22,000-MILE ECHO

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1012, 1 July 1930, Page 16

22,000-MILE ECHO

RADIO ANNOUNCER HEARS HIS VOICE TWICE RECORD WIRELESS FEAT A radio announcer in New York last night heard his own voice twice—first of all when he actually spoke and again, like an echo, after his words had travelled more than 22,000 miles around the earth. Aucklanders, listen-ing-in, had the opportunity of hearing his words when they had travelled a further 0,000 miles. The announcer was speaking from the short-wave station, W2XAD, at : Schenectady, New York, at 10.13 a.m. yesterday by American daylight-sav-ing time. This was 11.45 last night in | New Zealand. The transmission was picked up by station PCJJ in Holland, 3.000 miles away, and sent on to a broadcast station in Java, a distance of more than 10,000 miles. Station 2ME, Sydney, was next to pick up the words, sending them back to New’ York, 6,000 miles away. Radio waves travel at a speed of 186,000 miles a second, so that the announcer was able to hear the world-wide echo about one-eighth of a second after he spoke. This is claimed to be the first time a voice has been sent round the world and received again. Auckland heard the talk from all four countries—America. Holland. Java and Australia —all being fairly distinct. Conditions w*ere fairly favourable for reception.