CHIMES ON CITY CLOCK TOWER

Southland Times, Issue 24873, 13 October 1942, Page 4

CHIMES ON CITY CLOCK TOWER

Electrical Amplification Chimes associated with the. electric clock on the tower on H. and J Smith's building in Esk street were brought into operation yesterday. The melodious tones of Westminster chimes had to compete with a strong wind, but it is expected that in calm weather they will have a considerable range over the city. The electrical apparatus to operate the chimes was constructed by Mr Arthur Jordan, and because of the difficulties of obtaining apparatus in wartime all the equipment other than valves, microphone and speakers had to be manufactured locally. The principles involved in the apparatus are similar to those which make it possible for the chimes of Big Ben, London, to be heard by radio in Invercargill. A chiming clock in the main office of the building, controlled by a master clock at the Town Hall is responsible for the sounding of the chimes from the tower. A special sensitive microprone of the vibrator type attached to the chiming clock picks up the sounds which are passed in the form of electrical impulses through a powerful electrical amplifier to five loudspeakers placed at the top of the clock tower. In the construction of the apparatus a number of difficulties had to be overcome to ensure pure reproduction of the chimes without the inclusion of other undesired sounds. This is the first occasion on which electrical amplification of clock chimes has been used on a large scale in Invercargill.