Pago Tv Picked
p. 39 · Read in the full issue
Up In Rarotonga
OAGO PAGO’S new educational television programmes were picked up in Rarotonga, nearly 900 miles away, in late November. The programmes were seen on a set in Mr. Stuart Kingan’s house in Avatiu.
The transmission was received from about 5.20 p.m., when a test pattern was picked up, to after 10 p.m.
The Cook Islands News says: “The early parts of the programme were well received, although there was rapid fading on both sound and pic ture, and quite frequently there was a double or triple image on the screen.
“Previous television reception in Rarotonga has been of stations in Hawaii, and has been via the iono sphere at periods of sunspot maximum. No proper pictures have previously been received, but regular sound reception was received in 1958.
“The reception from Pago Pago was apparently due to what is called ‘ducting’ of the signal in the lower atmosphere, a refraction of the signal that occurs quite frequently over the ocean during certain weather conditions, in particular during trade winds.’’
The Cook Islands News adds that for Rarotonga to receive television programmes normally from Pago Pago, there would have to be aerials 40 miles high at each end.