckland played a poor second to the cables in bringing news of the Tunney-Heeney fight. The Radio Broadcasting Company had an efficient receiving set at Takapuna, connected with station IYA by a special line. A trial rebroadcast the day before had given good results, except for some trouble on the line to tlie station. Yesterday. however, it was impossible even to gather news for announcement from the station, much less to conduct a rebroadcast. The station itself got into touch by telephone with several amateur short-wave receivers, and obtained some scraps of information, ' but it was unable to procure the result of the. fight until ten minutes or so after the newspapers had received it by cable. So far as could be gathered last evening, only ono receiving set in Auckland succeeded in getting tho -American shortwave broadcasts at any strength. This was an exceptional piece of apparatus owned by Mr. .J. F. Davics, manager of Radio, Limited, and operated at his home m Edendale. It is a four-valve New Zealand-made set incorporating a shielded grid valve capable of giving enormous am plification. Mr. Davies could hear 2XAD, Schenectady, loudly enough, but there was so much local interference from clectric-power and the howling valves of other receivers that he could catch only fragments of tho announcer's sentences. Ordinary short-wave sets could do no more than pick up the "carrier wave" of 2.\.\D. and American Morse stations were almost equally faint. Large crowds commenced to gather m Queen Street shortly after one o'clock, anxious to hear the. first news of the light, and in anticipation of a ringside description which it was thought would be relayed by IYA. Two loud-speakers were installed outside a radio dealer's shop and when tho broadcasting station took the air at about 1.30 several hundred people formed a throng which stretched across the road and for some distance up Wyndham Street. After several musical items had been relayed, tho announcer stated tho station had been advised privately that both fighters were going strongly at tho end of the fifth round. There was no further news for a long interval, and finally (ho announcement eamo that Heeney had been knocked out. The actual result was placed on tho notice board outside the lleuai.D office before the announcement was made by IYA, and for some time large crowds liied past tho board.