RADIO BROADCASTING

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 19882, 8 March 1939, Page 2

RADIO BROADCASTING

CLEARING UP TROUBLES WORK OF INSPECTORS When radio broadcasting came into 'being not so many years ago it was almost the last of the distinctive electrical developments of the present age. It had 'been preceded by the very wide use of electric power for street lighting, tramways, domestic use and manufacturing, and the multitude of electrical appliances occasionally interfered with the full enjoyment of radio programmes owing to the introduction of extraneous noises. To reduce this class of interference to a minimum and enable the radio listener to enjoy reasonably good conditions of reception is the task of a special section of the Post Office organisation. In the work of tracing and endeavouring to remedy radio interference the radio inspection branch of the Post Office employs staffs in 20 areas throughout the Dominion. The inspectors are provided with listening equipment in- a motorvehicle with an output meter for measuring interference levels. They also carry an assortment of filters of various types suitable for the suppression of interference caused by many kinds Of electrical equipment.

Dealing With Interference

The first procedure of a radio listener who is troubled with bad reception should be to secure from the 'Post Office a radio interference report sheet on which appears a number of questions tending,. if faithfully answered, to throw light on the probable cause of the trouble and enable the radio inspector to effectively suppress its cause. Radio interference is l a decreasing factor in connection with broadcasting, this being proved by the fact that, although the inspectors are dealing with approximately 3000 complaints every year, this total has remained steady while receiving licenses have actually doubled since March, 1935.

Official experience regarding interference troubles show that 25 per cent of comp:,aims' received by the department originate through faulty receiving sets, and, if the faulty aerials and earthing systems are included, the percentage is much higher. The remedy in these cases comes within the listener’s province, for the department must leave to radio servicing establishments any overhauls needed as the result of reduced efficiency of private receiving sets.

ft will be noted that the larger percentage of complaints relates to interference originating outside the listener’s receiving set, and the officials of the Post Office enjoy the most complete co-operation of public authorities responsible for power lines, tramway and other equipment which may be the subject of complaint. It is impossible to cure every sort of interference.