RADIO IN EMERGENCY

Taranaki Daily News, 19 July 1932, Page 5

RADIO IN EMERGENCY

DOMINION-WIDE TESTS WORK IN IMAGINARY DISASTER.. PROGRESS OF- TARANAKI SECTION “Thousands homeless; food and clothing urgently required.”. That message, preceded by the word “practice,” however, was transmitted on short-wave throughout the Dominion on Sunday, when members of the New Zealand Radio Emergency Corps made tests under circumstances of an imaginary disaster. Owing to the fact that the Taranaki section of the corps was formed only a short time ago and the complete equipment has’ not yet been obtained the section did not take part in the test.

The emergency corps was formed as a result of such recent disasters as the Hawke’s Bay earthquake and the Herman Pass tragedy. It would be of invaluable assistance in the event of such catastrophies and shipwreck, flood or bush fires in remote and difficult regions. The Taranaki section is under the leadership of Mr. L. E. Birch, New Plymouth, w ho operates station ZK2HI. Others are Messrs. F. Huggard (2OB), C. Ambury (2LQ), E. Westwood (2LD) and F. Blackwood, technical advise'r, ail of New Plymouth, W. Boon (2DM, Stratford), deputy-leader, Guthrie (2LF Stratford) and Landford (2AI Raetihi).

The corps, which is a Dominion-wide organisation established by the New' Zealand Atnateur Radio Association, has been allotted a special band of wave-lengths, practically free from commercial and ordinary amateur traffic. Equipment for portable sets has been provided free by Auckland radio dealers.

Each of the 11 sections will have two portable sets, each weighing about 151 b. to 201'b., which can be easily transport-, ed. The outpost station establishes communication with a zone station, which keeps in touch with its base. Although reception over long distances is possible even with the portable sets, Sunday’s tests, in order to provide practice, consisted of relays of four messages from every outpost to its zone and base. The messages were then-re-layed by each base station to their destinations.

The Taranaki section has . a good portable transmitting and receiving set made by Mr. Blackwood and it hopes to obtain the other necessary apparatus in time tp take part in the next test conducted.

Although the majority of the messages on Sunday were simply expressions of -goodwill or references to the weather, the message ultimately received, “urgently requesting food and clothing for thousands of homeless peo-. pie,” suggested floods of considerable magnitude. Even the most inocuous transmissions were invariably prefixed by the word “practice,” for the enlightenment of chance listeners on the wave-length employed. Other centres in which there are sections of the corps are Auckland, Rotorua, Gisborne, Napier, Tauranga, Wellington, Christchurch, Ashburton, Dunedin and Invercargill.