ON THE BROADCAST BAND

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLIII, Issue 20639, 30 January 1937, Page 17

ON THE BROADCAST BAND

CHURCH RELAYS Morning—lYA, Baptist; 2YA, Bapist; 3YA, Baptjst, 4YA, St. Andrew’s, Presbyterian. Evening—lYA, Salvation Army; 2YA, St. Gerald’s R.C.; 3YA, St. Mary’s C.E.; IYA, First Church, Presbyterian. An Onehunga listener reports “so much power that a crystal set can now jet 2YA.” And the National Broad:astlng Service asks listeners to believe t. Owing to the American shipping strike and the fact that no ships have sailed at Auckland for many weeks ipw, there is an acute shortage of radio parts, and several New Zealand firms are short of valves, tuning condensers, dials and in some cases loud speakers. Ono fears that Mr Shelley’s project for the formation of listeners’ circles, to meet in schoolrooms tq hear and discuss broadcasting programmes, is foredoomed to failure. It may be passible to organise gatherings of younger folk to dance to broadcast music, but it is difficult to envisage people leaving their firesides on a winter night to sit in an uninviting school to listen to some of the programmes that now go on the air. During his remarks at the opening of 2YA on Monday night, Mr Savage enumerated some of the features t - be provided now that we have a station capable of being heard all over the Dominion. Very unfortunately that consummation has not yet been reached and the station has fallen short of listeners’ anticipations. On that same night lading was pronounced at times, further emphasising the deficiency of the plant transmitter.

The promise that the 60-kilowatt transmitter at Titahi Bay would give daylight coverage of the whole Dominion is apparently to go unfulfilled. In Timaru at least its signal strensth

Is lower than that of 3YA or 4YA, stations with only one-sixth of ijs power. It Is not strong enough to rise above the morse, and in the inner area does not get above the interference level, and the prevailing feeling among listeners Is one of disappointment. The modulation is goqd, and fading is scarcely noticeable, but it appears that a good deal more wattage or a different type of aerial Is needed if 2YA is to be a Dominion station.

One of the speakers at the opening of 2YA referred to radio as an agency for the propagation of universal peace. Up tq the present that is about as true as the assertion that the Olympic Games promote the cause of international sportsmanship. The Christmas message of one European station referred to the leaders of another nation as “barbarians,” “murderous gangsters" and other flowers of opprobrium.

The suggestions advanced by the Australian and New Zealand Association for the advancement of Science, that 1 per cent, of licence fees in New Zealand should be devoted to radio research, wifi not capmend itself to a majority of listeners. The benefits expected to accrue from such research will be shared in by the Post and Telegraph Department, the Defence Department, aviation services and the meteorological office, and if a radio research council is desirable all these should contribute their quota to its cost. The proposal that Mr J. Shelley should be chairman of the council is no doubt designed to implicate the broadcasting service financially, but the Directqr has plenty to do now if he is to fulfil the hopes of listeners.

Sydney B stations outdo Hollywoo.fi to the ballyhoo they contrive to get circulated regarding their "stars,” and as they are the model for the newest development in radio in New Zjeglancl, we may have the same thing inflicted on us soon in this country. Foqljsh people might be forgiven if they are deluded into the belief that all the supermen, intellectual and physical, are attracted to the studios qf these advertising stations. Very often these wondermen get there by pure mendacity; at other times they put it oyer by inference. This is the kind qf thing: "Year after year my brother <_nd I fought out the high jump at Oxford. He’s 6ft liin, so had the advantage. But I beat him in the sprints.” After asserting that his brother and he were the best jumpers at the University, he infers that the.’ were the best sprinters also. And there is no regulation to prevent him doing

An American paper featured a story of a man being hooted in a cabaret for throwing a bottle at a crooner. Next day several people called to point out that they hooted not because the man threw the bottle, but because ne missed. It was unfortunate that the new 2YA transmitter should have mis-fiehaved during the official opening ceremony. During the afternoon the station had been broadcasting With excellent tone and modulation, but something went amiss early in the evening, and the fault was pot properly cleared up until the Maori party’s session—which incidentally was the best part of the programme—was reached. Then the station went in a fading spasm. Captain Stevens, whose death was reported from Sydney last week, was about the best-known “story man” in Australian radio. At one time he provided a variety of sessions from 2UE, but a year or so ago his health broke down, and listeners subscribed to a fund for his benefit. After his apparent recovery he resumed some of his 2UE sessions, and was just about to commence a tour of the National stations to give “armchair” talks and readings. In addition to radio broadcasts. Captain Stevens had done a good deal of film work, “speaking” the descriptive matter for Australian scenic and industrial movies. A “Cavalcade of World-Famous Artists” was featured by IZM Auckland. In presenting this feature the station director, Mr W W. Rodgers, selected as the artists Jews, their associates and their music, who have been expelled frpm Germany by the Nazi ban. i A Sydney man writes in ironic vein concerning the radio advertising stunters: “The Interesting fact about these cairned “messages” is the difference in technique (in comparison to plain unadorned microphone delivery) adopted to adorn the usually glib sales talk. Whether it be polish or pills, they must have that little introductory sketch, to be magniloquently wound up with a larynx straining sprint on the part of the reigning enlightener. Some of these chaps talk at a prodigious pace, maybe the reason is that after a casual perusal of the engineer’s book of words, they came to the conclusion

that twice the pressure might fialve the (sales) resistance; but they ilffghf recognise that it does not necessarily follow that twice the current-cy will flow. In an opposite sense, therms the type of chap proffering sincere friendly advice; a suave sonorous “now you listen to me," and little Annie capitulates to a gift with a thrill—in ten thrilling instalments. These chaps are the cream in the coffee, the vacuum cleaner salesmen’s model, etc-, and fqr the sake of all aspiring salesmen they are to be encouraged; but there are occasions when they either overrate their ability, of underrate their unseen victim’s mentality, not that the latter is a very vital question anyway. And then there’s a third type; the chap that drops words of pearly wisdom ill the manner of a solemn soliloquy, a naive oratory addressed to everybody to general and no one in particular. Lastly, there’s the female prattlers. The average recording, and the average commercial set, tends to badly attenuate the top end of the audio.spectrum; consequently, many of them are deplorably denuded qf their femininity, not that that matters so much, so long as they continue to extol the virtues of brooms and brassieres. No doubt there are certain flexible limits as to what type of voice, and delivery, is tfie more suitable for a given product; but harken to the case of the Pill people. They start off with the inevitable biased sketch, in this case it concerns blood-curdling symptoms, and immediately follow it up with a slick running commentary on the action and course of the blood with a brief ominous reference to the digestive fluids—or is it juices. This sqrt of thing applied to medicine, is a sheer farce, it’s better left to the “horsey” man. This pill-pusher has the grand American manner; suppositionally, the cellulose cadences fall after the manner of the fish at the feet of the suffering multitude, only with a difference of a “sure fire” fix ’em up (or down) or your money back (on application).”