USE OF WIRELESS

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 18, 22 January 1937, Page 15

USE OF WIRELESS

INSTRUCTIONS TO CARS

POWER BOARD EXPERIMENT

Acting on a report by the acting engineer (Mr. J. B. Grey), the Hutt Valley Electric Power Board, at its meeting yesterday afternoon, decided to experiment with wireless as a means of keeping in touch with the cars that are sent out when a power breakdown occurs. A transmitting set will be placed in the main depot and a receiving set will be installed in only one car for a start. It was explained that when a power breakdown occurred everyone started ringing up and it was impossible to get the use of the telephone system to ring up the boaid s employees. Also, a power breakdown was sometimes accompanied by a breakdown in the telephone system. Mr. Grey reported that during the last power breakdown the telephone connection with the western area broke down also and the only way he could get into touch was by sending a man out by car. Through the breakdown certain consumers in the Ohariu Valley were without power much longer than would hav'e been the case if the telephone system had been in order. Further, owing to the Tawa Flat ,elephone being a party line, it was very difficult to make contact, especially when it was most needed during breakdown periods. This also applied to the Hutt telephone system with the automatic. When the old manual system was operating it was possible to arrange with the operator during the breakdown period to keep consumers off the board's line, but this was impossible with the automatic system. Mr. Grey said he had applied for and received call signs and a licence and was constructing two experimental sets, one for the main depot, and. the other a mobile unit. He had obtained a wave-length.