WIRELESS NOTES

New Zealand Times, Volume LI, Issue 11933, 13 September 1924, Page 9

WIRELESS NOTES

By

RADIO.

K.G.O. CALIFORNIA It is unfortunate that there appears to have been a fairly general nusunder-, standing on the part of New Zealand amateurs concerning the day on which the recent Australasian test concert was to be broadcasted from KGO, California.* The great majority of listeners-in,' through mistaking the evening for Sunday instead of Saturday, missed the test altogether. A few, however, both in Wellington ,and in other parts of the country, dropped on to the Californian transmission by chance, and reports have' for some timo been coming to hand concerning the manner of the reception. These for the most part indicate that both the music and speech were picked up with great clearness, and that the test was in every way successful. COST OF BROADCASTING Some idea of the high cost involved in operating a broadcasting plant may be gained ftom the remarks recently made by Mr O'Neill, proprietor of 4YA, Dunedin, in explaining to a newspaper writer his reasons for - discontinuing Tegular broadcasting. As he had gradually increased the power of his station till he now used 500 watts, the cost of maintaining the plant had become correspondingly heavier, and the lack of support was enough to discourage even such an enthusiast as he was. "I have treated the public fairly," said Mr O'Neill, "but I find that the time has come when I do not feel willing to continue regular transmissions for the benefit of aD unappreciative public. During August I was obliged to replace three valves at a cost of .£25 each, and the expense of broadcasting during that month amount-, ed to close on .£loo.' In the three years that 4YA has been broadcasting I have received £23 faom amateurs desirous of 1 helping to defray the cost of transmissions, and of that sum ,£& 8s was given by one local citizen." Commenting on the dosing’ of the station, a southern paper remarks :—ln spite of the fact that Dunedin possesses the most powerful station in New Zealand and that this province has long had a wide reputation for the excellence of transmissions, this city is the only centre where the trade does not contribute towards the upkeep of the broadcasting station, and these traders are doing a big business in wireless goods, their sales being very largely due to the high-class con-' certs from 4YA. Although Mr O'Neill has received hundreds of letters from amateurs scattered all over New Zealand an d Australia, bearing testimony to the excellence of the transmissions, support of a more substantial nature has not been, forthcoming, and it would be unreasonable to expect Mr O'Neill to continue regular transmissions entirely at his own expense, when wireless and 2i? e trade generally treat hi 6 station as r, ere a P Qbiic institution. Mr U Neill holds a license for an experiI mental station, -and he will continue broadcasting at his own convenience, and at that of the public, as he has done in the past. When listeners-in find that ZC A cease 4 transmitting .regularly i realise' the debt they owe to Mr O Neill, and wUI probably take steps to prevail upon 4YA to resume broadcasting. A HUGE INDUSTRY On the basis of figures for the year 1923 d is probable that the American people' will spend approximately 350.000,000 dollars for radio equipment during the present year. A conservative estimate of the business in vacuum tubes alone is about 50,000.000 dollars. At least five times as much, or 250,000,000 dollars, will s®”,* tor radio sets and parts. The sales *>f batteries, both dry cell and storage W .J very likely amount to over 45,000,000 dollars. Miscellaneous equipment such as battery chargers, loud speakers and specialties may easily account for 50,000.000 dollars more. OVER-OSCILLATION If signals are being received the quality °I th© reception is at once a guide to whether your receiver is 0.K., or whether It is oscillating quietly. -BB the set is oscillating, music or other telephony will be distinctly mushy, and possibly mixed with undesirable roars and squeals; morse will become much louder, .but stations will lose their distinctive nptes and v-ill become ’hoarse, atmospherics will also become increased in strength, and, lastly, the carrier wave will be picked up on tuning away from the "dead" point. A SIMPLE TEST To find out from your own receiver whether it is oscillating quietly, touch,

with, a damp finger, the grid terminal furthest from the 1 valve or the aerial terminal; if everything is 0.K., a "pop" will be heard on application of the finger to the terminal, but none when it is removed; if the set is oscillating, however, tiro "pops" will be heard—one on the application of the finger and another when the finger is removed. Turning the reaction coil or variometer fiom zero to maximum position should also eau.se a slight "pop" to be heard; immediately the "pop, is heard the set is oscillating. A similar test can be made bg turning the filament resistance from zero to working point. INTERNATIONAL WIRELESS Important questions relating to wireless will be discussed at an international conference, which it is proposed to hold at Geneva. .Writing from Geneva to MT E. Dwyer Gray in reference to it, Mr George A. Taylor, president of the association for the Development of Wireless in Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji, fays that he had every reason to hope that it would bo attended by representatives from America, Asia, and Africa, as veil as by the leading wireless experts of Europe. * EFFECT ON WORLD PEACE Mr Taylor points out that it* is idle to consider world peace unless the international nature of wireless is fully recognised and made prominent in all peace arrangements, and continues: "It is intended at the Wireless Conference to discuss, amongst other international matters, the arrangement of wave lengths to be used by various nations for general broadcasting, eo < that with the improvement of apparatus—when phonetic waves will be more easily and more widely transmitted—the same listener-in will be able to pick up any wave lengths being 6roadcasted as the .standard wave lengths of a particular nation/ At present, without such a general understanding, there can be drowning and clashing of the same wave lengths, eo that the widest blessings of broadcasting cannot be won. Other phases, that will help wireless, will be discussed and arrangements will be proposed for occasional world conventions on wireless, when world developments will be considered according to the circumstances, eo* that wireless may be more and more widely spread." BROADCASTING FROM GENEVA Mr Taylor added that arrangements were contemplated to broadcast the closing speech of the president of the League of Nations Congress, and that every eft or t wonld be made to‘ give the utmost prominence and publicity to the universal benefits of wireless by this and all other available means. He reports that his natural-colour photograph radio machines were in good working order, and had been inspected by Professor Warren on the previous day. He had just received the first natural-colour photograph taken of the Wembley Exhibition, and proposed to "get busy regarding its radio transmission " AFRICAN HIGH POWER STATION The Wireless Telegraph Company of South Africa, Ltd., has Been recently cr- , ganlsed. to pr9vide international telegraphic service for the Dominion. The principal higli-power station is to be located at Klipheavel Station, Cape Province, about 30 miles by rail from Capetown, according to-advices to the Department of Commerce. The s£te comprises about 1000 morgen (2110 acres) of farm land, and is so located as to be about ten* miles distant from any mountains. It is estimated that the station will be in operation in about 18 months. The £ower of the .. new station will be • 750 ilowatts, and it is probable that it will operate on a wave length of about 16,000 metres.ENORMOUS AERIAL The aerials will be supported by .16 towers 800 feet’ in height, arranged in the form of a circle, having a diameter of 1£ miles. Beneath this circle an earch screen will be supported on 250 towers of miles. Beneath this circle an earth screen was determined as the result of experiments carried on at the Marconi station at Carnarvon, Wales. This South African installation, together with the stations planned for Canada, Australia, and India, and the existing stations in England and Egypt will form an Empire wireless system, each one being designed to communicate directly with the Mother Country or with any of the other dominions.