THE WIRELESS WORLD.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19498, 5 June 1925, Page 2

THE WIRELESS WORLD.

DUNEDIN TO NEW TEE SET. STATION 4YA’S SUCCESS. By Magna Vox. To station 4YA, Dunedin, has fallen the honour of being the first New Zealand breadcasting station to be pick?d up in the United States. Mr I‘. -I. O’Neill is to be congratulated on at last succeeding in his ambition to bo “logged in the States. The following letter was received by Mr O'Neill on Saturday last: —“Radio station 4YA, Dunedin.—To-day, —Saturday, April 18, 1925—1 heard your station broadcasting a musical programme, which came over very nicely. Enclosed please find 10 cents 'for an EKKO verification stamp. Thanking you and your artists, and with congratulations to your station, I remain, etc., (signed)—’Thomas F. Gorman, 87 Berkeley avenue. Bloomfield, New Jersey.” Bloomfield, which is a small town m the Essex County of the State of New Jersey, is about 12 miles from Jersey City. It is interesting to recall that on that evening Mr J. Sutherland Ross (Chairman of Directors) gave an address in the interests of the New Zealand and South Seas Exhibition. THE STATION CRITICISED. VIEWS OF CORRESPONDENTS. As a result of correspondence published last week a number of letters have been received dealing with the same matter. The letters follow in the order , in winch they were received ; “Dear Magna Vox.—Last year before Mr O’Neill dismantled his set I could not wish for better results, but since he has resumed transmitting and altered the wiring, it has been very erratic. My experiences have been the same as Mr Marshall’s. My set is a De Forrest three-valve set, aerial 35ft high and 100 ft long. Some nights when anyone is speaking you would think they had their head in a tin, at intervals you would get the speech quite clearly and distinctly, then it would rattle amiiu as if it were not properly controlled. 1 have an idea that Mr O'Neill is trying for distance instead of catering for the people of New Zealand who pay the Government their license fee. Mr O’Neill says we get our concerts for 2d; well, I know mine costs me a great deal more, when you consider the cost of “B” batteries, etc-, and I think the GovermiiMit should bo prepared to give us better broadcasting or return our money until the scheme is on a proper footing. I admit that wo had very good concerts from Mr O'Neill last year when he conducted the station himself, but this year I have only had one or two really good ones. No doubt Mr O’Neill is doing tne best bo can, but when one invites a few friends and the concert docs not turn out a success, it gives them a bad impression of wireless; m fact it is not fair to the performers.” —Yours, etc., Robert D. Welsh (Ka.itanga.ta). “Dear Magna Vox, —It was with great surprise that 1 read in your columns today, the plaintive wail of your Glenavy correspondent, and of a number of our local radio experts. I have been listen-ing-in now for nearly three years, end I do not think that any other station in New Zealand has given the listeners such a fair deal as 4YA. At times, of course, little mishaps have occurred which have thrown the transmissions of 4YA from its usual high level, but these seem to have been quickly rectified by the staff. One would think that the ‘waiters’ mentioned were paying 30s a week instead of a year for their pot hobby. In any case, none of the other stations have served the listener-in so well or 'go long as 4YA. Another thing to remember is that for nearly three years radio entertainment has been quite free, so surely no one objects now to paying 8d per week to put things on a sound footing; also wc have not had to listen for two hours per night to stale and worn out gramophone records, night after night. Another complaint some have is that 4YA is too broad. Do they, living in the shadow of 4YA’s aerial, expect to cutout a 500-watt station and bring in 2BL, Sydney, only a few metres different in wave length? There are some sets which will do so, I know, hut it is not everyone who can afford a seven-valve superhetrodyno and that is about, the only one that will do so. It is, however, quite posable to get some of the other stations while 4YA is in the air, as I know from my own experience. The best thing 4YA could do would be to completely ignore those ‘wallers,’ who, in any case, seem to bo a small minority, and carry on as it has been doing in the past.—Yours, etc., W. Taylor (Caversham). “Dear Magna Vox, —I have read with interest Mr Marshall’s criticism of 4YA, in which he complains of blurring. I do not think 4YA needs any defence against a fault that does not exist, but I would direct Mr Marshall’s attention to the fact that sine© April 1 last 4YA has been received in the States, the longest distance at which this station has been received, at any time being Chicago. The American listeners would certainly nob hear much if 4YA were at all blurred. By de-tuning slightly (I am about half a mile from this station) 4YA is far ahead of any other station, local or distant. These attacks (I include those who profess to support Mr Marshall) on what is undoubtedly New Zealand’s finest broadcasting station, seem to show considerable selfishness, or is it envy? Do they want 4YA closed down so that they may go in for DX every night in the week? I have a seven-tube super-hetro-dyno myself, and like to get distance as much as anyone, but I would not deprive the crystal sot owners of their only worth-while source of radio entertainment. But then I do not think that the opinions of 14 users of various kinds of valve sets are likely to carry much weight with the radio public,”—Yours, etc., J. W. Eustace (Dunedin). “Dear Magna Vox. —It is with no desire to enter into a controversy that I write this letter, but in my opinion some of the statements of your correspondent Mr Marshall were misleading, and some made by the 14 .gentlemen who signed one letter were contrary to fact. In the first place Mr Marshall deals with his set. He does not contradict the statement that he is probably using a home made set. Why 1 mention this is that if one is using a standard manufactured set the only cause of trouble is likely to be in the batteries, tubes or phones, but in a homemade set the sources of likely faults are too numerous to mention. Not that I wish to discredit a home-made set—far from it—as some of the best sets 1 have seen or used are home made. World records have been broken on such sets, but only in the hands of experts. For average B.C.L.’s the manufactured aa’ticle is the more reliable and gives better results. The next statement comparing 4YA and 2BL is what 1 strong* v protest against. Anyone who is cow sant with the position in Australia c.lino t fail to see my point. 2BL and IFC are high powered stations, I believe with an output at times of 2000 watts, and have cost many thousands of pounds. In addition the artists are in many cases the recipients of regular fees—what that means I leave to your readers’ imagination. Then both those stations are connected by land wire with cabarets, churches, theatres and the Commonwealth House of Parliament. This elaborate system of remote control broadcasting costs more than the total cost of all our New Zealand stations put together. We are New Zealanders, and must judge our own stations on their own merits. I take as my standard of comparison 4YA for the simple reason that it is the only station in New Zealand on its rated output of 500 watte. I have personally read the meters on the transmitting panel, and noticed the input to be i!2O watts. Now, 4YA is not perfect, far from it, but I have listened at least three nights a week for the last three years to the Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch stations, which stations like 4YA arc now receiving Government subsidy. My honest opinion, based on actual listening l>oth in Dunedin and in Dio North Island, is that 4YA is easily the premier broadcasting station in this country. If they wore all as powerful and as good we could

