EMPIRE WIRELESS

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 7336, 14 January 1911, Page 3

EMPIRE WIRELESS

THE MARCONI SYSTEM AND ITS WORLD-WIDE WIRELESS SEEVICES.

The Empire wireless chain seems to the on the eve of great development in [this part of the world. The linking up lof the Pacific Islands with New Zealand .and Australia as proposed in the scheme (outlined by tho Pacific Radio Company Iseems likely no w to be carried out very teoon through, tho co-operation of the several Governments interested in the welfare of tho Pacific. Tho New Zealand and Australian Governments are said to havo adopted tho reeommendaItions of tho Wireless Conference appoiiit(ed to consider the ■ proposal. The lmIperial Government has now the matter .under consideration and in view of tho pational importance of the projected Ifcervice for defence purposes, reliable inieans of wireless communication muse ere long be established throughout tho (Pacific. The scheme provides for high 'power installations at "Uoubtlet* Bay, Sydney, Eiji, and Ocean Island with isu-'aller stations at the New Hebrides .and. Solomons, ±,ater on stations will be installed at the Xongan ami (Joe* islands winch will enable t uo 'xamtian group oil ,n,iands to lnuc into the cnain. Xn view jut the extension of Ornish snipping in,terests ami development of tne Paeiiic Uslands it would be of the greatest im-i ■vantage to both passengers and ship owners if a. reliable wireless service was available to communicate with in case •ot accidents and breakdowns. Apart from its commercial advantages ,a wireless service in the Paeiiic presents features which siiould not bo ißiioied. Owing to New Zealand's isolated position, wireless communication lyoiihl be of tho greatest importance ,ior cietence, and the more means available lor coininumcamisr with the outsido world and its mercantile and naval shipping in the time of war, the greater would be the protection and ] security obtained. Under present circumstances a hostile fleet or privateers could liide among the islands and make raids on tho country, besides destroying the cables and attacking shipping, out with tho establishment of a complete wireless service between New Zealand, Aus-! tralia and tho Pacific Islands to com-; munieate also with shipping, this danger wzould be redvtced to a minimum, as it would then be impossible for tho whereabouts of an enemy to be long unreported and it would be impossible then to isolate New Zealand even though the cables were destroyed. In view of all that has been said and written about various wireless achievements in other parts of the world, .it may be of interest to know something J about the Marconi Company's wireless! system and operations. Tho Marconi wureless telegraph services have been

established throughout the Empire by British capital and enterprise and the system has been almost entirely developed in England since 18S6, when Marconi made his marvellous discovery for the transmission of intelligible signals by means of the Hertzian waves. The operations of the company for the development of -its system has had the cordial support and interest of the British ■ Admiralty, War Office, and Post Office 'officials in carrying out experiments, with the result that the Marconi wireless service is now , either' established or being established throughout the Empire, and the service is operated in all parts of the world by British subjects, over 1000 men being engaged in carrying on the . work, j The Marconi Company; has spent over ■£600,000 in developing the system and organising its world-wide wireless services. The use of the Marconi apparatus on the Atlantic passenger ships commenced early in 1900 and was adopted by the British Navy in 1903. Besides being installed on' the British warships, even to the tiny submarine, it is installed on nearly 500 of the principal mail and passenger steamers of the world, including the fleets of 33 British shipping companies. Fifty or more Austrian and German mail steamers including all their great Atlantic liners are equipped with Marconi installations. All the Italian, Dutch, American and French Atlantic liners are equipped. The system is also largely used by the Italian, Portuguese, Greek, Brazilian, Chilian and Argentine Governments. Out in tiiis part of the world all the Orient and P. and O. mail ships, the Union Castle Line of South Africa, the Aberdeen Holt and White Star Lines are now all equipped and the New Zealand ships of the White Star Company are to be fitted when the Government's land stations are erected. In Australia, the Adelaide S.S. Company, the Howard Smith, and Mcllwraith, McEachern Lines have decided to have their passenger sliips equipped and the new Australian war vessels also carry the Marconi installations'. Every additional ship installed increases the facilities- for intercommunication with shipping and when all the ships trading from New Zealand to England are equipped with the Marconi system, constant communication will be maintained during the voyage from England to New Zealand through either the land or ship stations en route. Land stations for communication with shipping are now being installed by the Marconi Company at Teneriffe, Las Palmas, Barcelona, the Cocos Islands, Hongkong and Singapore; also on the East Coast of Africa. The Home Government are also installing three Marconi stations on the Fiji Islands. The South African Government has adopted our system and we are installing a number of stations round the coast from Capetown to Durban. The . Canadian Government has 27 Marconi stations in operation and has also paid a subsidy of ,£16,000 towards the cost of establishing the Marconi high power station at Glace Bay, Canada, by means of which a commercial transatlantic service is maintained between Clifton' Island and Canada over a distance of 2100 miles, many thousands of words being transmitted each way daily. The experience gained by the Marconi Company in long' distance continuous wireless communication is unique. The type of apparatus, amount of power required, and modifications of standard | equipment necessary to establish reliable communication under all the varying conditions" met -with, cannot bo calculated and determined without elaborate experiments and wide experience in. such work. The Marconi transatlantic stations have each and have only been brought to the present state of efficiency after years of labour.

