Listen In!

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 76, Issue 163, 13 July 1933, Page 10

Listen In!

-9 NOTES AND PROGRAMMES «

(By

“Detector.")

Reception. Conditions, on the whole, have been very satisfactory during the past week. There have been occasional blasts of static on some evenings, especially on the weaker stations, but has not been severe enough to make listening in unpleasant. Fading has been bad on quite a number of stations during the past two or three days. Novel and Amusing. A small boy who 11 appears'' at Uncle Tom’s session at IZR, Auckland, each Wednesday at 6.45 p.m. has caught the public’s imagination. It is certainly a novel and amusing broadcast. A Mammoth Structure. 0 A new transmitter at present being erected at Cincinnati!, U.S.A., will have an enormous aerial system. One mast will be 830 feet in height and will weigh 450 tons. x; :: From 4YA on Saturday. The New Zealand Broadcasting Board, working in conjunction with a committee of citizens, is arranging a special concert programme for Saturday evening next. The concert will be in aid of charity and is to be broadcast from the Dunedin Town Hall. Additional Services. As from Tuesday last, the British Broadcasting Company extended their sessions in the Empire Broadcasting service. The additional services will he transmitted daily from 10.30 p.m. to 12.30 a.m., and on Sundays from 11 p.m. to 12.30 a.m.. N.Z.M.T., using the frequency of GSF. 15,140 kilocycles (19.8 metres), and an omni-directional aerial. On Short Waves. During the past week or so conditions have not been too good for reception on the short wave bands. A number of the stations have been troubled with fading and static. XER, Mexico. The Mexican station, XER (730 k.c.) has resumed all-night programmes with cowboy type of music by the “Hill Billy Club.’’ This station has installed a new transmitter, and is nowusing 150 k.w. of power. When conditions are good XER is heard well locally. One has to have a very selective receiver to log this station as it is almost on top of 2YA. Using a Radiola, model 120, on test on Monday evening, the writer had no trouble in cutting 2YA out, and bringing in the Mexican at fairly good strength. Breakfast Sessions. Besides the breakfast sessions broadcast from a number of New Zealand "B” stations, one can, at the present time, bring in quite a number of Australians in the early mornings. Those showing the greatest strength are 2UE, SKY, and 2FC, all of Sydney. An Unauthorised Transmission. The funniest thing on the air during the past few weeks was a wrestling relay from Adelaide through SCK. It was not the announcer that provided the fun, but some female fans near the mike. One of these was evidently a friend of a native son who was engaged with a Frenchman, aud her cries to the referee and her advice to her friend “Billy” were unique. “Put in the rabbit-killer, Billy!” Stun him, Billy!” she screamed when the Australian was on top. “He’s choking him, he’s choking him!” was her agonised wail when the Frenchman applied a stranglehold. This went on through the event, and had to be heard to be appreciated. “Les Cloches de Comeville.” On Saturday evening next, listeners to IYA, Auckland, will hear one of the most delightful of all comic operas—- “ Les Cloches de Comeville.” This oldtime favourite is being produced in His Majesty’s Theatre by the Auckland Amateur Operatic Society. Morse Interference. On a few evenings this week, there has been severe interference on the broadcast band by Morse signals. These signals are not confined to any particular wavelength, but are are so broad that they are heard all over the dial. There are rules and regulations forbidding Morse on the broadcast band, and it is up to the P. and T. Department to enforce them. New Aerial for 2ZW. The popular “B” station. 2ZW, Wellington, is at present erecting a new aerial system. This aerial will be 150 feet above sea level, and is being erected on top of the Dominion building. in the heart of the city. The new aerial should increase both the range and power of the station. Wavelength Vagaries. Since the war, on account of the increasing congestion in the field of radio communication, attempts have been inade to extend in every possible direction the range of frequencies available for this purpose. At the close of the war the generally used wavelengths ranged between 100 and 20,000 metres (3000 to 15 k.c.). Since the 10-15 k.c. range verges upon the audio frequency spectrum, there was obviously no room there for extension, so wavelengths had perforce to be found in the zone below 1 00 metres (above 3000 k.c.). How the use of wavelengths below 100 metres and down to 15 metres was developed is now a matter of fairly common knowledge. Of course, there was ono great advantage in the possibility of using ultra-short waves, apart from

