WIRELESS TELEPHONY.

Press, Volume LVI, Issue 16945, 21 September 1920, Page 5

WIRELESS TELEPHONY.

CONCERTS AT SEA

(FROM orp. OWN COERKSPONDENT.") LONDON. July 27

A concert by wireless over a space of 600 miles is the latest achievement of science. Tests carried out this past week prove that wireless telephony is veil past its experimental stage. First we haro the case of a "Daily Mail" reporter summoned to a duty call while rambling on Hampstead Heath. Again a reporter is told that he may go out into the country so long as he tabes a receiving sot with Jiim. The reporter carried what had the outward appearance of a small suit cas9 "containing the complete apparatus and a telephone receiver attached. This instrument is known as a Marconi sixvalve amplifying listening-in set. _ He entered a lirst-clas? railway carriage, and travelled a number of miles outside*; London. Suddenly the carriage became filled with, music, to the - inter.se surprise j of other passengers \M;o wore quietly i reading their evening papers. [ The "Daily Mail"' man thus tells his oto story:—'"Chelmsford had notified | me —at least it appeared so to me, though in ror.lity it wes the liner Vic.- j t-orian in mid-ocean that was being not:- j fied —that a musical selection was about | to begin. This was followed by that j j well-knov.T. jazz tunc which deals with i what certain people are going to do, or , not to do, 'down by the farm.' One of | the passengers, who peered over his newspaper and who explained afterwards that he thought I was travelling in a now kind of gramophone, at last I asked pointedly for an explanation. | This was after Chelmsford had put on •; an extra loud solo. Interest and amaze- j inont were at once aroused' wb;si H was j explained that the music was being j transmitted by wireless. Newspapers i were discarded, and the passengers were | invited to listen-in on the receiver, j though, the music*' could be heard in the ; carriage itself quite plainly. The music j eon sod. and then a loud and distinct j voice suddenly called my name. 'Before closing down." said the voice, '1 have n j message for you. on are wanted at. the 'Daily Mail' office at once. Havq enquired at your house, and they do not | know your whereabouts. On receipt of j this message please communicate as soon i as possible with the office.' " At the , next station the reporter —whose name was Pemberton— got out of the train j carrying his box of magic, and taws- j phoned through % to his news-editor. By means of a* new wireless telephone apparatus', passengers on board the "\ icitoriar:, currying the Press delegates to the Conference"in Canada, wcro ,able to talk with friends in this .country. Though instrumental or vocal music would have been more satisfactory for the purposes of transmission, there w(ert» difficulties in the way of arranging for this, and it was thought that a gramophone, if less harmonious, would prove even more convincing for the experiment. The wave lengths used at the Chelmsford and Poldhu •' Corn wall) transmitting stations were of 3501) metres which, by the aid of a projector on the receiving apparatus, inacta it possible for pa.ssengprg on the Victorian to hear the music even when seated 200 ft away from the telephone. By the use of headpieces, of course, individual passengers could obtain a much more distinct rendering of the solos and selections produced by th<? gramophone. The latest news is that telephone messages have been exchanged over a distance of 1250 miles. At the time_ the Victorian reported that she was giving a telephone concert for the passengers on hoard the Olympic, the lCaiserin and other ships in the vicinity; which was grcatlv enjoyed, thanks being returned bv wireless telephone from both liners. "During one series of communications with the Victorian a dramatic intervention took place. The whole atmosphere was charged with shrill pipings, spelling out in the Morse code the sailors' dread S.O.S. On th» moment the Government station at the Lizard sent out a command to all operators to coase talking in order that there should be no hindrance to the transmission of the distressed vessel's message. Then, just as a moment before there had been nothing but shrill piping from all quarters, there came a. .dead silence, through which there rose loud and clear the call of the distressed ship. She said she was the American vessel Coquitt, and wa,s in trouble off the Bishop Rock, Scilly Islands, and required immediate assistance. The Lizard tok the matter in hand in a motherly fashion, arranged for the needed aid to be sent, and, this settled, the wireless world started talking again as if nothing unusual had occurred.

On another evening a concert waspr civic) ed, for the Victorian, when Miss Dora Gibson, of Covent Garden and Chicago opera, pave a series of songs. A striking example of tlie uses which wireless may be put in the future is the fact that two editions of a littlp oecnn newspaper Called the "Nortli Atlantic Times," was pvodnccd on board the Victorian. An'nrt'icments nau been made for a summary of some of the special features in London morning papers to be sent by wireless to tlio vessel in time for it to appear in the mortiing edition of the marine journal. A correspondent on hoard reported that the experiment bad boon entirely successful, and was much appreciated bj the passengers. . Yesterdav the "Dnilv Mail" reeeived the following wireless from Sir Cnmnbell Kinart editor), ymo is travelling by the \Hctorian' Heard National Anthem playine nt Chelmstord by wireless teleplione lf)Q0 miles away. The placing needle on the gramophone in the Victorian was distinctly heard bv n-irelcss telephone m the Corsican, which arrived at Live'-pool yesterday and a conversation betwsnjn Lord Bnrnham and S»- Bertram Hayes. Commander of the Olymmc, was also listened to with much astonishment. Jsy menus of six telephones manv passengers he.ard the wireless concerts sent out from the \ ictorian.