f ' It is unquestionably admitted by all nations that Marconi is the original inventor of wireless telegraphy and a select committee appointed by the Imperial Government to advise regarding the Berlin Convention of ISOG tstated in their report that: "They fullv recognise the valuable work which Ead been done bv the Marconi Company as pioneers of practical wireless telegraphy, and this work is fully recognised by the nation." In America, the Judge of the United States Court in his summing np of a I Marconi patent action against the De Forest Company, said, after reviewing the woi-k of scientists in America, England, Germany, Russia and France, that it -would seem therefore to be a sufficient answer to the attempts to belittle Marooni s great invention, that with the whole scientific world awakened by the discoveries of Hertz in 18S7 to the new and undeveloped possibilities of electric w;aves, nme_ years elapsed without a single practical or commercial result, and Marconi was the first to describe and the first to achieve the transmission | of definite intelligible signals by means of these Hertzian waves. Tim British Government has paid nearly .£IOO,OOO for use of the Marconi invention and is still paving sr>me thouE c'm s ? nnTla J'y for royalty. The Board pi Trade and IJoyds ore also paving for the use of the service. Some nineteen Tetters Patent have been graniod to the Marconi Company in X ow Zealand covering the whole history nf the inven-' tion of practical wireless telegraphy, and

no foreign wireless system can bo eetabllsheu hero or in other part" of the Empire, either for land or ship stations, without infringement of the Marconi patents. Outside the question of infringement there are certainly very great objections to tho adoption of a foreign system of wireless telegraphy, for coast or ship stations on British territory, in preference to that used by the Imperial Government for the naval and land stations; also for lighthouse and light ship services. In time of war it will bo a .very great advantage to have a universal system of wireless established througiiout tho Empire, especially in view of tho many hundreds of ships now installed with the all British or Marconi system.

In war time the country's wireless I communication will now bo one of the I main features of defence and it is esI BOntial that it should be under one con. I trol and capable of systematic- variations in tuning, arrangement, etc. Such a fact has been recognised by the British. Government in taking the coastal stations under -their control throughout tho "British islands. In the event of a country using its own system on its war and mercantile ships, but having (ho coast stations equipped with a foreign system, it is easily conceivable that the enemy would have a great advantage. Most systems are distinguished by tho note of their signals, therefore the enemy could mislead their opponents by using a note exactly like that of the coast station and transmitting false and-misleading messages. Another reason why the system used by the Navy, merchant marine and coast stations of the Empire should be identical is because variation of tuning for purposes of secrecy and selection would be necessary in war time. This could be directed from a certain source by pricode, but could noj- be effectively carried out except between stations using identical systems. Tho practical advantage of wireless telegraphy _can be appreciated from the fact that five millions in property and some thousands of lives were reported to be saved by its use in ISO 3. It might I>» mentioned that arrangements have ''opn-mtide to fit up the Antarctic ship Terra Nova with a powerful Marconi wireless station on her return to New Zealand, ; and it is anticipated Hint wireless com- j municaticm will be established on her j return to the Antarctic regions between Captain Scott's station and New Zea- j land. This should prove a very interest-1 ing experiment and will mat'ei-iallv in-J crease public interest in Captain Scott's

It is the intention of the Marconi Company, if sufficient encouragement is forthcoming i n »,,, to e=;<-.ib-Imh cnmpM-o worlcs for the manufacture of wireless equipment for land and shin sinrions. and also to open local schools for the training of engineers and operators for working their system.