The sun. [volume], April 28, 1912, FOURTH SECTION MAGAZINE, Page 5, Image 45

About The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916

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6
SCOPE OF WIRELESS TELEGRAPHY SPREADS FASTi
Titanic Disaster Calls Attention to the
Achievements of Recent Years and
Plans for the Future
England and United States to Have
Chains of Wireless Stations Half
Way Around the World
t
4 THE SUN, SUNDAY, APRIL 28, 1912.
YP.ARS ago n fanciful writer took
Ills renders on on expedition to
th north polo. Tlio explorer
had been preceded to tho
region of perpetual lee by a party that
hud perished there. Tho hero of tho
story learned this ono day when a torch
th he wan holding thawed part of a largo
service. Of thin project the Western
Union Company rays:
Tlio Western t'nlon company hi entered
Into a trnfllo arrangement with the Mar
coni company whcioby the Western t-'nlon
offices wlll receive and deliver marconl
Rrams to and Horn Kurope The nerce-
ment provide for tho extension of the
Marconi system from the Pacific Coast of
phnft of Ice mid them enmo from this Icy I he t nlted States to Hawaii, .China, Japan
nr-on th voices of tho men who had , and the Philippines, thus giving fhe Went-
, . , . . ern I nlon company wireless transpaclflo
To-day tho fancy of tho novelist ha
become n fact of science. Tho nlr l lilted
1th messages that :i-ny do neara ny any
service
This agreement virtually gives the
Western Union Company and its control
ling hotly, tho American Telephone and
Telegraph Company, a largo share of the
wireless business. Tho English Marconi
Company Is understood to be planning
i a long distance wireless apparatus for
nnd it is posiblo for each
This ... the itcccmt.ll.hn.ent of wireless. New York ; woul ,tl permit meage
of communication witlio.it ' "
the elee'rical -""ciicmii rtmiiirics.
inn Arlington station win nave mree
stool towers arranged in tho form of a
one who has the simple means that are
requisite Tli6 man who stands, it. tho
noisy crowd of tho city and th" lonely
ht herder on a fenceless Australian
. I.,t.... f til. til t
I,r .... . ,. 1 i 1 direct communication between Now York
m mi mini 1 ... . .
: and London,, ami It Is Bald that a station
The svstom
the ue of wires to carry the elec
Impulses hn grown so iiitlmatoly into the
world's business that it takes something
out of the ordinary to bring n realisation
of what i being done mid what the out
look is. Witeless was more than tt-n years
old when the ships Itepnblic and Florida
collided on January :"t, 11)00. and the
Jumping spark under the command of
the wireWs operator instantly made
known that disaster tt the wot Id. 'I he
Jlepublie, alone in the fog nnd dark,
might have gone to the bottom without
news of tho disaster hoing known for
days. It was two days after Iji Hoiir
BOftno sank before the story of the catas
trophe becamo known. Hut a wireless
operator, .lack Hinr.s. flashed the news
from the liep'iblie to land and drew out
of the dark half a doyen icscuing ships.
Tli story of Jack ISinns, the first wire
less heio of international fame, spread
abroad, nnd tho position of the new
method of communication was nisured.
Wirelees had lceii put to its first great
test and passed through it successfully.
Another wireW call flashed out in
the darkness two weeks ago sent a thrill
wound th world. This was the message
from the crippled, sinking Titanic It
saved the lives of more than "On human
lielngs. Harold .S. Bride. assistant Mar
coni operator aboard the Titanic, and
Harold T. Cottam. operator on tho l.'nr-pvthia-the
one who was instrumental
in sending tho message nnd the other
whose shin brought uid -have become
heroes. IWore the investigating com- j
mittee of the Senate the young operators I
have told their part in the res-cue of the I
passengers. i
Cottam on the C.irpnthia explained ,
that he was on duty Sunday nlclit nnd .
come off a couple of days later. ll sat j
at his post all Sunday night, all day Mon-1
day and Monday night and during the
iJay Tuesday. II" caught a few hour
of slep on Tuesday or Wednesday I
night. Young llridn gave his te.u i
mony sitting in an invalid s chair for one
of his feet hud Iwn fro 'en.
Their action unil-r the circiimstrjicos
was one of tin- things tli u Cardinal Farley
leforred to when he said tint one ,,f th"
lessons which can be drawn from the ,
disaster was tho assurance it gave Hint '
men could lie depended upon to play th-
t-irt of heroes, in any emergency.
triangle. The uerlal wires, are to bo strung
from the taller tower to tho other two.
on either side of it. The installation for
t ransmit ting wii oless nt this stat Ion will be
duplicated at tho others.
