WIRELESS

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 19828, 30 April 1927, Page 20 (Supplement)

WIRELESS

By

The Grid

How to Choose a Set. There are probably few articles more difficult to choose than radio sets, and vet every day dozens of people in this country without any expert knowledge set out to buy sets for themselves. The , writer has been requested by several j persons recently to give advice on the ■ subject, and he feels that a few notes , may be of assistance to other prospective broadcast listeners. In the first place it is wise to go to an established j radio dealer and discuss one’s require- I meats with him. The question of price ; in most cases is important, but we do | not advise anyone to purchase a cheap 1 set simply because it is cheap. Of i course any set is better thaat no set at all, on the principle that half a loaf ' is better than no bread, but if cost is ! a vital factor it is better to purchase a good small set rather than an elaborate cheap set. The whole aim in : receptioi hf rej . iduction and this can •»: cured with well de- , signed app Unfortunately the Zealand kef has to some extent become a dumping ground for • American apparatus, and many sets offered for sale here to-day are out of \ date in their land of origin. It is i therefore wise for purchasers to take . every caro in the selection of appara- , tus, and to accept nothing on the faith of unsupported statements. There are two main divisions intn which sets for use in this district can be divided, th* se being sets for use with headphones only and sets for use with loudspeakers. Whichever type is . desired the use of valves is necessary, : as crystal sets are entirely out of the question for local use. For use with headphones only a two or three valve set is required for really satisfactory working, while for loudspeaker working at least four valves are required for consistent results. There are many sets on the market to-day which arc stated to give lou'tspeakcr results on distant stations, but which will do so only under very favourable conditions. Ln this connection it may be said that in Wanganui good reception is not possible every night in the week, even with the very best sets. On an average there are at least two evenings per week when reception is marred through static and fading. This condition is inevitable so , long as the New Zealand stations are on their present power, but when the new Wellington station is operating good reception from this station at least , .-hould be passible every night. Not- 1 withstanding the claims of many manufacturers, no method of eliminating static has yet been discovered, and the only known remedy at present is to increase the power of the transmitter. • Having decided whether to purchase a headphone set or a loud-speaker set ; the next question for tie purchaser is the kind of set in either class to pur- I chase, ft is not possible for the writer to name any particular make of set in these columns, but he recommends purchasers to consider only well known standard makes. Manufacturers who are well established and advertise extensively are bound to supply a good article or they will lose their trade. The small manufacturers have not the facilities for research or a reputation to keep up. and consequently are not always so reliable. In wireless as in most things the price very largely determines the quality of the article, and as a wireless set is an expensive item it pays to get a good set rather than a cheap one which will not give satisfaction when the novelty has worn off. We advise purchasers to hear as many sets in operation as possible before deriding to purchase any particular make. Most people have friends with sets who

will be willing to let them listen in for experience, and nearly all wireless dealers will demonstrate their sets in opera tion. When the choice has been narrowed down to a few sets we advise purchasers to have them ! operate*! in their own home. Some ! sets will work perfectly in certain sit- ' nations and very poorly in others. For , this reason a trial in the actual situation is desirable. Particularly is this . the ease with loud-speakers, which are i very much affected by the rooms in which they are used. It is wise to try several loud-speakers in the parti- ■ cular room where the set is to be be* fore deciding on any particular make. Items of Interest. It is reported that endeavours are being made to form another radio society in Wanganui. The old society has been defunct for some time now. but during the li e years it was active it ; did very valuable work for wireless in this district. Not the. least valuable of 1 its activities was v’e operating of 2AH, ! the broadcasting station which for over • two years was heard from one end of i New Zealand to the other. The real • cause of the breaking up of the old ' society was the imposition of the license fee of £1 10s per annum, nothing of which was available for the local station. Local listeners could not afford to pay the license fee and maintain their own station as well, and in consequence 2AH had to close down. With the closing oi the station the ; society broke up and has never been ‘revived. When the society was first formed no amateur wireless work was permitted ami the society took an active part in the agitation for the grant of receiving licenses, which was even tually successful. We wish the promoters of the now society every success and hope that listeners will join together to support the new body, which can in conjunction with other societies do useful work in watching the inter-est-s of listeners. Those who imagine that conditions in Russia are in a state of chaos may be interested to know that in Moscow there is one of the most powerful broadcasting stations in the work. The wavelength used is 1450 metres and with a power of 12 kilowatts the. station is audible over the whole of Europe. The changes in wavelength of the New Zealand stations which have been i made this week have been long overdue and will be welcomed by all listeners, especially those with neutrodyne receivers. 3YA is now to operate on 405 metres, which takes him well away from 4QG, whom he has been jamming. 1 4YA will now be on 435 metres, which will bring him very close to 2FC on 442 metres, but as 4YA is fairly weak here the jamming should not be serious. The new Wellington station 2YA will be on 380 metres, the wavelength formerly used by 4YA. There has been a tremendous improvement lately in reception from 2FC, and this station now eclipses 2BL, which formerly held pride of place among the Australian stations. It is a fortunate thing for the New Zealand Broadcasting Company that the Australian stations give us such good service. If this were not so we think that the popularity of wireless in New Zealand would not be as great as it is. According to a contemporary the number of listeners in Australia is now 190,000, and a large increase is expected this winter. In proportion to its population New Zealand should have nearly 45,000 listeners, whereas the .present number is less than half this figure.