RADIO BEACON

Greymouth Evening Star, 23 July 1934, Page 3

RADIO BEACON

MARCONI’S EXPERIMENTS

[BY CABLE—PRESS ASSN. —COPYRIGHT.]

LONDON, July 21

The “News-Chronicle’s” Rome correspondent says: Marconi has successfully completed his preliminary experiments with a new “Radio Beacon.’’ This is an instrument designed to prevent sea collisions, and. enables vessels to be piloted through fog. The instrument transmits micro waves from the land to the ship, operating the lights and bells, and indicating the presence of other craft, 'also giving the exact distance between the two vessels. The’ instrument can also be applied to aircraft.

A BRITISH INVENTION.

LONDON, June 11

Developments which would give navigators clear visual warning in a fog of impending collision at sea are described in the latest report of the Radio Research Board. Improved methods of using what is known as the cathode ray oscillograph for direc-tion-finding purposes are outlined. A special experimental receiver for this purpose, in particularly neat form, has been designed and built at the Radio Research Station, Slough. It measures only 20Jim by lOJin. and weighs 301 b.

In the practical realisation of the scheme, which has not yet been tried al. sea, it would bo necessary that all ships iu a. fog area should emit every fifteen seccds, or at some similar interval, a, short GOft-metre signal, lasting -not-necessarily longer than onehundredth of a second. Such-a signal could be emitted automatically, and could, indeed, be super■mposed on any other traffic sent out from the same ship. A ship fitted with the receiver —located preferably in the chart room —could then receive such signals. During fog the receiver would be

switched on and a more or less continuous watch kept on its indications. Signals received would sudden nines to appear on the oscillograph screen giving, by their directions on the screen protractor, the relative hearings of all emitting ships within range. In these conditions, if it is seen that the one transmitting ship produces a line of constant direction and increasing length (assuming both ships to be on steady courses at constant speeds)., the two ships will collide unless course is changed to prevent it.