MODERN RADIO

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21983, 14 December 1934, Page 16

MODERN RADIO

NEW LOCAL STATION

OPERATION ON MONDAY FEATURES OF IYA NOVEL 'STUDIO PLANNING With the most modern radio equipment in Australia or New Zealand, Auckland's new IYA broadcasting station will be in operation on Monday. The station will come on tho air at 7 a.m. with the breakfast session and there will be a special programme at night. The fine studio premises at the top of Shorthand Street are the first in the Dominion designed to suit the particular needs of broadcasting. lhe power of the new IYA, 10 kilowatts, is 20 times that of the station it replaces and double that of the national stations at Sydney and Melbourne. The raising of the power of 3YA, Christchurch, from 2J to 10 kilowatts, is proceeding and should be completed by March, while the new 10 kilowatt transmitter for 4YA, Dunedin, is expected to be in commission by the end of 1935. In about a year the Dominion will possess three 10-kilowatt stations. The next step in the Broadcasting Board's programme will probably be the increasing of the power of 2YA, Wellington, from 5 kilowatts to about 10 times that strength. The Opening Ceremony Only portion of tho now studio premises will be in commission on Monday and the official opening ceremony, which will probably be conducted by. tho Postmaster-General, the Hon. A. Hamilton, will not be held until the building is completed, toward the end of January. For a month or so after the opening, opportunity will he given for members of the public to inspect the building. The auxiliary station IYX will also be accommodated in the new premises, but the change-over will not be made until one of the present 100 ft. masts in Karangahape Road has been erected on the roof of the Shortland Street building. Thp other mast will be dismantled for possible future use. The lease of the present inadequate studio premises of IYA in France Street, Newton, expires at the end of the year. The size and acoustical treatment of the various studios has been regulateci by the types of programmes to be broadcast from them. The design is a compromise between that of Broadcasting House, London, and the latest American practice. All the studios are on the top floor, although the main studio extends the height of two floors In addition to the novel appearance of the building, owing to the absence of windows on the studio floors, the interior is also unusual. All the studio walls are insulated with acoustical wallboard of a biscuit colour and the ceilings have a "broken'** surface to prevent the direct reflection of any body of sound. On the concrete floors is a "tiled" rubber covering to ensure silence. Artificial Ventilation Artificial lighting, heating and ventilation are necessary throughout the studio. Air which can be washed and cooled of heated is conveyed to. tlio various rooms by means of vertical ducts and extracted in similar fashion.' Special precautions have been „taken to prevent the transmission of sound along the ducts. Double doors leading to the- studios and three panels of glass of varying thicknesses in the control observation windows also ensure the exclusion of extraneous sound. The use of brick in the construction of the building ,is a further feature dictated by acoustical needs In the past few weeks intricate testing of the transmitting plant near Henderson has been carried out so as to obtain the maximum efficiency. Only half of the building is being used, provision having been made for installing Another transmitter if necessary. The power of the present transmitter can he increased from 10 kilowatts to 60 kilowatts by the addition of ono more power unit. In the event of a power failure, an engine giving the transmitter an output power of 1 kilowatt could be brought into commission in eight minutes. There is also emergency studio equipment at the transmitter. New Type of Aerial

The aerial suspended from the single 500 ft. mast is of the 8.8.C. half-wave umbrella type, three of which are in course of erection in Australia. By means of this type of aerial, the maximum radiation along the ground is obtained and the fading area is taken further from the station. Consistently satisfactory reports of reception of tho new station during testing have been received from all parts of the Dominion. Tuning of the station is surprisingly "sharp" and the tone is excellent. Even localities such as Nelson, which, in the past, have not experienced much success with radio reception, have reported satisfactory results. The icw station is expected to provide good coverage for the Far North, but there are a few areas in distant parts where reception may not be perfect.

ILLUMINATED SIGNS SHORTLAND STREET MAST COUNCIL GRANTS PERMIT As the result of further representations by the Broadcasting Board, the City Council last night rescinded its recent decision not to allow four electric "IYA" signs to be placed on the 100 ft. steel mast which is to be erected on the roof of the new studio building in Shortland Street. The Works Committee, which had received a deputation from the board, recommended that, as the broadcasting service was a national undertaking, the decision b>? rescinded and that a permit be granted under the modification clause of the by-law governing the erection of signs. In reply to a question, tho chairman of the committee, Mr. H. P. Burton, paid the committee had realised all rlong thai: the council would be in a weak position in opposing tho scheme, hecayse the Broadcasting Board, through the Government, could go on with it regardless of the council's wishes. The principles underlying tho by-laws governing sky-signs had been fully explained to the board's deputation.

Seycra! councillors expressed their opposition to the proposal, and Mr. C. Bailey moved as an amendment that the report bo referred back to the committee for further consideration. The city engineer, Mr. J. Tyler, said each sign would consist of three letters, each-12ft. high, placed one above another near the top of the tower. The Mayor, Mr. G. W. Hutchison, expressed surprise that some of the Labour councillors should oppose a request made on behalf of a service which had been taken over from private enterprise and had been socialised. It seemed |;o him that from that point of view they should support and assist the Broadcasting Board. The a|mendment was lost, and the committjie'a recommendation was adopted:

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