BEAM WIRELESS

Hokitika Guardian, 8 April 1927, Page 3

BEAM WIRELESS

A DISTINCT SUCCESS

[Australian & X.Z. Cable Association.]

(Received this day at 0.30 a.in.) LONDON, April 7

No fault could he found with tin* afternoon's first press trial of the General Post Office Beam, which worked splendidly and within a sale limit of one hundred words a minute. Tt was uncanny to watch the Wheatstone automatic transmitter nil one side ot the operator swallowing up yards of lace-like Morse tape while simultaneously on his left a printer was reeling off dots and dashes coming from Italian.

An amoved onlooker was Hon. Aincry, who led off with a message to Governor-General Stonehaven and Mr Bruce and then [pil'd Burnham (onversed with Fairfax on hehall ol tho Empire Press Assoeiaton and Sir J. Cook congratulated Allard and Fisk, and acknowledgments were ticked out with bewildering rapidity. It is not divulging a secret to state that Hon. Auiery showed the greatest thrill of interest when Mrs Bruce asked Airs Amery did she realise that they were the first women to greet each other on the world’s longest wireless link, Mr Amery said anything which accelerated Empire communications was all for good. He was given :*. souvenir of perforated tape with which the wives wirelessly performed the Dominions’ office’s social amenities. The Australian Press Association’s first greeting to its units in Australia was used as a test of speed ol transmission of acknowledgements, 1* rom the instant the end of The toll entered the Wheatstone, till the toll ol Melbourne's answering O.K. strongly resounded in the metal amplifier, was a shade under forty-five seconds. I lit journalists' greeting literally swamped her for more than an hour, in which only once or twice was there a suggestion of fading, but never enough to make the incoming tape unreadable. In fact the signals’the whole time were adjudged sufficiently strong to work the creed automatic printer, for direct delivery of address.

The technical heads of tin* Post Office afterwards faced a battery of press enquiries. They said there was nothing to stop the wireless circuit accurately transmitting a thousand words per minute. The only limit on speed was the mechanical capacity of the instruments and land lines. Perhaps new inventions in the near future would make the present apparatus seem very slow. If there were fading there would he sure to be thirteen hours standard transmission daily. The London business day did not overlap Australia’s and even with fading it was fairly certain a Londoner’s message would be waiting a Melbourne or Sydney man on his office desk before his arrival.

Sir J. Cook, interviewed, said: “ This day is of the greatest importance in the evolution of Australia’s progress, since it opens the door to an opportunity for providing increased facilities for the inter-change of knowledge and information of vital importance. Wireless has been years maturing, but it is here at last.” Sir J. Cook recalled wireless messages trom Mr Hughes (Prime .Minister) to himself as Minister of the Navy, dispatched from Marconi Station at Carnarvon on 22nd September. llllS, and received instantaneously at I'isk, Wahroonga. He added that it is right and just to remember Mr Hughes’ great pioneer work in the early stages of this wonderful development.

A CHEAT SUCCESS. (Received this day at 12.25 p.m.) LONDON. April 7

The first newspaper message of greetings sent by the beam wireless system went to Sydney E\cuing News.” This was transmitted immediately the official messages were disposed' of and a reply was returned from Australia in less than one minute. Australia seemed uncannily near in the vast Central London telegraph office to-day. When one's ears were attuned to the metallic click, Melbourne’s strong O,K. could he liepicj

almost simultaneously at the conclusion of the transmission. Hero is an incident demonstrating the almost personal touch: It was midnight in Melbourne and Sydney hence it was hardly expected that Lord Stonehaven would lie available to reply to Mr Amorv’s greetings. The morsing went on steadily until tbe official listening wrote: “Stonehaven now here waiting." T hereupon Mr Amery’s message was sent, and in an incredibly short, space tame the reply. REAM POSSIBILITIES. LOXDOX, April 7. Post Office engineers do not intend exploring the possibilities of telephony by the Australian beam, till the shorter Canadian beam is satisfactorily harnessed for the purpose towards which considerable progress is already made. Tests of the African and Indian beam nation will shortly begin. An ingenious plan has been devised to assist in mutual tuning of adjustment at both ends of tlie Australian beam. when fading or other difficulty arises. The operator here inserts a transmitter set to agreed signals on the morse tape, gummed to form, a circle, continuously feeding through the instrument which keeps sending out the same calls till Melbourne answers it is getting them clearly and the circuit is workable.