RADIO CLEANINGS

Waikato Independent, Volume XXXI, Issue 2780, 26 November 1931, Page 7

RADIO CLEANINGS

AN OCCASIONAL COLUMN FOR LISTENERS. NOTES FROM MANY SPEAKERS. (By Super Hot.) Reception during the past week lms not. been good in Cambridge. .Static and weak signals have been evident, on most nights and the Australian stations I have been very much below average strength. The American stations were not as good as usual, though IvFI continues to be heard during early evening hours, and KGO and IvGMB are heard well till later in the evening. I B Station Hetrodyning. In 1927 there were over 700 broadcasting stations in U.S.A. The interference problem became acute and the number of stations has been reduced to just over (300. To get some idea of what the hetrodync type of interference must have been, one has only to listen on good nights to dozens of New Zealand and Australian B class stations jamming each other on the lower end of the broadcast band. Some system of co-operation should exist between the New Zealand and Australian authorities when licensing B class stations. Dominion Programmes. A powerful short-wave transmitter is to be constructed in England almost immediately. The purpose of this transmitter is to provide programmes for the Dominions, and when it commences, relays from our local stations will be a regular feature. A short-wave receiver will not be required, as the programmes from England will be rebroadcast on the usual long-wave band. Several wavelengths will be used for the short-wave transmissions, so that they may be received at almost any hour of the day. Continental Stations. Several listeners in different parts of New Zealand report having heard Continental stations on the broadcast band during early morning hours. “Radio Wien” located in Vienna is shortly increasing power from 20 to .100 kilowatts and will operate on 5.17 metres. This station should be heard on average broadcast receivers under good conditions and should prove an incentive for early rising among local enthusiasts. Automobile Radio. Though not common in New Zealand automobile radio has been in vogue in the United States for two or three years. Receivers have now been made that make automobile reception possible. The receiver is very compact and extremely sensitive. The set itself can bo installed in any convenient part of the car and the tuning is done on a small panel fitted to the steering column, just below the wheel. The important characteristics of an automobile receiver arc sensitivity, selectivity, compactness, ruggedness and economy. The problem of sensitivity is particularly important on account of the limited space available for a receiving aerial.