POLAR FLIGHT.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIV, Issue 205, 31 August 1933, Page 11

POLAR FLIGHT.

WIRELESS WONDERS. KEEPING IN TOUCH. THE ELLSWORTH EQUIPMENT. [While actually (lying across the Antarctic continent the Lincoln Ellsworth expedition expects never to be out of touch with the "New York Times" radio Installation. The plant that will make this possible is described below.] (By LINCOLN ELLSWORTH.) I have been informed by Mr. Meinlioltz, who has charge of radio communication for the "New York Times," that our radio equipment is, by all odds, the finest of its kind so far devised. We will have four transmitters and a like number of receivers. These transmitters and receivers will keep each unit of the expedition in touch with the ship or base station, and in turn the main transmitter at the Antarctic base will radio our daily activities direct to the "New York Times'" own radio station in the heart of Manhattan. For this excellent equipment we are indebted to many manufacturers and individuals who have donated their apparatus and energy to help make the expedition a great success.

Perhaps of greatest Interest to readers is the radio apparatus aboard the aeroplane. This transmitter is so constructed that it can transmit on any wave between 20 and 80 metres and also on the 600-metre intermediate ship waves. It was designed and built by Heintz and Kauffman, of San Francisco, the same firm that furnished similar apparatus for Admiral Richard Byrd, Wing-Commander Sir Kingsford Smith, Sir Hubert Wilkins, and many other aviators and explorers. The transmitter will be mounted in the rear of the fuselage and operated by remote control from the after cockpit. The power output will be 100 watte, double the power used by the radio on Admiral Byrd's 'plane the Floyd Bennett. The "New York Times" successfully exchanged messages direct with the Floyd Bennett when this 'plane was flying over the Antarctic continent. It is, therefore, entirely within the realms of possibilities that our own 'plane will be in continuous communication with the "New York Times" radio station while flying from the Bay of Whales to the Weddell Sea and return. If not, our base station will be certain to receive news concerning the progress of our flight as radioed by Balchen, and in turn will pass it on to the "New York Times" radio station for distribution to newspapers throughout the world. Prepared for Emergencies. The transmitter will receive its power from a generator coupled direct to the engine of the 'plane, thus keeping wind resistance to a minimum. The output of this generator will be 400 watts, and will have no moving electrical parts to get out of operation. The antennae for the 'plane will be of the trailing wire type. This is, by all means, the most efficient and most foolproof radiator.. The wind resistance on a trailing wire antennae is negligible, especially so when operating on short waves, as the wire is very small and only a few feet is exposed. The receiver for the 'plane is very modern in design, having a detector and one stage of audi amplification. Plugin coils are provided, and the receiver may run either from batteries or from the output of the engine generator. In addition to the above equipment, the 'plane will carry an emergency transmitter and receiver, which can be carried on the trail, should a mishap force us to trek back to the base. This apparatus is of very light construction. The transmitter has an output of 15 watts, and can be tuned t > any wave from 30 to 100 metres. Although the power }s small, we expect no difficulty in communicating with the base station should a mishap make the use of this apparatus necessary. The ship carrying us to the Antarctic will be equipped with both short and intermediate-wave transmitters. The intermediate wave transmitter will be used to communicate with nearby ships, and will be especially useful on our route from New Zealand to the Ross Sea, when it will be necessary to secure information as to the ice conditions from the whaling ships in the vicinity of the ce pack. Many Wave Lengths. A short-wave transmitter is provided for communication from the ship to far distant points, and it is this transmitter which may be moved to a base on the ice barrier if it is found iinpossble to anchor the ship safely within close reach of our Antarctic base. Upon it we must depend to inform the world of our Antarctic activities. During the flight to the Weddell Sea constant communication will be maintained with the 'plane, and in turn this transmitter must inform the outside world of the progress and result of our flight. This transmitter is of the conventional selfoscillator self-rectifier type, employing two General Electric 204 a tubes as oscillators, and was built by the expedition's own engineers. Simplicity was the keynote in its construction. Power is derived from a Kohler 2 k.w. gasoline engine and generator. Prestone will be used in the cooling system of Kohler to prevent the water from freezing. A National type 34W short-wave receiver employing five tubes will be used to receive signals from the 'plane and distant stations. The expedition has been licensed to work on a large number of wave-lengths, but the only ones capable of reaching the United States are approximately 18, 22, 27, 36 and 46 metres. Walter J. Lanz, an experienced rad-io engineer and operator, is in charge of the expedition's radio apparatus. Lanz recently accompanied Dr. Herbert A. Dickey in discovering the source of the Orinoco River in Venezuela. During the voyage upstream Lanz set up the radio apparatus whenever the expedition halted for a brief rest, and never failed to establish communication with distant stations. We have every confidence to believe that Lanz will achieve a like success in the Antarctic.