THREE KINGS DANGER

Evening Post, Volume CVII, Issue 61, 15 March 1924, Page 9

THREE KINGS DANGER

RADIO DIRECTION-FINDER

EXPERIMENTS IN AUCKLAND,

Results of the recent direction-find-ing experiments carried out by the Government steamer Tutanekai at Cape Maria Van Diemen, the Minister of Marine (the Hon. G. J. Anderson) is reported to have stated to the "Auckland Star," support the results of the previous experiments •lit tho Three Kings, and prove -that ;is far as the Three Kiugs and .Cape Maria are concerned, the direction-finding instrument, in conjunction with a wireless telegraph fog signal, is one of the most valuable aids to navigation in fog. or weather of low visibility, that is in existence at the present time.

The results have also, he says, proved that, whereas with the ordinary typo of fog signal, tho mariner can never be sure, when Hearing a fog signal, whether he is going to hear it ten miles off, ono mile off, or not at all (owing to the capricious way in which soui.C? is conveyed through the atmosphere), he can always rely upon hearing the wireless fog signal, and in addition, can get a definite line on it at the first observation, and thereafter his approximate position by two or more bearings, and by the lead-. * The Minister gave a-number of instances in which direction-finding had recently been proved successful abroad. There was still, however, a prejudice among ship captains. "In order to, as far as possible, remove this prejudice, and, to some extent, educate some of those who have not had the advantage of actually experiencing the benefit of this modern aid," said the Minister, "I have decided to erect a temporary station on Tiri Tiri Island to work with the direction-finding instrument on the Tutanekni. This will be done on the occasion of the next trip of that vessel, to Auckland, some time in May,'when 'one day, or two if necessary, will be devoted to a demonstration, iit which representatives of the Chamber of Commerce, Merchant Service Guild, shipping rjompanies, the Press, and masters of. vesels in port will be able to take part." Continuing, the Minister said he had just received from the Marine Engineer a statement that the estimated cost of a station (including fog signal apparatus) on Three Kings would be about £40,000, while the annal maintenance would be over £2000 a year. If automatic lights, without fog signal, were installed the cost would bo about £23,000, and the annual maintenance about £410.