THE WIRELESS WORLD

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23001, 2 October 1936, Page 2

THE WIRELESS WORLD

NEWS AND NOTES

By Magna Vox

Items of local interest are invited by “Magna Vox” for publication in this column. It is necessary that such matter should reach this office by Tuesday of each week for insertion on the following Friday 2BL, Sydney.—74o K.C. 405 metres. 2FC, Sydney.—6lo K.C.. 492 metres. 3AR, Melbourne.—63o K.C.. 476 metres 3LO, Melbourne.—77o K.C.. 390 metres SCL, Adelaide.—73o K.C., 411 metres. 4QG. Brisbane.—Boo K.C., 311 metres IYA, Auckland.—6so K.C.. 461.3 metres 2YA, Wellington.—s7o K.C. 526 metres. 3YA, Christchurch.—72o K.C.. 416.4 metres. 4YA, Dunedin.—79o K.C.. 379.5 metres 4YO. Dunedin.—ll4o K.C., 261 metres ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS "Ton," Gore.—So far as I can ascertain, there Is no agency in the Dominion for either set. “Battery," Allanton.—(l) The fading on distant stations is merely normal station fading, and does not Indicate a fault in the receiver. (2) It may be more satisfactory to use a 415 valve as a replacement. (3) A“ C ” battery should not be necessary with such a small receiver. “ Earth,” Oamaru.—The pipe which does not enter the ground would be useless. The utility of the other would depend upon whether it goes far enough in to make a continuous low resistance connection to permanently damp subsoil. A water pipe, if handy, is the best means. If one is reasonably near, run a wire to it; if not, drive a length of pipe right down to the subsoil and use that. D. F. M‘C., Dunedin.—The speaker should be connected to its exciter, and care should be exercised to see that the power from the exciter pack is reaching the field winding. It is advisable to connect the A.C. supplies of the receiver and the exciter unit to the same plug, so that when power is switched on it supplies both at the same time. The speaker transformer, which is a push-pull one, should be wired to three pins of a four-pin plug and fitted into a four-pin socket at the back of the receiver. A USEFUL COMPONENT Another refinement, the “ expander,” is now featured in the more pretentious late model radio receivers. This device by electrical means automatically compensates for the changes due to “monitoring” at the transmitter. The device is least useful on speech, but is said to come into its own on band and orchestral music. It is claimed firstly to restore the great volume gradations that, though present at rendition, have necessarily to be smoothed out to avoid over-modula-tion at the broadcasting station, and secondly, to reinsert both the high and low overtones which are lost in the ordinary broadcasting stations. The degree of “expansion” is manually controllable by a knob on the front of the receiver. So far the device is restricted to sets with unusually large numbers of valves.

MUSIC-LOVERS’ COMPETITION Following are the principal results of the music-lovers’ competition recently broadcast from the four national statlo4YA, Dunedin—Mr P. M. West,, Wellington (50 out of 60), 1; Mr M. Middleton, Fendalton, Christchurch (49 out of 60), 2; Mr C. J. Coates, Rangiora, North Canterbury; Mrs L.- West, Highland Park, Wellington; Miss D. B. Beck, Dunedin (48 out of 60) equal, 3. 3YA, Christchurch—Mr M. Middleton, Fendalton, Christchurch (51 out of, 60), 1; Mr C. J. Coates, Rangiora, North Canterbury (48 out of 60), 2; Mrs L. West, Highland Park. Wellington; Miss Q. Poore, Auckland (47 out of 60) equal. 2YA, Wellington.—Mrs J. Pringle, Kilbirnie, Wellington; Mrs L. West, Highland Park, Wellington: Mr P. M. West, Wellington (55 out of 60) equal. 1; Mr L. W. Coker, Blenheim; Mr C. J. Coates, Rangiora, North Canterbury (51 out of 60) equal,! 4. IYA, Auckland—Miss D, Drewitt, Timaru (52 out of 60), 1; Mr C. J. Coates, Rangiora. North Canterbury (51 out of 60), 2; Miss Q. Poore, Auckland; Mr J. S. Mercer, Hastings. Hawke’s Bay: Miss Thora Hoffey, Auckland, N. 1.; Miss Elsie Barton, Stanley Bay, Auckland, N. 1.; Mr M. Middleton, Fendalton, Christchurch (50 out of 60) equal, 3. SHORT-WAVE TECHNIQUE The short-wave programme technique of the various stations of the world makes interesting comparisons. Readers who have tuned to, say, the programme put out by Schenectady, cannot but be struck by the machinegun methods employed. Few items last longer than 15 minutes, and many items are over in five minutes. The programme, moreover, admits of no de,lays. No sooner is Carmelo Cascio finished with his piano than Major Bowes takes up the strain. Even on the oc-, casion when a concert is staged it does not last more than half an hour. In contrast to this we have the European stations, which take a very long time doing the same thing. Moreover, in contrast to American methods Europe believes in talks. There are talks from France on social topics and talks from Italy on “Medicines We Would Like to Take.” Even the Empire station likes its talks. Whereas our own Empire station likes to describe things, the other European stations like to describe places, or even individuals. There are, of course, short-wave stations outside Europe in Russia which never seem to do anything else but talk and talk. As they usually talk in a foreign language our world is very little the wiser, and one can but wonder if their daily shaking of the short-wave ether is to any purpose. Probably if one sent a questionnaire round the short-wave listeners of the world, music would bo found to bo their popular item. It, is understandable in any language.. THE f.ATEST IN RADIO This year’s exhibition at Olympia, universally known as Radiolympia, naturally makes a feature of television, and there are five or six firms showing sets for sale. But although these television receivers are shown, it is generally recognised that for some time to come it is sound broadcasting that must be primarily catered for. Radiolympia demonstrates that manufacturers realise that radio sets, since they are nowadays part of the furniture of every home, must combine the functional with the truly decorative: and that there is a universal movement towards the all-wave set. It is apparent that as even the small sets can “get” home and foreign'stations with comparative ease, the habit of tuning in to places far afield will grow. There are, of course, innumerable features of a show in which the exhibits are insured for £6,000,000, which costs £50,000 to stage, and from which the trade expected is in the vicinity of £30,000,000. There are more than 400 radio receivers to be seen, the smallest being 6 inches high and the largest 6 feet. It is the avowed policy of the promoters of Radiolympia to convince listeners that no home is complete without at least one set. It is notable that there is a general fashion for the small set, particularly of the portable type. The latest model costs only seven guineas. It is run by a battery and an accumulator. The advantage of these little sets is that they can be taken anywhere—in the car, on the beach, or into the wide, open spaces—and still give the same service as the portly mam set in the drawing room. Smaller still is the pocket set which can be carried like a camera in a brown leather case. Earphones are required, but the entire outfit can be acquired for £4, and the only recurrent expense is for the battery and the accumulator. So far the police have made most use of these sets in England, but it is thought that they may become more used generally during the Coronation ceremonies next year, when the man in the street will be kept informed of everything that is going on. Another novelty is the arm chair in which the deaf, by simply leaning back, can hear without disclosing the fact that they are deaf To all outward appearances it is just an ordinary arm chair designed in the Queen Anne style. But a deaf person by sitting down and leaning back quite naturally can hear general conversation with perfect distinctness or listen--1 in to radio programmes.