OVER THE AIR

Hokitika Guardian, 1 February 1930, Page 3

OVER THE AIR

WIRELESS TELEPHONE SERVICE.

AUSTiULUN SCHEME ' POSTPONED.

SYDNEY, January 23. There has been general disappointment a.f tfie announcement that the opening of the wireicss telephone service between Australia and Great

Britain has been postponed indeiin : itely, just when it seemed that all was ready to go ahead. 'The Australian postal authorities are not satisfied with the reception. At times it is good, but at others it fades seriously. Until a steady commercial service can be opened, the Government is not willing to offer it to the public arid ask their money for it at the rate of £9 for three minutes or part of three minutes. The proposal for a wireless telephone service between the mainland and Tasmania has also been postponed indefinitely. In fact, it may be abandoned in favour of a submarine cable. This depends on experiments with a now submarine cable now being laid between Ireland and Newfoundland at a cost of about £3,000,000. Tenders were called for the provision of a wirele-s telephone across Bass Strait, but it is understood that none of the tenders could , guarantee a 24-hours’ service. To keep up a commercial service might have necessitated the building of five, terminals on each side;, using five varying wave lengths. The experiments that were being conducted on the England-Australia service have been suspended as far as the Postmaster-General of Australia is Concerned. The chief difficulties were atmospherics, and lading. Reception was perfect about 2 a.m., Australian time, but that is not an hour, of great commercial activity. At the Lest.,, buJness hours the sound/' faded. This may, have been due tq various causes—changes in the, heavy side., layer, solar radiation, atmosphere, meteorological conditions, or something wliLh has not yet been, detected. At present reception often depends on the operator, who carefully listens to the- modulations of the voice reception end raises and lowers the amplification as he hears the Alteration- in -the. reception. But, in effect, the,human governor is,by no means perfect, because by the time the necessary ;modification has been made, by l the operator,;, the sound itself b,as passed into another'stage.. It is considerations such as these which deter the. Post Office- from promising ■ anything more than a fairly satisfactory service. It is strange that the service, between Batavia and Amsterdam is far better than between London and Sydney, although the distance is greater. However, in that- case- the wireless wave is confined to- a narrower band' than the -EnglandAustralian wave., which must pass through the tropics. ...

If it is impossible to provide a service ..between Australia’s mainland and Tasmania, how much more difficult will it ba to provide a radio telephone service with New Zealand. It would seem that Australians and New Zealanders have a'great deal to learn about wireless. Can it be that we are. so far behind European and American countries?