History of wireless telegraphy and broadcasting in Australia/Topical/Publications/Australasian Radio World/Issues/1951 08

Front Cover

Australian Radio and Electronics

incorporating

Australasian Radio World

Registered at G.P.O., Sydney, for transmission by post as a periodical.

AUGUST, 1951 - Vol. 16, No. 1

1/6

P.01 - Contents Banner

AUSTRALIAN RADIO AND ELECTRONICS

and incorporating

(AUSTRALASIAN RADIO WORLD)

Providing National Coverage for the Advancement of Radio and Electronic Knowledge.

Vol. 16 - AUGUST, 1951 - No. 1

P.01 - Contents

CONTENTS

Our Cover . . . . 1

Editorial . . . . 2

A Simple and Inexpensive Vacuum Tube Voltmeter (Part 1) . . . . 4

In Tune with the Trade . . . . 11

The Beginners Quality Amplifier . . . . 12

Novice Set Building (A Section for the Beginner), Part 5 . . . . 16

International Broadcasting and Shortwave Review (A Special Section for Old and New Australians) . . . . 21

Amateur Radio Section — Input Impedance of Folded Dipoles . . . . 30

"Ham" Activities and Disposals Equipment . . . . 33

Classified Advertisements . . . . 36

Our Cover

OUR COVER

The design of suitable transformers to couple the relatively high output impedence of the audio power amplifier to the low impedence of the loudspeaker voice coil is a rather complicated job. Our Cover picture shows a corner of the Rola laboratory in which an audio oscillator, a bridge network and a vacuum tube voltmeter has been set up to make impedance measurements on a Rola C type transformer. Incidentally, each Rola output transformer has been specially designed to operate with a given valve or valves under a specified set of plate and screen voltage conditions.

P.01 - Publication Notes

Subscription Rates: 12 Issues 18/- Post Free

Published by the Proprietors: Radio & Electronics (N.Z.) Ltd. (Publishers - Incorporated in N.Z.) 17 Bond Street, Sydney, N.S.W.

Managing Editor: LAY. W. CRANCH, AMIRE (Aust.), M.W.I.A., VK2XC

When making purchases or enquiries please mention Aust. Radio & Electronics. IT HELPS US BOTH

Providing National Coverage for the Advancement of Radio and Electronic Knowledge

Sole Wholesale Distributors - Gordon & Gotch (A/asia) Ltd.

Printed by ACACIA PRESS, 171 Parramatta Road, Annandale (Footnote P.40)

P.02 - Editorial

EDITORIAL

This issue commences our Volume 16 No. 1 and readers will note that, whilst retaining our usual Technical features, we have further improved the scope of "AUSTRALIAN RADIO AND ELECTRONICS" by the extension of our Shortwave Review to cover International Broadcasting generally. Many of our readers are Shortwave listeners, who pursue the Hobby of logging stations from all over the world, thus improving their knowledge of other countries, quite apart from the entertainment derived therefrom. We have also received endless enquiries from New Australians requesting information as to when and where they can receive transmissions from the country of their birth. Research into their requirements has shown that it is not so much the stations of their former countries that they want to get, but to be able to listen to their MOTHER TONGUE, irrespective of what country or station transmits it. This is quite understandable when one realises that most of our new brethren are struggling hard to get a working knowledge of English and no doubt, in a year or two, will be able to converse in English and use the famous Australian adjectives in the right place, just like any dinkum Aussie does. However, we are of the opinion that all of us need relaxation when the day's work is done, and it is only natural that our New Australian friends should converse amongst themselves and want to listen to broadcasts in their own tongue. Imagine yourself for instance, transferred to Italy (or some other country) and trying to cope with a new language day and night. Would you not endeavour to locate, per medium of your radio, some English speaking session, irrespective of what country transmitted it? We are sure you would, and it is for this reason that we have commenced the International Broadcasting section of our journal. If we can assist our new countryman to settle down more quickly to our way of life, surely we should do so. Therefore, A.R. & E. (Australian Radio and Electronics) have set up a special listening post, under the direction of Mr. L. J. Keast, our Shortwave Editor, to fully monitor foreign shortwave broadcasts and these, for the convenience of our readers, are listed under their appropriate language headings, so that "Old" and "New" Australians will derive maximum benefit from our service.

THIS TELEVISION BUSINESS.

All the talk of recent months in radio circles has been largely centred about the possibility of television being introduced into Australia in the not-too-distant future. That the entertainment value of television will be great is obvious and its impact upon the people will be far greater than radio ever was, since it will command a person’s whole attention and become eventually a centre of family life. To those stout souls who are rearing a family in this troubled age and find it so difficult to get out in the evening for entertainment, this new art is going to come as a real boon. True, there are some pessimistic types who say it is not stimulating to thought and that it is the lazy man’s method of entertainment, since he just has to "sit, look, and listen". This line of reasoning, however, seems dangerously like inviting an argument, for surely entertainment should provide relaxation. Most radio men will agree that they get all the thought stimulation they require during the course of a normal business day without carrying it over into the evening! Anyway, if we are to believe medical science, modern man is in no danger of becoming a moron, rather the reverse in fact, since his capacity for thought is increasing with every generation, and with all these distractions abounding! Whichever way it goes, however, one thing is certain — while hundreds of people are obtaining considerable enjoyment from it the radio servicemen will be getting bags of thought stimulation while burning the midnight oil trying to fix Mrs. So-and-So’s set in time for the cooking demonstration next morning!