YOUNG MARCONIS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 13583, 12 September 1908, Page 5

YOUNG MARCONIS.

THE DUNEDIN INVENTORS.

NOTEWORTHY ACHIEVEMENT.

WARSHIP MESSAGE PICKED UP

[BY TELEGRAPH.—OWN CORRESPONDENT.]

Dunedin, Friday. The achievement of the threo hoy inventors who were responsible for the first official message- in New Zealand per land "wireless," has caused great interest. In time to come it will be something to remember that the first working installation of the Maroon marvel was set up around Dunedin by three lads, who learnt the principles and the mechanical details from the few books that were accessible to them and personally made all the apparatus from odds and ends and such misfitting gear off unrelated systems as they could manage to lay hands upon.

i These lads are Rawson Stark, son of Mr. E. E. Stark, electrical engineer; Cyril i Brandon, employed by Messrs. Tnrnbull j and Jones, electrical engineers; and Stanj ley Hicks, son of Mr. G. H. Hicks, ship- ; ping reporter on the staff of, the Otago j Daily Times. Hicks is now 16 years old, i the other two each a year older. They be-j-gan experimenting about a couple of years ago, and gradually getting together materials for equipment, they have, by degrees built up three stations. Each lad has i one at his home, thus completing the circuit between Ravensbourne, Anderson's Bay, and Kow. Their parents have assisted as far a3 possible with advice, and a limited amount of cash, and a few friends interested in the scheme, and anxious to encourage the young experimenters to keep their thoughts on science in preference to ' sport, have also lent aid; but the actual work and most of the thinking have been done by the lads thmeselves.

At the demonstration given last night two of the boys went to their stations in Mr. Hicks' back yard, at Ravensbourne, half an hour Defore the arranged time for the demonstration, and began to search the air for contact. One of the lads put a pair of receivers to his ears, listened, and heard nothing; then he proceeded to put in and take out little pegs, and so shorten or lengthen a copper wire overhead, and this went on till he heard a faint clicking. Further adjustment of the pegs strengthened the signal, and then he knew that he was in touch with the instrument on which the third lad was. sending from Anderson's Bay.

Ones, a little while ago, this experimenting led to a peculiar result. Young Hicks got a message which he quickly discovered was not from his chum. He could not make it out, but got a few words here and there, and setting down the dots and dashes it is the Morse code which the "wireless" signals are read byhe thought that he had chanced to partially intercept a message from on* warship to another. Subsequently, inquiry revealed the astonishing fact that the Ravensbourne had picked up a message from H.M.S Pioneer, then in Foveaux Strait, meant for another warship in Lyttelton. Thus, by pure accident, the lads discovered that their system, constructed for a radius of a couple of miles, had a reach far beyond their hopes. It is now said that even with their imperfect appliances they could, .if so desired, talk to another person (if he had a receiver) 180 miles away. .■ i •*. ■■■■■* ■">■■" - - : "