A WIRELESS WONDER

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 137, 5 March 1919, Page 5

A WIRELESS WONDER

RECENTLY REPORTED INVENTION

INTERESTING INTERVIEW

A recent New York cablegram stated that Dr. Ernest Alexanderson, an American inventor, liad perfected a t.evice for making possible a wireless telephone ■ conversation between New xork and New Zealand, and that the device assures perfect hearing at a distance oi 12,000 miles. Interviewed in Sydney regarding . this announcement, Mr. li. 1. Fisk, managing director of the Amalgamated Wireless (Australasia), Limited, made the following staetinents to .he wireless Press:— The report that Dr. Ernest Alexanderson, an American inventor, has perfected' a device for making possible wireless telephone conversation between New York and New Zealand is sufficiently vague to make one ask for more, said Mr. Fisk. Unfortunately, there is a wide difference between perfecting a device foi a given purpose and actually demonstrating that the device will do what is required, and, therefore, we may hope that a practical demonstration of Dr. Alexanderson's claims will.be given. Wireless telephone conversation across a distance of several thousand miles is not impossible. It has a ready . been practically demonstrated that wireless telegraph/ messages can be received from at least 12,0(10 miles distance, ihe only difference between .wireless telegraph} and wireless telephony is iii some of the appnratus employed.: Tho laws and conditions of Nature which are the first essential, are alike in both cases, and tha ether waves which carry the telegrnph signals will also wry the telephone speech. It is well known to aU experts that wireless speech could be transmitted from any wireless telegraph station but for the one difficulty oi controlling the heavy electrical currents with the microphone. In wireless telegraphy the heavy currents are controlled by a Morse key, which without difficulty, can be made sufficiently massive; but the microphone, which we use in. all our land telegraph system, is much more delioate, and that has been the great difficulty to be overcome in wireless telephony. During recent years several methods of overcoming that have been decised, and Signov Marconi has given some successful 'demonstrations of wireless telephony. The most remarkable demonstration, however, was made a few years ago with a large station in Washington, Ti.S.A.,. and on that occasion the speech from Washington was heard at the wireless stations in Paris and in Honolulu. That demonstration was a remarkable illustration of technical still in the arrangement and handling of complicated apparatus; but it has been admitted that, although the demonstration could be repeated, the methods employed would not be suitable for practical purposes. Great advances have been made possible in wireless.telephony by the recent developments of the Marconi Fleming valve. This is , one of the most wonderful instruments which has been developed for wireless communication. It is the same instrument which I made use of in September last, when tho first direct messnges from England to Australia were received <it my experimental station at AVahroongn. No description of Dr. Alexanderson s apparatus is given in the reports, but I have littlo doubt that -he is using Some type of Fleming valve, and probably working it in conjunction with Ins own high-frequency alternator. Dr. Alexanderson is well known as a prominent wireless investigator, and he is also a Fellow of the Institute of Radio Engineers.