WIRELESS NOTES.

Waikato Times, Volume 108, Issue 18164, 31 October 1930, Page 3

WIRELESS NOTES.

A QUESTION OF CONTROL. INSPECTION BY GOVERNMENT. NOTES AT RANDOM. (By “Static.”) On the expiration of the New Zealand Broadcasting Company’s license it is the intention of the Government to assume control of the technical side of broadcasting, and it is to be hoped that if the Hon. J. B. Donald’s intentions are put Into effect the Government' will see that listeners receive better treatment than they have had fro/n the department in the past. At, the present time wireless inspector's exist (Government officials), and from all that is known of their activities, they exist, and that is all. Periodically prosecutions are brought in the court against unlicensed setto attract no more than casual attention When ventilated in the Press. There is, for example, an inspector in charge of the Hamilton radio district, but little is heard of his existence. He is a busy ofiiial nevertheless, being fully occupied with other duties which do not permit of his giving much attention to the inspection of his radio district. It is not the man but the system which is to blame, and the proportion of the listeners’ license fee which goes to the Government would appear a rather poor investment. The service apparently end 3 with the collection of the listener’s annual license fee. Howling sets are by no means unknown in Hamilton, and it is time that a crusade was launched against these parasites of the ether. The listener pays for service which he has every' right to expect.

r.ADIO AND ECLIPSE. WHAT EXPERIMENTS SHOW. Whenever feasible scientists are at pains, during an eclipse of the sun, to study tiie effect on the transmission of radio signals. Unfortunately the recent eclipse was not located on an area containing many stations, in the eclipse that took place a year or two ago in England, the path of totality crossed the island diagonally; ah manner of curious effects were noticed. It may he said that during an ecupse effects similar to night should take place- The sun by day scatters the heavenside layer. Signals are not reflected, and the transmission station has to reply solely on its ground-wave. This accounts for the very much shorter range of all broadcast stations by day. •

During the* total eclipse in England, which took place itT the morning, all the_ broadcast stations transmitted special signals. Some receivers were sited at opposite sides of the path of totality, others parallel to it. Before the eclipse started, normal”day conditions were in vogue. As soon as tiie moon cut off the sun’s rays, the heavenside layer began to form. The radio waves rapidly increased in strength. Sets that could not hear certain stations by day, were able to do better, if anything, than at' night, during the half-minute of totality. The increase in strength .represented in some .cases a proportion of twenty or thirty’ and started the moment before, the eclipse began in the area concerned some sixty miles above the earth. After the eclipse was all over, reception conditions did not fall to normal for ten or twelve minutes, which seems to show that it takes longer for the heavenside layer to be dispersed than it 'takes to form. Stations receiving from transmitters parallel to the path of totality reported little effect., j Careful measurements were also made, of the wave form, and directional/ peculiarities of the transmitted radio waves. In all cases where the wavei crossed the line of totality, similar to night were noticed in an; exaggerated manner. The sun therefore plays a part in the transmission of radio far greater than might be imagined. Clouds and other 'riff raff of the skies, however, have little effect for the action on the radio waves does not occur in the layer of atmosphere to which clouds belong.

JOTTINGS. Short-wave radio transmissions are probably responsible for the more rapid dissemination of news around the world than any other method that man so far has made use of. As a result of a Christchurch amateur picking up a message from the United States Aviation Short-wave Station W-3XAL at New Jersey, Station 3YA was able to advise listeners of the total loss of the British airship RiOi. The time when the accident happened would correspond to New Zealand time 2.30 p.m. on Sunday, and the news was broadcast in Christchurch during the 3YA evening session the same day.

Rum-runners’ Wireless,

Wireless plays a conspicuous part both as an aid and a hindrance in the detection of rum-runners in the United States. On the one hand, we read of secret transmitters discovered by prohibition agents, and on the other of a sham SOS stating that the yacht in which the Mayor of New York was sailing was in peril. Every coastguard patrol cruiser steamed full speed ahead to the rescue—and for two golden hours the rum-runners proceeded gaily about their precarious occupation without interruption. Do not suppose that because the filament of a valve is not broken and can be seen giving a light that it must necessarily be giving efficient service, for this will not be the case If the valve has lost electron emission ft-om the filament through continued use. Valves after being in service for a reasonable time will show signs of giving reduced signal volume, and should be tested for “weak emission” at a radio service station. Demonstrating the increasing interest in radio, drama the International Broadcasting' Office at Geneva recently distributed a list of radio plays. There are 835 plays in this library, all of which have been broadcast by members within the last nine months. Of this number 200 have been specially written for broadcasting, the remainder having been adapted from standard plays and novels. A studio window of an American station was left open recently and the sensitive microphone picked up the song of a meadow lark in a field about 300 yards away. The impromptu transmission came through clearly and sweetly.