Brilliant Record of Gisborne Amateur.

Radio Record, Volume I, Issue 4, 12 August 1927, Page 16

Brilliant Record of Gisborne Amateur.

Morse Contact with 53 Countries

Up in Gisborne, on the East Coast of the North Island of New Zealand, there is an amateur transmitting station, 2AC, which has made history in radio, not only in New Zealand, but in the world. Both in transmitting and receiving its owner and operator, Mr. Ivan H. O’Meara, has loomed large in the public eye from time to time. To the broadcast listener in particular, Mr. O’Meara’s name is familiar through his reception of news of great happenings in lands afar, which he has generously passed along to the Press. Only the other day he received a full report of the Dempsey-Sharkey fight in New York before the news filtered through by Press cables. .

Amateur radio station, 2AC, owned and operated by Mr. Ivan H, O'Meara, 209 Harris Street, Gisborne, has been on the air since 1928, and is known in amateur transmitting circles in every country of the world for its achievements. In all, Mr. O’Meara has been in communication, by morse, with 53 fountries, Mr. O’Meara first became interested in wireless in 1912, when crystals were in vogue, and when a perikon, or a good piece of galena, was considered the best detector in the world. Station 2AC first came into promitrence when it created a sensation by working Station CB-8, Mr. Charles Braggio, of Buenos Ayres, Argentina, on May 22, 1924. The distance spanned yas 6700 miles, and almost twice the record of any other amateur station. This feat was accomplished on a wavefength of 125 metres. It received the praise of all amateurs and radio en@ineers throughout the world. A RECORD REWARDED. The Radio Society of Christchurch, New Zealand, presented a large silver cup to Mr. O’Meara on this occasion in recognition of this great achievementthe first amateur trans-Pacific comtmunication. The society also made Mr. O’Meara a life member of that body. This record was not broken until six months afterwards, when Mr. F. Bell, 4AA, worked California on a wavefength of 120 metres, Three weeks following this Mr. O’Meara changed his

wave-length to 80 metres, and again broke the record by communicating with amateur station ISF, Mr. Johnson, Short Beach, Mass,, U.S.A., just north of New York, SPANS 9000 MILES. The distance spanned was 9000 miles This was the commencement of reliable radio communication on short waves, . Mr, F, Bell then worked Great Britain, using 60 metres wave-length, and this then became the record for 80 metres. On 40 metres new records were established, and soon broken, until -work was carried down to 20 metres, on which wave-length Mr. O’Meara has done a considerable amount of operating and experiment. His best performance on 20 metres was a nine hours’ continuous contact with amateur station 8JN, in Paris. This feat received the plaudits of General Ferrie, the great French scientist and experi-

fmenter. Communication was maintained with the Paris amateur from 6 a.m. till p.m. Paris time, and the signals from Mr. O’Meara were still good at 3 p.m. , A 17,000 MILES RECORD, Mr. O’Meara’s best long-distance record was made on 20 metres, when he worked station SALY, in U.S.A., the "long way" round the world, which is approximately 17,000 miles. It must be explained to the uninitiated that radio waves are stifled by sunlight, and when long distances have to be spanned radio waves always prefer to take the route of darkness. Thus it was that Mr. O’Meara’s communication, which was accomplished at 8 a.m., New Zealand time, travelled over. Australia, Africa, Europe, Great Britain and across the Atlantic Ocean. The best relay work performed by Mr. O’Meara was his receiving of a message from amateur station 8JN, Jin Paris, and its communication to

another amateur in Shanghai, An an-° swer was obtained by Mr. O'Meara, who relayed it back to Paris, the total : time occupying less than ten minutes. FIGHT NEWS FROM NEW YORK. | Last April 2, when the New Zealand boxer, ‘om Heeney, fought the Span-. iard,Uzcudon, at Madison Square Garden, New York, Mr. O’Meara arranged details with the officials of. the Radio Club of New York to obtain prompt news of the contest. The result of | the fight was published in a Gisborne paper five mitiutes after it was over. Probably it was published in Gisborne before it appeared in the New Vork papers. The fight was described blow for blow, and the details were keenly interesting to the boxing folk of New Zealand. This feat was described as unparalleled in the history of jour--ualisin. A similar achievement was recorded ‘in connection with the Dempsey-Shar-key fight last month, when tlie result ‘Was known in Gisborne as soon as it was declared by the referee, The "most exciting rounds were described blow for blow, and, thanks to Mr. ©’Meara’s wonderful little station, the description of each of these rounds was published in the Gisborne evening. paper. GREAT WORK ON 20 METRES. The most interesting work done by Mr. O'Meara is on 20 metres and even shorter waves. Both Canada and the United States are worked by him from noon otwards, with daylight all the way, on 20 metres. He has received recognition in matty countries for his pioneer work on sliort waves, His foreign correspondence would require the services of a private secretary if it were all to be answered,