MULTUM IN PARVO.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 19109, 30 June 1930, Page 15

MULTUM IN PARVO.

For Crystallites. The higher the aerial the better. An overall length of 100 ft should be aimed at, comprising a single wire of stranded (7) 22 s.w.g. wire. If your space is restricted so that no more than, say, 30ft between the masts is possible, and a greater pole height than, say, 35ft is not available, two aerial wires, spread from 6 to Sft apart will give good results. The far end of the aerial must always be higher than the lead-in end. Use not less than 3 insulators, spaced (with rope) 12 inches apart, at the far end of the aerial. Break all guy wires with insulators at not more than 20ft intervals. Keep aerial and lead-in wires well away from trees, walls, etc. The “effective height” of an aerial is the distance from the aerial to the

nearest earthed object. An aerial erected on a 3000 ft hilltop, on masts whose height is 30ft, is not as effective as an aerial erected in the bottom of a valley on masts whose height is 40ft. An aerial erected on the roof of a sixstorey house, with a clearance of 20ft between the roof and the aerial wire, is no better than if it were erected on the ground with a similar clearance between the ground and the aerial wire If possible, _ the aerial (far end) should point in the direction of the station whose signals it is desired to receive. For the Battery-Wallah. The DX “hound” is always a batterywallah (as they'd say in India)—that is, a believer in battery operation. With a battery-operated set the DX-er finds: Less (or no) set noises; no A.C. hum; finer (usually) tuning (where two controls with reaction are used); he can use headphones for weak signals. All batteries must be kept (a) scrupulously clean; (b) away from heat damp; (c)—in the case of wet “A” and “B” batteries—fully charged and filled with distilled water to make up for evaporation. Both *A ’ and “B” wet batteries should have their terminals cleaned periodically and coated with vaseline. Wires connecting batteries and from them to the set should be kept .clean and their terminal ends coated with vaseline. For AU-Slectrid&n. An all-electric” in a nice console cabinet, with a good built-in moving- , coil loud-speaker, is a thing of beauty , and a joy for ever to the music lover, j

Unless you are an honest-to-goodness expert, don’t “monkey” with your allelectric. If the set loses colour or trouble develops, shut off the set and call in the agent. A temporary loss of entertainment, while waiting for your agent to fix things, is likely to cost you less than persisting with reception or trying tq put things right yourself. Always handle your “all-electric” with care. Remember it is a scientific instrument and was not built for “rough house” treatment. All-electrics of 4 valves or more, dp«-ated within three or four miles of ® . A station, should not be operated with the lead-in connected to the set, otherwise it will probably suffer from over-loading and bad distortion will result.