WIRELESS IN TARANAKI.

Taranaki Daily News, 30 June 1921, Page 6

WIRELESS IN TARANAKI.

ITS POSSIBILITIES OUTLINED. LINK WITH THE BACK BLOCKS. (From Our Own Correspondent.) Stratford, June 29. The radio science, which has generally been regarded by the Taranaki public as a wonder scheme of another realm, was brought into closer touch by the first general meeting of the Taranaki Wireless Institute Incorporated at the Stratford wireless clubroom on Tuesday night. It was stated at the meeting that the only reason why Taranaki from end to end could not be linked up by wireless telephony was that the Government would not issue the necessary permit to erect the plant, which, it was stated, could be installed at a very low £ost. Now that there is an outcry from the isolated portions of the province for telephonic communication., the time would seem particularly opportune either for the Government to seriously consider the erection of wireless plants or to issue permits to the Wireless Institute to carry out a scheme which they declare is not only a source of boundless interest and education, but a sound commercial proposition as well. In his opening address to the meeting last night, the president of the in- • stitute, Mr. F. E. Bridger, expressed the opinion that Stratford would eventually become the chief experimental and wireless instruction centre in the Dominion. It was situated well away from the highpowered Government stations, so that the risk of interference would be minimised. He said that the institute, was prepared, in the absence of a Government scheme, to bridge the gap in communication between Tahora and Stratford and that a complete transmitting and receiving plant could be installed at Tahora at a cost of from £25 to £3O. This plant would afford adequate telephonic communication with a station in Stratford, and the only thing that prevented its use was the absence of a Government permit. The Government was not asked to incur any expense, but only to issue a license. It behoved all baekblocks residents and isolated stations to support the institute, 'said the president, so that they could go to the Government as an influential body of sound finance and principles with a view to securing a license. The Government was building a technical school in Stratford at a cost in the vicinity of £20,000, and the institute proposed to allow the school the free use of its plant for instruction purposes if they were allowed to erect such plant. “I am pleased to inform you,” continued ’ the president, “that the Government has at last decided to issue to wireless experimenters a license, but they put forth conditions which, in the case of this institute, are absurd. For instance, they disallow transmitting apparatus and allow only 100 feet aerials for receiving apparatus. We are not at the present time allowed to erect even a small transmitting set and are therefore debarred from communicating with one another over even small distances, and. as we are over 200 miles awa v from the nearest wireless station, and on?.permitted to use 100 feet aerials 'on a

receiving set, this debars us from receiving any wireless signals except by the use of large and intricate amplifiers. Mr. C. Ward gave an interesting lecture to the meeting and practical demonstrations with a transmitting and receiving sei, explaining the Fleming valve, which, he said, had revolutionised

:he wireless science, inasmuch as it pro’

nd that a wireless message was not transmitted as was hitherto thought, by the vibrations of ether waves, but actually by a transmitting electric current. His weird but beautiful demonstrations cf brush radiation in a darkened room were received with lively interest by the enthusiasts present. The secretary (Mr. Burgess) read the rules of the association, which were confirmed by the meeting, and the institute, is now an incorporate body affiliated to the Wireless Institute of New Zealand. Mr. W. Milne presented two handsome ’silver cups for competition among the members, as an incentive to the advancement of technical knowledge. The General Post Office not;lied, in reference to an application by the institute for permission to erect an experimental station, that it was the intention of the authorities to grant provisional permits for receiving apparatus only pending the issue of formal licenses. Those permits will only be issued to persons or bodies whose objects or experience n the radio art justify , such action.