WIRELESS RESEARCH

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXX, Issue 21414, 11 February 1933, Page 8

WIRELESS RESEARCH

BEATING THE STATIC RESULTS IN AUSTRALIA • V • .{from our own correspondent] SYDNEY, Feb. 2 New Zealand wireless enthusiasts who find pleasure in listening to Australian stations long after their own have closed will be heartened by the good results that have been obtained in Australia by the Commonwealth Atmospheric Research Station. Judging by preliminary reports farreaching improvements in broadcasting, particularly in the elimination of static, are promised. The headquarters of the station are at Mount Stromlo, near Canberra, but most of the research work has been carried out in conjunction with another station at Laverton, near Melbourne. Regular observations have been carried out over a period of nearly two years, end some very important results have been obtained. It has been established that atmospherics—the naturally occurring electric impulses familiar to every broadcast listener —are always associated with lightning discharges and that they come from well defined areas called sources. These sources / have been classified as regular and irregular. In Australia during the summer months regular sources are to be found daily in the afternoon and evening in the northern tropical regions of the continent. These sources are the most powerful causes of wireless interference. During the winter the regular sources arc situated much further to the north-east and are consequently less troublesome. The irregular sources may occur at any time. They have been found to be always associated with areas of low barometric pressure or depressions and are, therefore, related to weather changes. By the location of such sources advance information of weather changes is obtained. This is a particularly useful method since, when depressions are located over the ocean or in remote localities, they can be recorded long before they come .within the reach of land stations. Increased accuracy of weather forecasts is, therefore, possible with suitably located atmospheric stations. In addition, a practically instantaneous report as to thunderstorm activities in any desired direction is available, and this is invaluable to aircraft. Such information was supplied to Sir Charles Kingsford -Smith on the occasion of his recent flight from Australia to New Zealand. It has also been found that the various sources behaving, as far as interference with wireless is concerned, as natural transmitters work on much the same power, and the interference causes increases approximately with the wavelengths. The experts say that already much information has been obtained which is of immediate value in planning the future broadcast system in Australia.