agitato fox - further improvement; but surely we should spend out efforts in endeavouring to have the quality improved of these other stations operating on 100 watts. I know the new scheme has this for on object, but, we are dealing with actual conditions. If Mr Marshall has heard KJJKA, WLW, and KFI and a few more American stations ho will agree with mo that the transmissions from 2BL are far from perfect. It all depends on how far away a station is. 4YA has been heard in Chicago. I have seen no reports of 2UI j being hoard in the States. I do not think it is an honest criticism to compare a New Zealand station which has been made in this country, and which is not an imported set by world-famous manufacturers, with overseas stations, operating under better conditions financial and otherwise. I have heard the abovementioned stations ( and KDKA on its low wave is recognised to be the world’s best, and once you have heard it yon will agree. Again Mr Marshall fails to see how 500-watt stations should not be as clear as 50 watt stations. I have been associated with Mr Macdonald of 4AII for some years, and have helped to transmit . telephony both on high and low power. Mr Marshall can take it from me that it is child’s play modulating five watts or 50 watts compared with 500 to 1000 watts. This is a question 1 need not elaborate on as a study of any of the well-known magazines—e.g., Q.S.T., Radio News, Radio Broadcast will amply substantiate my statement. The above remarks will serve as an answer to the 14 gentlemen above referred to as well as Air Marshall’s lettex - , but with respect to the statement that ‘Mr O’Neill's reply does not explain why 4YA is so broad.’ I would like to say a little. Some years ago we .all cried out for high power—now we have it, with the result that it is no easy matter to tune it out, hut it can be mid is done. The same situation arose in America. A study of the back mimbei’s of Radio News will give one the answer that the great broadcasting corporations gave to the listeners. They said: ‘You wanted super power. Now you have it you complain you can’t eliminate it at will. Make super sets capable of eliminating nearby stations and you have solved your problem.’ Nowadays every magazine is full of particulars of sets capable of eliminating stations one or two metres apart. I have operated such A set. a Model C 7 Super Heterodyne within half a mile of 4YA, and did not even hear 4YA, but heard 2YK on the niagnavox. Everybody cannot afford such a set, but 1 can mention standard regenerative sets which do this. Any station is broad if you use certain circuits, legalised or otherwise. Take a lesson from the American and build selective and up-to-date sets, und half your problems will disappear. In conclusion 1 hope that this rather long epistle will bring the other sue of the picture before your readers. I leave them to judge of the coiTectness of my assertions.—Yours, etc., G. W. Fere ns (Dunedin).” “Dear Magna Vox,- —If it is only just recently that 4YA has changed over to alternating current on the filaments "f the valves then this is not where the trouble lies, for 4YA has not been satisfactory for over two months. As two months oxi/erimenting has shown no improvement (rather the reverse) I consider that 4YA should lower its power to 59 or 100 watts and obtain clarity on that power before stepping up to the 609 again. The listeners-in would be fairly content if the broadcasting was as good .now as it used to be, but it is rather hard that after paying 30s for the support of Now "Zealand stations we are obliged to tui’Ti to Australian stations almost every night, 1 do not think the listenersin arc under any obligation to any person or firm in Now Zealand conducting free broadcasting in the past. The recent cuts in the prices of wireless goods, and a. comparison between New Zealand and English and American prices show that dealers in this country make fairly substantial profits which would not have been possible had there been no broadcasting station.—Yours, etc., A. F. Marshall (Genavy).” G. R. Chipp and three others (Pine Hill) and R. W. Edgar and two others (Port Chalmers) also write in support of 4Y.VS transmission, 'betters from “Advance” and .1. Simpson, both supporting 4YA, were received too kite for publication. [Both sides having thoroughly aired their views, this correspondence is now closed.-—Magna Vox.]