In picking out locations for these new
stations many points have had to he con
sidered. In most cases some sort of wire
less equipment Is already in ocration
-i : 1 V ' If V.s. a,'V
;
V
-s. t
:
Marconi station atsagapoaiack
eoutppeoroR trans-atlantic service
wave lengths that could be measured.
Dr. Hortz found that the presence of
these waves could bo detected across a
room by means of a loop of copper wire.
This was called tho Hert7. loop. Tho ends
of this loop of wire wore slightly parted
and it was found that the electric spark
on one side of the room caused a small
spark to pass between tho ends of tho
Hertz loop. Sir Oliver Lodge nnd William
Marconi used tho same spark gap and
connected one side of it to n copper plate
burled in tho earth and tho opposlto sido
to wires Btrung In the nlr. When the ap
paratus was constructed In this way the
electrio spark caused oscillations on tho
aerial wires nnd created n wnvo that could
bo dotected nt a considerable distance.
'T'l.f. m.wlArn irlmlnua altlllnn 1 1 "1 U nn.
pllances to regulate the length of tho waves
that carry tho messages. Tho usual
length of tho electromagnetic waves usicd
aboard ship varies between 1 ,000 nnd
1,800 feot. Tho variation In the wavo
lengths makes It possible for a wireless
roceivor to catch the messages from a
particular station and exclude others.
To prevent interference each ship in
stallation operates on u different wave
Icng'th nnd the receiving instruments
either on tho ships or tho land stations are
1 able to cut In or tune In on thoso various
Tho likelihood of amateurs sending
f ako messages which any one would credit
is remote. In the first place few of these
amateurs have sending seta, whloh are
expensive. Tho receiving sets do not
cost so much monoy and so messages
are moro often picked out of the air than
they aro sent into it by these free lances,
and it Is from this corps of youngsters
that wireless recruits its best operators.
CQDandSOS.
At thn Senate inquiry the operators
from the Carpathla and the Titanlo were
repeatedly asked what SOS and C Q D
meant. Tho effect of these messages
was very clear to tho operators, but they
'were not entirely sure what the letters
I themselves meant. Inquiries at the Mar
I conl offices brought the information that
' the letters have no significance In them
selves mid aro Blmply agreed code signs.
The call C Q I) is made by the Bymbols
for the letters. C is dash, dot, dash, dot;
Q Is dash, tlash, dot, dash; D is dash, dot,
dot. Tho written danger call of the deep
would look like this: . .; . ;
The SOS call Is made up of S: dot,
tlot, dot; O: dash, dash, dash; S: dot,
dot, dot nnd looks like this: . . .;
Tlio C ( I) sign is a Marconi symbol.
9 v
S ATLANTIC Iff
n2 O CBA --V AFRICA
UNITED
STATE
COMMERCIAL TELEGRAPH STATIONS CONSTRUCTED
BY MARCONI'S WIRELESS TELEGRAPH CO. LTi
AN0 IN OPERATION.
: j t,, W. U fwBM M li-'B:vi.- C ' - ? I
More Wireless Projects.
Th niovemont to increase tho scop"
of wireless service, which had already
commenced lefore th" Titanlo disaster,
lias received a new inixtu and the dawn
of the new era, which was pretlictcd long
at these stations and th advisability of
erecting the larger plants has depended
to a gtcat measure on the surer of those
nlre.nl v working 'I his U evidenced bv
th" Arlington station, which i acmi-s the ,
Potninr.e fifim Washington nnd near the '
military re-trvatioti nf Kurt Myer. j
I'rom Arlington the notth Atlnntlo
Ocean can be covered and the naval base (
nt (iuantr.namo. i 'uba. Is within it' radius,
aslsnlsoSanKranciweo. This.it is pointed
out, brings the Canal Zone into direct!
communication with Washington. Th" j
Vncific tiMsr v. ill bo dominated by the
station at S.in Krancisco
At the Hrooklyn navy yard the sailors 1
who are to take places in the wireless'
room of the battleships rctcite.i training
to ee
tMMEOIATELV CON
STRUCTED BY MARCONI S
WIRELESS TELEGRAPH CO. LTD. FORTH?
IMRERtAL TELEGRAPH SERVce
t'fnre tlie loss of tho Titanlo, has been
M'l rei lalily hastonnd, experts say.
