WIRELESS WONDERS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18295, 11 January 1923, Page 10

WIRELESS WONDERS.

CONCERTS : -FOR MOTORISTS. -•' APPARATUS ON CARS. .' ', A NOTABLE ADVANCE. •'■"''•' Why- dull on a long motor ride now,? .;sWireless- telephony- is-to-day able, to bring 'Entertainment inside the car to while «£way->the tedium of the hours, Says a Loudon paper. , Broadcasting JiaS received .--si/good, deal of attention of late, and this latest development of it certainly is not / the least., wonder-striking. There- is.no -at''this time to explain'-, ho** -a message .or concert is received 'by: wireless ielephoiiv in the quietude of a heme built en unshakable; foundations; ? the fixed aerial that; intercepts the- "waves being attached from an upper, window or chim-ney-stack'to a neighbouring true. ; It is quite another matter, to deliver "the message.or the , rimsic to travellers in a .motor-car dashing '. along at a fast pace along-town or country roads. ...„ The' Marconi Company took .Up the problem with /the/ co-operation of the Daimler Company,' Coventry. A great many new difftcnlties had to .met and overcome before -a satisfactory solution could -be found. That.-.success has been achieved was proved by a striking demonstration/carried out. recently. Two ears set. out' from .Marconi : House,, in 'the Strand, for Chelmsford, as. the light- was beginning: to fade, and >as each : :was fitted on the roof with .a contrivance in appearance not unlike-sr Catherine-wheel-In each' case", the . car's aerial— atiracted much ; curious , attention ._: when passius through 'the City and East London. '•'' Before city streets were left, Marconi House' was: speakings-arid . passengers in the cars, with telephones to the ears, were surprised to find that 'as' they journeyed along they coidd.hear, spoken word distinctly, even amid the bustle and Foar of. the busiest traffic the day. • '<, -• , .A . Curious ; Experience. ~...,... t A . more - envious experience .was that gained on the return journey. The cars left Chelmsford at a quarter to eight, and at eight o'clock the Mat com* experimental station at little, three -miles ... beyond that" towni began ..broadcasting the items of a. concert: .."Hullo, G.Q.,'' was the first intimation" audible in every ear C..Q. being the code for everybody listening in—greeting to'the unseen: passengers followed, the programme/was; announced, ■ and" the music - opened with a .piece . by 'cello and piano. As the cars moved along the quiet Essex roads at a "speed of'some 20 miles an hour, the vibrations of the "cello string, the treble of the piano, at times load, then falling in a . gentle, cadence, were heard as plainly as .;■' if in a quiet concert room. An orchestral piece for. more instruments came next, then the human ' voice in a solo. The cars had run 15 miles from Chelmsford ■ to ■■■ the Outskirts of East . London when the concert ceased, "having Tasted half an hour, and as 1 it closed down the tunes were 1 as clearly, beard as at the . first. Distance made, not the least difference. . It was eerie to listen as the vehicle bowled along, taking., bump 3 arid granite setts, asphalte_ and' good roads, in the stride." the', miisic all the time sounding so. lo.nd and cles.r that, .as a lively measure •was s,et; tip, .one's feet ■'involuntarily beat the jrltne. . /Vibration leaves no effect. Each passenger Had the telephone to the ears-/ closing.them against exterior sound, but- -the, fitting of a '"loud speaker" it will 'be possible for the amplified voice or fhtisic to/be -heard distinctly without such aids all -over the .car. " v Little Apparatus "Required. . . Little apparatus is employed: For the experimental purpose v-.a' .seat .was 'taken Out of the motor-car, tres3les rigged; up, and upon them was placed a Marconi sixvalve set, linked by wire with the aerial on , the : car .*roof;. The. separate telephone wires were, attached to a' block, linked in torn wtih the valve set. Apart from a tiny electric light illuminating each valve, and another-ferai-the magnifier, there was little to be" seen; and when the apparatus is adapted -to; the Daimler car commerci- . ally, the whole of it will -be stowed away oat- of sight beneath; the footboard of the car, and the seating twill not be interfered, with ; the -only visible sign of fitting for listening-in being: three small controls by the. seated -. The aerial will also be concealed in thef cafe 'Every car so provided in. the future will be able to give those who travel by it the concert,, or the latest news, or the/great speech of the night, or whatever else is :-; broadcasted, as they make the journey, home or into the country. ■'..'_. Soom for Improvement; ';• Various causes of interference- with the Round, already , been eliminated, hut "There is still scope for research with a view to improvements. A proof of how sensitive 'is:;; the, apparatus? is that- the sparking in magnetos of. passing cars is clearly audible in the telephone; in the - car carrying the apparatus that cause of disturbance is cut out by sheathing its :• magneto in copper. Oh quiet country roads better results are obtained than- in • the busy streets of towns but- nothing was more remarkable than the success with which , "listening-in" - could be enjoyed' even when moving in the busy traffic ' crossing before the: Mansion House and in the crowded Aldgate .High Street. The whole results are as astonishing 33 they are unexpected. , ; What possibilities may lie in this curious application of wireless telephony none ' can say. It is anticipated that the fitting up of. cars for the purpose will begin, in a few weeks.