RADIO NOTES

Stratford Evening Post, Volume I, Issue 90, 25 March 1931, Page 3

RADIO NOTES

A director of the Australian Broadcasting Company who has returned from a foreign tour states: “Considering the material and the amount of money at our disposal, I am convinced that our Australian programmes are better.” And the Radio Broadcasting Company of New Zealand, Limited, claims that its programmes are better than the Australian.

It is perhaps not generally known how tile loss of life at sea has been reduced since radio was applied to ocean travel.. During the period 1871 to 1910 the average annual loss of life to passengers at sea was 231: for ithe. period 1921 to 1928 the annual average was only 15, and in two of those , years not a single passenger was lost!

This year is to bring about great developments of broadcasting on the Continent; the new Swiss transmitters will soon be testing: Warsaw is to come on with 158 kilowatts in the aerial; Prague, with 120 kilowatts: Paris, with 60 kilowatts: Toulouse, with ditto; and Germany is pushing on its scheme for nine high-power stations.

Bobby Jones is America’s latest radio talker. Sponsored by a mouthwash. and .toothpaste company, he is to give a series of 26 talks “about golf and his golfing career —the care,er that led him to 13 major championships in the last eight years and all. the. four major titles of the world in the year just ended.”

Holland charges no license fees; but all owners of receivers must register with the telegraph authorities. Last October there were 233,314 licenses in force, representing 2.'JS per cent, of the population. > A body styled the New Zealand Radio Listeners' League has been formed in Dunedin, and its “secrc-' tary” is now touring the Dominion ■\vith the object of forming branches. The title of the league seems to be a misnomer. B Grade Stations League would be more appropriate, as its main object seems to be to secure concessions for the B grade plants. Rumour hath it that permission has been sought to run advertising sessions, and it is desired also to obtain a portion of the fees paid for receiving licenses.

Every once in a while we read that some genius has invented a method of extracting petrol from water, or has designed a gearless car,

or has discovered a way oi' eliminating static. Static, however, presents a problem that seems to defy solution, and no static eliminator has as yet been evolved. Our only hope seems to be in avoiding, rather tnan eliminating, static. In this respect the use of short waves seems to be a way of avoiding the dimculty. In (he tropics, where static disturbances are. terrific, short waves only can bo used with any degree of success, for there is much less static disturbance in the short wave length band than in the broadcast band. Commercial transatlantic telephoify is also carried on with short waves, and in this case the receiver is not only made highly directional to eliminate a large amount of static, but also a beam transmitter, which is highly directional, is employed. Thus, more energy can be radiated in the desired direction. For broadcast reception the only practical way seems to be to increase the power of (he broadcast transmiters, and this is actually being done at this time. * * V UNIQUE Broadcasting had MELBOURNE, March ,15. A unique departure in political broadcasting occurred last night, when a speech made by Mr. Lyons in Melbourne was broadcast throughout Victoria, South Australia, New South Wales and Queensland, and almost immediately afterwards a speech by Mr. Theodore in Brisbane was also broadcast throughout the States mentioned. No sooner had Mr. Theodore finished than Mr. Latham, Leader of the Opposition, speaking from Melbourne, replied to Mr. Theodore, and his speech was also broadcast in four States.

Mr. Latham said (hat Mr. Theodore had made no reply to the failure of the Federal Government to deal with the present position.

Mr. Theodore had then said that inflation provided no remedy for the existing position. When Andrew Fisher was Prime Minister he had said that the Commonwealth banking and currency would not be under political control, yet the Labour Party now believed that the remedy could be found in a system which it had itself condemned. In the long run inflation would have exactly the same effects as repudiation.

Inflation would bring about public default, insolvencies, and increased unemployment.