ACROSS ATLANTIC

Hokitika Guardian, 8 January 1931, Page 2

ACROSS ATLANTIC

EAST TELEPHONE VOICE,

STORY OF EXPERIMENTS

LONDON, November 7

It is 15 years since the first intelligible telephone message was transmitted aoros c the Atlantio hnom America to Europe. This achievement heralded the world telephone services that have become of vital importance to British commerce.

In was in June, 1915, that two American telephone engineers, Mr H. E. Shreeve and Mr A. M. Curtis, arrived in Paris with high hopes and boxes of experimental equipment, oo great was the interest of French authorities in the experiment that, in spite of military needs, the two young Americans were permitted to use the Eiffle Tower antennae in their attempt to capture the telephone messages which were to be sent from the- United States Wireless Station at Arlington. Virginia.

Mr Shreeve, who is now in London, has been relating these early experiences. First attempts were discouraging. Military requirements forbade the use of the equipment except for short intervals in the early morning hours, and there was much interference from atmospherics and from other stations. After a week, signals were heard which might have come from Arlington, but these were by no means clear. When listening was resumed late in September, the results were no better at first, hut by the middle of October recognisable words had been distinguished. Then, on October 23, just before 6 o’clock in the morning, a clear and nnmistakenWe greeting was heard. The first delight of the operators was soon confirmed by a cable message. Trans-Atlantic telephony had been proved possible. Much work remained to be done before the system could be put on a commercial basis, and even now experiments are still going on that may lead to fresh advances which in turn, in another 15 years, may become almost commonplaces.