SEA ALTERS WAVELENGTH

Radio Record, Volume I, Issue 10, 23 September 1927, Page 2

SEA ALTERS WAVELENGTH

Variations of the transmitter of star tion WCGU, at Sea Gate, U.S.A., are ‘due to the rise and fall of the tides, according to Richard W. Daniels, chief engineer of the station. Tests with a laboratory oscillator showed, he said, that during ebb tide the wavelength decreased to 210 and a_ fraction metfes and that midway between this and flood tide it decreased from two to four halfkilocycles, thus increasing the wavelength to 211.6 metres, which is more than the wavelength prescribed fer the station by the Federal Radio Commission, The aerials of WCGU are 75 feet from the breakers, This, combined with the fact that the sand, when wet, becomes an excellent conductor of high frequency, according to Mr. Daniels, adds capacity to aerial while reducing its effective height. Operators are obliged constantly to check the wavelength of the station because of this peculiar condition.