RADIO CLUB NOTES

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXVII, Issue 19512, 10 June 1933, Page 15

RADIO CLUB NOTES

Secretary and Treasurer— D. VV. Beswick, 197 Otipua Road or C/o CF’.C.A

One of the “Aussies” coming through on Wednesday night was 7LA, Lanceston, Tasmania, on a frequency of

llOOkcs. It is owned by Messrs, Lindlay Wills Ltd. The main studio is 35ft. x 25ft, the acoustic properties of which have been corrected with the aid of celotex and drapings. The control room contains the necessary amplifying equipment for dealing with the microphone currents before they are relayed to the transmitter, which is located three miles from the studio. The two masts supporting the aerial are 160 feet high, and each mast is built up by six tubular steel sections, the masts being 600 feet apart. The usual type Of programme is musical.

Reception in the past fortnight has been very rough, static being the main cause of complaint. However, last Wednesday was one of the best nights we have had for a month, American stations coming in well and the “Aussies” bowling in at 6 o'clock. We hope these conditions will continue. It is time Old Man Static had a wellearned rest.

“As a picture, what I saw could hardly be termed a great success, but it was the first I had received, and I had hopes of getting better results later. It all seemed rather wonderful, but in these days a wonder is rarely that for its allotted seven days; and as I have not been able to improve substantially on the reception, boredom has replaced the sense of wonder. The chief characteristic of the images that I have obtained is undoubtedly the two lovely black eyes that have adorned their facer. An expanding and contracting black patch below them has generally represented the mouth of the artiste.

“lt is evident that the problem of lighting the subject is a serious one, for all hollows such as the sockets of the eyes have lacked details. A glimpse of teeth could be seen on the few occasions that a singer has ‘lifted the face to the gallery, but generally a living skeleton effect is seen. This latter is most noticeable when the subject has the type of chin that forms the point of an inverted isosceles triangle. Dancers always figured on the television programme. The reason for this is hard to see; like the dancers themselves. To begin with, on such a small screen a full-length figure must

The set in the Nurses' Hostel Is going very satisfactorily. The cabinet was made by one of the Club members, and is a credit to his workmanship. It is of the console type, the front panel being of four-ply oak, stained dark. The dial is of the ordinary type with spotlight tuning, the escutcheon plate ■ being of a nickel colour. The speaker grille is in keeping with the design of the escutcheon plate. The set has three controls, tuning, volume, and ! tone. It is installed in the sitting | room of the Hostel, the aerial lead-in ! coming through the balcony and the j earth from directly underneath the j set. By means of a switch, the I speaker in the Children’s Ward can be j used at will. Two telephone wires ] carry the current to this speaker, and i the wires are supported by a post midWard. The children have been able j way between the Hospital and the j to listen-in to the Children’s session j every night for the past fortnight, and | they cannot get enough of it. The last meeting of the Radio ! Club, held last Wednesday, was very i well attended. The next meeting will |be held on June 21. The Working ■ Committee at the Hospital reported I that all the headphones had been in- ! stalled and that the set in the Nurses’ Hostel, with an extension to a speaker in the Children’s Ward was now working at its maximum efficiency. A motion was passed recording in the minutes of the Club the sterling and unselfish work of the Hospital Com-

mittee. These gentlemen had given many hours of their time improving the installation and there are still many improvements to carry out when the Club receives more money to carry

A letter was received from the New Zealand Broadcasting Board regarding the Club's complaint of 3YA reception. In reply they give two pages of technical data concerning the “Heavyside” layer, ground and sky waves, etc. Tills may certainly be quite in order technically, but this does not explain the loss in volume from this station.

After the last meeting of the Radio Club, members spent a very enjoyable time playing cards and other games.

necessarily be cut down to about 2in. in height if movement of the arms is to be allowed for across the screen. The quick movements as of a dancer I found to be quite impossible to follow. The exhibitions have been just “something bobbing up and down.” I believe the dancers had legs because of occasional flashes to be seen when they assumedly indulged in a little high kicking. The televised dancer has a poor chance of popularity under these conditions.”