;he relatively efficient aerial systems which could be used in connection with them, i.e., the fact that stations could be “packed closer” (since the spacing was a matter of frequency difference) as the wavelength was reduced. Even so, the wave band between 15 and 100 metres soon became congested, and so the possibility of using even shorter waves was soon investigated. Radio Repair Service. Make use of our Radio Repair Service. Radio is our speciality, therefore bring your repairs to the firm who specialise in this work. All and any classes of sets repaired. Valves may be the cause of poor reception, so bring them in, and we will test them, free. — D. A. Morrison and Co., Avenue.* Not Yet Perfect. Television is by no means perfected, but even at present it is more satisfactory as an entertainment than was radio nine years ago. And television has evolved more quickly than did the cinema. Consider the silent iilm of 15 years ago, when the talkies were a thing of the future and the film flicked and flicked and flicked. The colour problem has not yet been solved. Red becomes white, green becomes grey, blue turns black, yellow goes white, and all shades of violet and purple go black. Therefore, the artists to be televised have to be made up in a most extraordinary fashion. If you paid a visit to Broadcasting House ’(London) to be televised, your red lips would be painted blue, your nose would be shaded black, your eyebrows would be heightened to strange proportions. Altogether, your best friend would shudder when he saw you. And yet on the screen you would appear your own charming self. But in spite of the slight difficulties, a great amount of progress has already been made. Up to the present it is a difficult matter to get detail on to the screen. But a Charlie Chaplin film, a boxing match, and a George Robey comedy have all been successfully produced. Gracie_ Fields, Bill and Elsa Newell. Ann Croft, and many other stage celebrities have been televised, and even a saxophone-playing seal has appeared on the screen. As far back as 1927 Baird succeeded in transmitting images over the telephone between London and Glasgow'. When the Berengaria was in mid-ocean, ’the image of hi.s fiancee in Long Acre was transmitted to the wireless operator on his screen in the wireless cabin. A radio mechanic of average ability may make a television receiving set at a cost of a little more than £l. They are for sale in England at prices ranging from £7 to 18 guineas, and thev are so powerful that owners of these sets in the Canary Isles, 1500 miles from London, obtain satisfactory results. But what of the future? It has been suggested that cinema proprietors are seriously worried as to their trade in years to come. The cinema in its early days ousted the magic lantern. Then came the slump in variety, also caused by the cinema. The coming of radio caused a drop in cinema attendances, which was quickly’ countered by the introduction of talking pictures. But in 10 years’ time—or less—when matters of detail and size are overcome, why should we leave our comfortable homes and warm hearths w'hen we can dim the lights and obtain equal entertainment in our own sitting-rooms? Besides the transmission of films, actual happenings will be seen on the screen in our own homes —a coronation in Europe, a football match in Wellington, test cricket in Australia, an earthquake in any part of the country, your fiancee in a neighbouring town. In five years’ time television will be as perfect as radio is today. But in the meantime one is not informed whether the Radio Broadcasting Board is experimenting with television. Here, would seem to be an admirable opening for some commercial B class station to commence television programmes and to sell television receiving sets. If as many were sold in New Zealand in proportion to England, there should be at least 1000 sets in this country. RADIOLA, 120. TONE AND SELECTIVITY OUTSTANDING. During the past week-end the writer had the opporiunity of testing, through the courtesy of Mr. D. Walker, of the Bristol Piano Company, the Radiola model 120, a product of Amalgamated Wireless (Aust.), Ltd. The receiver is a five-valve, for operation on the broadcast band (200 to 550 metres) and is of the mantel model type. The instrument is housed in a cabinet of charming design and colour. It is operated by a one-dial 3-gang condenser control, and a quick sight, illuminated dial, calibrated in metres and kilocycles, and marked with the main Australian stations, which adds considerably to the ease of tuning. The set employs the famous Amalgamated Wireless circuit and employs the latest valves. The chassis, of the usual type, is made of cadmium-plated steel of a special grade to prevent rusting. There are many new features incorporated, including a special tone control (with a range from bass to brilliant), and a silent tuning device. The makers draw particular attention to the selectivity of the receiver, and as stations have been w’ell separated, there is little fear of the. jamming which occurs on quite a number of sets. Quality, as judged by the high-pow-ered Australian stations, appeared to be very satisfactory with the tone control in the “brilliant” position. Jnci dentally, this control proved to be very desirable when receiving distant stations with the volume control well advanced, since it cut down mush to a reasonable level. Reception was carried out with large and small aerial, and very little difference was noticed. Even with a few feet of wire excellent results were obtained. It b of little use giving lists of stations received, as so much depends on local conditions and other fat- | tors. Suffice it to record that the set 1 proved to be very lively. apart from

the host of Australian and New Zealand stations received at full loudspeaker strength, several American stations were brought in well. Judging from the sample on test, the Radiola, model 120, appears to be a worth-while contribution to the A.W.A. apparatus on the market, and at the most reasonable price quoted, can be honestly recommended to those on the verge of joining the throng of radio listening public.