TELEGRAPHS AND TELEPHONES.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 28, 28 October 1907, Page 9

TELEGRAPHS AND TELEPHONES.

MR, LOGAN'S TRIP ABROAD. ; ; - . AN. IMPORTANT REPORT. A lengthy report from Mr. J. K. Logan, Superintendent of: Electric Lines, on his tour in Great Britain and other countries, was presented to Parliament on Friday. In Britain ho found that the telegraph authorities employed two types of printing instruments, tho Hughes' and the Baudot, with fair success on certain circuits, to tho Continent. Tho possibility of tho use in New Zealand of the Baudot instrument is a question that may be worthy of consideration later on. Tho Murray printing .instrument is in use between London and Edinburgh, but is still in the oxperimontal stage. , 'The department administration is rapidly placing all its important telegraph wires underground, GO or moro wires being mado up in ono cable. "Whore there are such numbers of wires required as in Britain tho.cost of placing the telegraph wires in cables un•derground will, it is expected, eventually probably not bo any greater than that of overhead wires, especially as the routes for polo lines; become congested. >: Pole lines that are abandoned .for telegraph purposes will still be used for long telephone trunk circuits. 'The rates for renting-telegraph wires ara £4 per mile per annum. Some customers pay as much as £4000 a year for private wires. In regard to wireless telegraphy, Miurhead s appliances are-used .by the army ; - for' comparatively short distances. The subject _jf wireless "telegraphy is still .a matter for inquiry.; .- ' .... .-.■.' ■'' /' , .. ".-::• \ '''':" -. BRITISH TELEPHONES. In regard to telephono exchanges; the British switchboards and general equipment represent tho highest development of telephone work known .-to the best telephone engineers. . American . practice has boon followed:. The central battery system and 'metallic circuits aro used. There is an enormous telephono business between large town's. As an instance, Manchester (has between 300 and,4oo. trunk telephone circuits: 35 of-these are to Liverpool and 10 more circuits were being authorised to meet tho demand from increased traffic. The speech ov.ir the'long trunk circuits, London to Edinburgh, 1 and Between Glasgow and Belfast, wa3 found tq'bo fairly good: in its volume, but diminishing sensibly, with the length of the line, and affe'eted very considerably whero cables wore in the circuit.-. There is ex-, cossive delay in getting trunk lino connections.' The call-box system is in vogue, arid ■is very useful. Tho cheapest call in London is 2d. The system might bo used in places in New Zealand with' advantage. Thero is an. experimental department in London. One practical outcome of tho experiments lea to" tho saving-in ono year to the National Telephone Company of £80,000, by-the adop.tion of a 91b. coppor conductor instead of a 161b, copper conductor. It was also determined that in-tho case of overhead telephone: wires very little increased efficiency was experienced by using a wire GOOlbs , . instead of one of 400lbs. to the mile: These experiments will .be of advantage to New Zealand. Notwithstanding the efforts to attain high efficiency, complaints continue to be made/about the telephone service, and the delays in getting the use of tho trunk wires. : : ; ON THE CONTINENT. -i-.:6n the Continent Mr.- Logan found telephone■: exchnnges' in a .transition stage./ A new 1 and. up-to-date at, Brussels is for the'accommodation ;of up to. 14,400 subscribers.. At: ; l3erliri there, was: an automatic'exchange arranged for 1000 subscribers but .-there, are- only- 60 actually connected with-it/ -Its working did not create a favourable impression. It,'would not be suitable for any of our Now Zealand offices. . In Switzerland lines are subject 'to;,inductive. disturbances : from- the high i voltage'' power lines.which are numerous. In Nov/ Zealand' it will bei necessary; k'eep.Mibo lines for long-. clistanco;.jworkiiig and the power lines ..remote from ; one another.

,i;,--..-:.: ,:;■■;•■ , "IN AMERICA. . ■;In America, there' has' beon immense development since tho Bell telephone monopoly expired. -In 1892 the number of telephones m the' Bell system was about 220,000, now; there are between'two and three millions, and the capital invested is about £70,000,000 sterling. The mileage of wire in 'January, 1905, ,was, .overhead, 4,671,038 miles; underground, 1,888,760 miles. Besides the Bell'system , there wore'4lo7. other systems, commercial and mutunl, ivith a capital investment of,about £40,000,000, and using 2,000,000 telephones in connection with 660 a exchanges. There is a great demand for telephones.'in America. Indeed, one building will now have as many telephones as, ten years' ago,' would be in use hi a considerable town.. . _ In telegraphs in America there is one important, departure by tho Western Union. Company,' the : largest telegraph organisation oft ho world, viz., the adoption of tin Barclay printing system. .. The results wore found to be excellent, and tho Company was introducing Barclay instruments as fast as they, could be produced.- Tho most sanguine expectations arc entertained of this invention, almost to the extent that it will .revolutionise, telegraphy. An ordinary typewriting.girl, not a telegraphist, can prepare tho tape: for transmission, and the receiving apparatus turns out each message at tho rate of 100: words a: mirfute. MR.' LOGAN'S RECOMMENDATIONS. Mr. Logan recommends (1) an. endoavour to get Mr. Barclay's apparatus and, if found lip to expectations, to extend tho use of it to our long lines, more especially our cables; (2) the use of typewriters for receiving messages. In regard to telephones ho makes the following recommendations: (1; That wherever pur number of lines exceeds 300 pairs, tho cables should' be placed underground. (2) That as tho present multiple switchboards at the four' principal cities become full, they be replaced by common bat-toi-y equipment,' steps being taken to have the new switchboards erected by the time thelold ones hr.vo no more room for further subscribers!, (3) That metallic circuits be gradually provided at all exchanges, the largest ones first.