Cable Beats Radio With Fight News

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 418, 28 July 1928, Page 1

Cable Beats Radio With Fight News

DECISION IN A FLASH OPERATORS* GREAT FEAT A message flashed by an operator from the ringside of the Yankee Stadium, New York, gave Auckland practically instantaneous news of Tom Heeney. The performance is a record for the Pacific Cable Board, and the rrianager in Sydney has congratulated the officers who made it possible. The feat is remarkable in that it ! gives convincing proof of cable relia - bility over wireless for the rapid i transmission of news. There is still an element of chance with radio, but with the cable there is none. While people in Auckland yesterday were gathered round short-wave wireless sets in the hope of hearing the story of the fight, the cable office had received the result, and the Stars and Stripes, announcing Tunney’s win, was flying from The Sun watch tower. The “flash” message which announced Tunney’s win was sent from New York at 2.35 cable time, which was equivalent to 2.5 p.m. New Zealand time, and the message was received at 2.5. The time taken for actual transmission was so small as fo be incalculable. The message also reached Wellington at the same time as it was transmitted from Vancouver. OFFICIAL HITCH

Although this remarkable feat was accomplished in fact, there was some undisclosed official hitch that robs the officers responsible for the credit due to them. The message has been officially cancelled, and although the correct result was flashed in record time, the Pacific Cable Board at Auckland has no official proof now that the feat was accomplished, but nobody can deny that it was. The superintendent of the Cable Board in Auckland received the following message this morning from the manager of the board in Sydney; “The fight result was exceptionally’ well handled by all concerned, although, unfortunately, the actual message delivered had afterwards to be cancelled. The Sydney papers ar« complimentary over the minutetransmission, and beam wireless did not have all the limelight by any means. “The result was even better handled in New Zealand.” FAILURE OF RADIO Efforts in Auckland to receive news of the fight by means of short-wave wireless sets were not very successful, and one prominent radio man said that yesterday’s conditions were extremely bad for short-wave reception. Radio people are practically unan:mous in their condemnation of the action of IYA for not attempting to get the short-wave re-broadcast from Wellington. It is stated that the Auckland station’s own short-wave arrangement* failed, while the Wellington station was receiving satisfactorily on its own short-wave set.

“Instead of attempting to re-broad-cast from Wellington,” said a prominent dealer, “IYA footled away time on gramophone records, and interfered with the reception of other people. Tltestation did just what it had told rad *, owners not to do.”

The broadcasting arrangements of 2YA would have failed but for tharrangements of the P. and T. Depari - ment. Two stations, one on the hi!! above the capital, the other at Lowi Cay, relayed morse messages throug: they’ were hurriedly translated, tel* phoned through to the broadcasting station and put “on the air.” It v.extraordinarily’ quick work.