STATION 4ZP

Southland Times, Issue 22132, 28 September 1933, Page 4

STATION 4ZP

ENLARGING SERVICE. RADIO CLUB’S DESIRE. The desire of the Southland Radio Club to use Station 4ZP in catering for the requirements of Southland and exSouthland listeners was stressed by Mr A. W. Jones, president of the club and a member of the Advisory Committee of the Broadcasting Board, in the course of an interview yesterday. Mr Jones referred in particular to the club’s anxiety to broadcast functions from the smaller towns in the province, an action that would benefit both the functions in question and the listeners. Mr Jones said it was not claimed that the club’s organization was perfect, but it was only too keen to give the best possible service. The ambition of those in charge was to provide an alternative service to the national service and to broadcast events outside the scope of the latter. It was hoped that bodies in the smaller towns would take advantage of the club’s offer to broadcast their functions, which would be of interest to other residents in the province and ex-residents living in the north. At present the children’s session only amounted to half-an-hour a week, although birthdays were broadcast each night. This was a field which the club was hopeful of developing and it was also desirous of placing sets in every children’s, home for the benefit of the occupants. Short talks were of great value, and it was hoped to broadcast more of them in the future.

“We have only limited finance,” said Mr Jones, “and it has been a struggle to give the listeners all we have. The subscription is small and they get back every shilling paid in. “It is proposed that the existing 4YA should, after modernization, be erected at Awarua, Invercargill, as a Southland relay station,” continued Mr Jones. The best location for this station had given a good deal of thought and theoretical contours had been plotted for various sites in order to decide this point to the best advantage.” Mr Jones went on to say that the district least satisfactorily served by 4YA extended roughly from Tapanui to Tuatapere, and also included Otago Central. A number of sites could be found to give a non-fading service over the Tapanui-Tuatapere area, but none of these could give a high-grade service to Otago Central. The latter district had therefore to be left out of consideration insofar as association with Southland in a non-fading night scheme was concerned, although other advantages might be looked for in this connection. Important factors in the choice of the Awarua site were the following: Awarua was close to Invercargill, which had the largest Southland population, with its concomitant high interference level. Its proximity to Invercargill would facilitate the dissemination of items having a community of interest to Southlanders. Awarua was capable of serving the large area, Tapanui to Tuatapere, with an acceptable daylight service and a non-fading night service. It had the important advantage that by arrangement with the Post and Telegraph Department, the transmitter might be housed at Awarua Radio Station, where there was ample accommodation and continuous attendance. At that efficient transmitting site there existed an ideal grounding system and aerial structures, including a 400 ft mast, which would permit of experimentation on the latest aerial developments for producing the maximum ground wave radiation, or any other radiation scheme which it might be desired to test out either for Southland or for application at other centres.

“Incidentally, the site is an ideal one for international reception, which may yet have an important part to play in New Zealand broadcasting,” concluded Mr Jones. “It is estimated that a population of approximately 72,000 will be brought within the useful service area of this station.”