WONDERS OF WIRELESS.

Taranaki Daily News, 1 October 1918, Page 8

WONDERS OF WIRELESS.

ENGLAND TO AUSTRALIA. The first wireless message to be transmitted nearly half-way round the world was, as a Press Association cablegram stated last week received in Australia from Mr W. M. Hughes, Prime Minister of Australia, and Sir Joseph Cook, Federal Minister for tlie Navy, appealing for reinforcements. Particulars of the epoch-making event lias been received by the New Zealand superintendent of Amalgamated Wireless (Australasia), Ltd., Mr J. L. Mulholland, of Wellington. The message was transmitted from the Marconi Trans-Atlantic station at Carnarvon, in Wales, and received at Wahrocnga, near Sydney, by means of what is known as the "103" receiver, with the use of aerials 70ft high and 100 ft long. Mr Mulholland explains that while this was the first official wireless message to Australia, that does not mean that it was the first message from England picked up in Australia. As a matter of fact, the whole world is open to direct messages—they could he picked up at the furtherest possible point on the earth's surface from the place of dispatch. Formerly distances were limited owing to lack of sufficiently sensitive receivers to pick up long-distance messages. but the "103" receiver had eliminated. distance troubles. For some time past direct English and American messages, as well as messages from the Herman station at Nauen, been nicked up at Wahroonga. Probably, added Sir Mulholland, such messages have been picked up at the New Zealand stations also. The old crystal receiver or detector has been superseded generally by the Marconi-Fleming valve receiv-er--now being manufactured in Sydney ■ instead of being imported from England, as was the case before the war—can do it is a simple matter for vessels fitted with them, when off the Australian coast to pick up messages sent from New Zealand stations in the daytime, and over a distance of between 5000 and 6000 miles at night. ... The action of wireless is instantaneous. Taking its speed at 180,000 miles a second, the message to Australia would take about one-tentli of a second.