I 'i l.ncl.tnd tho fioverntnerit has entered
i' ' a emu rnct which will result in a sys
"i i f r coma cting every part, of tho Hrit
trt I 'Mpire. Arrangcmei-i.s aro nlrcatly
hi pr.giiss and in dim course n system
started, it was said in Parliament,
!.' oNtend from Kngiaod to Cy
I n.. fr,.m t-yprUK to Aden, from Aden to
'' 1 'i Irum Ceylon to tlio Straits Kettle
""" from the Straits Settlements to
V -'rni Mi-tralia and from Western
V ''.ii.. i lo N'ew Zealand, forming a
i.' sit station ', tho Hritlsh doraiiiions
' ti 'e .t -it ide of the world. Ollloial
'! ( Hi. licit ions say that th" agree-
"eel .ii ludetl with tho llritisli (iovern
" l.e followed by others of a similar
ri w 'i h other coilntrieH.
re, ting part of the extension
't . m U an arrangement with the
npanv which will afford the
v'b'.cni liuun a transpacific wireless
in their work. For this brunch of tho
service a building 3"0 feet long, W) feet wide
and two f.tories high has been set apart.
The course in wireless proper takes i.even
weeks, Tin first week is given over to
the sttJ,y of I ho theory of wireless com
ir.tAiiuutioll .111(1 the i"Nt Week sees tho
pupil at a sending key studying and prau-ti-ing
the Continental code. Mi-smirch
nroM-nt byanaiitimttiutransmitter,
During the nivcn weeks of the wireless i
training the pupil r 'Ives instruction !
in making diagrams of transmitting sets'
mid aerials and tries his hand ut repairing t
mid overliuilliiig the various sets in use.'
At the inl of liio seventh week if ho is
able lo send and receive fifteen words a
minute he Is stationed at a receiving booth,
where lie can have actual experience.
Two seeks aro allowed for review befoio
the dual examination
Hel'oie net. Ml wirnlrw. work Is taken
up hv tlio students each one goes through
a short courtio in the ground work of elso-
trlcal equipment. He starts at tho black
smith shop, whero ho learns to build a
flro properly. Then he is taught forging,
welding and tempering Iron and steel,
and Instructed in tho use of soldering
irons. In the machine shop ho practlsos
on tho lithe, bhaper, drill prens, milling
machine, emery whool ami Ix-nch.
Kngine work follows, for tho naval
electrician is u.x-L-lcd to Ixi competent
to repair any part of tho shlp'a electrical
equipment. Simple, compound, turbine,
oil mid g..soi'iio engines aro taken apart
and assembled, lined up and repaired,
Valves, condensers, nir mid circulating
pumps nro mastered. There is also
Hint) weeks Instruction in the work of
interior communication and lighting of a
ship which teach'-s tho student limv to
Install and insect tlio entire electrical
equipment of n battleship, Tho authori
ties of tho nnvy yard lollevo that tho
student is not ready to take up the actual
study of wirvlcaa communication until
he has first mastered tho details of tho
machinery that mnUrs tho electrical spark 1
possible.
While ovorybodv knows tint wireless i
messages aro is-ing sent, it is not generally
understood how this is tlono.
How Wireless Works.
"To strip wireless of its technicalities
and boil it down to tho primal constituents
is not hard," said an oxrt who has matlo
a study of tho theory and knows the prac
tice. "It is simply tninsfnrenco through
spaco of waves of elei.-lromagiiotio energy.
"When a wireless operator pit-sses a
key. a Hrwirk Jumps between two nieces
of metal. Thoso two pieces of molal are'
connected with long wires, railed antenna-, 1
that nro strung on poles railed aerials,
Tho energy from Ihl spark is spreid on
thcuo wires ti rid din need in waves,
"Theso waves havo deliiiite length,
which can 1st determined partly through
the power of tho sending station. The
station that is receiving theso Is nblo to
put itself in timo to rcccivo wavo lengths
of tho nature sent out by the bending
hlalioti and exclude othors."
Wireless relies on elect romagnotlc
waves as tho source or itH communica
tion, These waves aro sometimes called
Hertzian waves and were made tiso of
for the first time in tssn bv Prof. Amos
Dolliear of Tufts College, Ho applied for
a patent on o wireless system that had
every essential of tho plan followed to
day. He got his pat nut In I8S0, which wnB
two years before Dr. Hertz's discoveries.
What tin-so Investigators found was
that when an electrio spark jumped be
tween two poles there were started, In
what tho scientists call the ether, magnetic
force lines. Theso forco lines detached
themselves and travelled on through
space at. a trrmoiiduoiiR rate of speed.
Tills speed has been reckonod at lKH.QOO
miles a second. It was also learned that
these force Hues went through space in
lengths, Tho tuner enables nn operator
to change tho wavo lengths on tho receiv
ing wires, nnd so get in touch with the
office that is calling.
Wireless Man's Touch.
There is moro secrecy invirelcss teleg
raphy thnn in ordinary telegraphy, as
n writer in IVrWrss .Vnra explains. Tho
click of a telegraph sounder is familiar
to all. Any operator ran stand several
feet distant from one of these sounders
and read all that is being said,
It is not so in wireless telegraphy.
