RADIO AND RECEPTION.

Waipawa Mail, Volume LXV, Issue 6, 23 July 1937, Page 4

RADIO AND RECEPTION.

• WIRELESS NOTES OF INTEREST. * • ♦ • t***44*t»****4*t»*4****»*444444f

It is understood that in the near future a questionnaire will be issued to all listeners in the Wellington radio district with a view to ascertaining which is the most popular of the four Wellington stations.

8.8. C. from all parts of the Empire and from many foreign countries. The broadcasts brought into service, for the first time, the new transmitters and aerial arrays that have been established at the Empire broadcasting station at Daventry, and the accounts’ of reception that have so reached the corporation indicate that the effort to improve the service has been generally successful. The new aerial system, ail three new transmitters, and the three existing transmitters were in operation, two working with a power in the aerial of 50 kw., two with 20 kw., and two with 10 kw. In addition, parts of the programmes were transmitted over the radio-telephone services of the British Post Office to the Dominions, to India, and to the U.S.A. Following is a representative selection of the messages received at Broadcasting House: — Montreal, Canada, reported “very successful” reception, and Ottawa’s comment was ‘ 1 satisfactory. ’ ’ In Australia reception was “very satisfactory,” and the Corporation Service was rebroadcast by over ninety-seven local stations in the '’ommon wealth. A message from New Zealand stated that all broadcasting stations in the Dominion relayed the 8.8. C. broadcasts. In Wellington fair reception of the commentaries on the procession was obtained, and the Abbey ceremony was “well received throughout.” Auckland’s report on “The Empire Homage” broadcast was similar, and added that reception of his Majesty’s address was excellent. South African messages spoke of variable reception, but fair results were obtained generally, the King’s address being heard in its entirety and at excellent strength. India missed nothing of the broadcasts through poor reception conditions. From New Delhi came a report on the ceremony recording “100 per cent, intelligibility,” and stating that the whole programme was successfully relayed on the medium waves. Reception there of the King’s message was excellent. “Good throughout” was the comment received from Bombay.

The national broadcasting authorities have landed a new series of recorded features which will be heard from the YA stations in the near future. A report has recently been submitted to the French Academy of Medical Sciences disapproving strongly of early morning physical exercise broadcast. The report says that at least twenty minutes are required after awakening for normal blood circulation being restored, and that setting-up exercises immediately after jumping out of bed may cause serious accidents. - lletch broadcasters are complaining of too much censorship. Talks to riven on the air must be submitted ' eight typed copies to the Govf en or three days before the a f Only Press news and derr' of sporting and other pubr are excepted. This method makes talks nearly a week old before they are put ou the air. Another European violinist is broadcasting in Australia. He is a Hungarian named Ujhelyi, a trap for announcers until they learn to pronounce it as 00-haley. Professor Lloyd Jones, expert in phonetics at London University, and chairman of the 8.8. C. pronunciation committee, has this to say regarding the “personality” type of announcer: —“A tcehnique that obtrudes in speech is offensive; it should be the aim of those who handle human speech to evoke neither admiration nor humiliation.” New Zealand announcers please note. As a precaution against avoidable repetition of recent disasters due to floods, the authorities in California have installed automatic wireless transmitters, actuated directly by water gauges which measure river levels, at certain of the more remote danger points. Dry batteries are used, while the receivers are put into operation at pre-determined hours by time switches.

According to a message from Rhodesia, the Coronation sendee and descriptions of the procession were well received and were relayed in local public gardens. The King’s address was described by the same source as “very distinct and clear,” and was also publicly rediffused. “Excellent” was the general verdict of the many colonies and dependencies from which reports were received. They included Ascension, Barbadoes, the Gold Coast, Hong Kong, Kenya, Jamaica, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone. Sierra Leone described the day’s transmissions as “perfect,” and reception of his Majesty’s address as “amazingly clear.” Many congratulatory messages reached the 8.8. C. from foreign countries. From Buenos Aires, Argentina, came news of excellent reception, and several stations transmitted all the principal broadcasts. “Transmission greatly appreciated by British colonies” was one of the comments in a report from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where the quality of reception was excellent throughout. Here, again, the broadcasts were relayed by local stations. Shanghai, China, reported that excellent reception of the Coronation broadcasts provided a “fitting culmination to local celebrations.” Cairo, Egypt—where the broadcasts were relayed in their entirety by all transmitters —informed the 8.8. C. that reception had been “perfect” and that the solemnity at the Abbey had been rediffused in St. Mary’s Pro-Cathedral in Cairo. A considerable number of reports were cabled from various centres in the United States of America, and all told the same story of perfect reception of the day’s transmissions. “Everyone here delighted,” was one statement received from New York. “Perfect reception” was also reported by Belgrade, Yugoslavia.

There will bo no talks delivered from IZM on Sunday under the auspices of the Crusade for Social Justice and the British-Israel organisation. These talks have been regular features from this station for a long time now, both having had a large following of listeners. In a letter sent to Mr W. W. Rodgers, director of the station, Professor Shelley, Director of Broadcasting, stated that they are to be discontinued while the whole matter of talks from the station is under the Government’s consideration. In order to reduce the effects of electrical interference in England, it is proposed to issue a special 1 ‘ mark ’ ’ for attachment to electrical apparatus to signify either that it is incapable of producing “noise” or that the amount produced will be below the limit of tolerable interference. A bill to give effect to the proposals of the committee on electrical interference is also under consideration by the British Government, but it is not likely that it will be put before the House of Commons immediately. In the meantime, as in New Zealand, there is no cheek on the evil, which grows in proportion to the increase in the use of electrical equipment, CORONATION VIEWS. RANGE OF TELEVISION. Analysis of the reports received by the 8.8. C. on the reception of the Coronation procession television shows that the audience was larger and more widespread than was expected, says a London paper. The number of viewers may now be estimated at 60,000, and the pictures were received as far away as Brighton, Ipswich, and Cambridge. Ipswich, the furthest point, is 63 miles from the transmitter, and reception there provides further proof that the original estimate of 25-mile range is too modest.

In fact, as the transmitter is only using a power of about 10 kilowatts, there is now every -incentive for research engineers to concentrate on means eff increasing the power output. The 8.8. C. has under consideration a proposal that a census should be taken of those who saw the Coronation procession on the television screen. It is thought that the figure may help to convince the Government of the rapidly-growing interest in television. The Government may then be prepared to allocate to the 8.8. C. for television development a proportion of the £1,000,000 a year still retained by the Exchequer from radio receiving license fees. The great expense of the television programmes in relation to the small area, covered is becoming less important as evidence of the unexpected range of Alexandra Palace accumulates.

Once it was thought that 50 stations could not cater for the British Isles. Now it is becoming -obvious that a much wider spacing would be necessary between transmitters, if only to avoid interference. The sound part of the Alexandra Palace programmes has been picked up and recorded in New York, and has been heard in South Africa, Cherbourg, and elsewhere. Experts believe that where the sound has been heard pictures could also be received. SUCCESS OF BROADCASTS. Reports telling of satisfactory reception of the Coronation broadcasts on May 12th were received by the