Of Interest Development Of Automatic Tuning London, Aug. 25.
There is a change in the appearance of this year's Radio Exhibition which opened at Olympia, London, yesterday. It is less crowded and less noisy than in recent years and consequently more spacious and comfortable. The flashing signs and ultra-modern stands have given place to stands of a quieter tone. The chief source of interest at the Show this year is Television. There is no variety theatre to draw the crowds and, incidentally to distract their attention from the radio exhibits. Its place has been taken by a huge television studio erected by the B.B.C. on the lines of that at Alexandra Palace, though considerably larger, and four separate productions will be staged at the same time. The television studio is provided with glass sides and on payment of a small extra charge, visitors to the Exhibition may walk past. Crowds yesterday watched with silent interest the whole process of production of a television programme, whilst the sound side of the features is relayed through loudspeakers. most listeners have only two or three favourite stations and therefore to make provision for more than five would not be worth the extra expense involved.
Ferranti also limits the automatic range of its sets to six powerful stations, the selection being made specially for the districts where the sets are intended to be used. Most manufacturers, however, have left the choice of the stations to the user and have provided facilities for changing it desired. The Cessor system resembles an automatic telephone, ten stations being tunable by rotating a dial.
These "press-button" sets are a particular feature of the Echo Stand where a spectacular method of motor-controlled self-tuning has been adopted. When the listener presses the button, the control automatically selects the desired wave band, alters. the wave band indicator, picks the station, silences the loud. while tuning is proceeding, and turi the pointer to the new an when this point is reached, stations is exactly in tune, speaker "springs to life" from coma. plete silence in an impressive mans ne "His Master's Voice" have a range of 33 receivers and radiograms on show, and six television one of their novelty television receivers having a vision-screen the. size of a monocle. Gre:
nine guinea television set whilst th was displayed in this firm's twenty-are also demonstrating a combined autoradiogram and television receiver for 120 guineas.
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