The signals aro for tho operator's car
only, nnd usually these signals cannot
be heard six inches away from the head
telephones. Therefore the secrecy of
tho wireless message rests entirely with
tho operator. In wire telegraphy com
munications which are intended to bo
private are sent in code, and tho same
is done in wireless telegraphy.
It is always Interesting to "listen in"
nt a wireless station, and tho reader may
now imagine himself sitting hc-ddo the
wiroless operator in n station in tho vicin
ity of New York city, Hy means of
switches nnd sliding contacts lm throws
his receiver on to n ship's wave length.
Presently ho hears n buzz and from
far off at sea comes tho roort, carried
by these Invisible waves, us follows:
"8 P. M. Uvr. I.nn So, Hook," which,
being trnntlntrti, means that at 8 P. M.
the steamship Vasari is I.oni miles south
of Sandy Hook. Tho operator immediately
O. K s this report, entering it on his log.
Another buzz starts: A ship many
miles off the roast of Florida, calls the
operator, saying he has several messjuv s
which ho then .tier patches to a land sta
tion in tho order in which they were filed.
Such communication is kept up con
stantly, anil by manipulation of tho tuner
the operator may keep in communication
with nil point within ft 1, miles.
"Thero is just ns much individuality
about wireless sending as there Is in
telegraphio communication," explained
J, Andrew White, assistant editor of
lVircr AVu-s. "It is well known that
un expert telegrapher run pick out tlio
messages of his friends merely by their
wuy of sending them, and the sa.no thing
is true of wireless,
"Kach stutlon and each operator con
usually be detected. Tho wireless speaks
with a different voico for every competent
oK-rutor. Sometimes tho listener at the
phone hears the message come, 'Zang,
zang-7ang,' and the next man's message
would be just whispered 'tslsl.tslsl.tsM,'
and un operator will begin his mcssugo
by the sigunl for his office.
"Hut even if that signal was not given
the experienct-d nv-n in the stations who
have gossiped and talked with each other
through the air in dull times would recog
nize their friends' lists. Such an operator
would look up nnd say 'There is Carter
on the wire' from recognizing tho man's
way of sending.
C Q is nn agreed call for the attention
of nil stations Frequently messages
of imwirtanco aro prefaced by these
letters. D means danger. It was furthrf
stated that SOS was adopted by the
Itcrlin convention in 1C02. Every wire-.,
less operator underbtands theso calls, (1
In some of tho foreign ships, where t
thn operators do not speak English, it"
is rustom.i-y to write the symlx)ls of the ,.
menage and have them translated.
Authorities do not agree w to the de
gree of interference that tho amateur ,
wireless man mav cause. It was said ,
I at tho .Marconi offices that their high
powered at ut lens could qtllcKiy tune out
un un-.iteur; 1 hut the station nt Sea Gats ,
is very little bothered by them, but they
undeistood that the constant chatter of
youthful wireless men is a great nuisance
at the Hrooklyn navy yard.
Navy men have said that some meas
ures must lie taken to keep amateurs
from mixing up their trivialities with ,
the Oovernmcnt's service It has also
been hinted that some of tho false mes
sages rerelved prior to the docking of
tho Carpathla were tho work of amateurs,
Somo believo that tho nmateur should
bo legislated out of existence. Other
men think that amateurs should be
limited to a machine throwing a short
wave length. Another opinion is that
ever) nmateur station should bo licensed.
and that if a fee in to be required it should
i be graduated by the power of the stations,
There nro mid to be 4,000 Government
I win-less operators, .1,000 commercial
I operators and TJ.noo wireless amateurs
Un this country. Tho capital invested
in tho provisional enterprise can only
be estimated and figures run from fifty
to ono hundred millions. How much
ambitious youngsters havo put into
their wireless stations ono can only guess.
New York city bristles with amateur
wireless aerials. Toko a ridn on ths
Sixth avenue elevated railroad some day
and notice the number thnt you can see
j in Ilnrlein. There nro juBt as many iu
tho other parts of Manhattan.
I It does not cost very much for a boy or
I set of youngsters to tit up a wireless re-t.--ivliig
station. The sending end of it.
costs moro. Hoys talk to oach other
from thosi. stations, A couple of years
I ago W, K. D. Stokes, Jr., sat in his wireless
' room on the sixteenth floor of tho Hotel
(Ansoui.i and explained how his high
powered station worked. Ho was called
! the president of tho Junior Wireless Club,
, limited, nnd was then quoted as saying
that them were 411.000 wireless operators
In tho country then. If ho was right,
the number doubled within two years.
Some scientists, nnd among them Nlrola
Tesla, believe that tho future of wireless
communication und the hope of the com
mercial success of wireless power trans
mission hangs on these boys. From thorn
will come tho operators of another genera
tion who will push wireless to still greater
I achievements.