WIRELESS IN TIMARU.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 12586, 17 October 1911, Page 7

WIRELESS IN TIMARU.

A FISHING BOAT EQUIPPED

Within the last year the adoption. of wireless telegraphy by the mercantile marine of Australasia has made rapid strides, and it is only a question of a year or two until practically every pas* senger steamer and a great many of the coastal traders will be fitted with wireless. But m one sense Timaru (says the Timaru Post) has advanced more rapidly than some other ports of the Dominion, for amongst its numerous fishing craft the port has one boat that is fitted with a wireless telegraph instrument, and the crew have sent messages when at the fishing grounds, 40 miles eastward of the port, that have been successfully received m the town. Mr A. Barclay, owner of the smart little fishing launch Dolphin, is one of a band of experimenters m Timaru, and he has equipped his boat with an apparatus that has, a range of 90 miles

In the cabin of the Dolphin at the head of one of the bunks is a little shelf on which are two four-volt accumulators, which supply the current for t.he m stallation. From these the current passes through a coil to the sending and receiving instrument at the other side, and from this tho electricity goes out to the wires at the mast-head at a strength of 2500 volts. The system used by Mr Barclay is the American l)e Forrest installation. Four wires are fitted to the mast-head, and run down to the bow of the boat, where they are fastened to a small standard upright on tho bow. The wires are kept at a distance of about three feet apart at the farthest, and there are the other two wires m between them. The greater part of the apparatus was constructed by Mr Barclay m his spare time, and has been installed m the boat during the last three months. Frequently when out at sea he has sent messages to the two or three stations erected m Timaru, and they have been taken here and"accurately read. No messages have been sent from the land to the boat, principally on account of the difficulty of arranging a time for the parties to be m attendance at each station.

Besides Mr Barclay there are a number of persons carrying on experiments m the science of wireless telegraphy m Timaru. Two or three stations -.have been erected, while there are numerous students of the theory. Messrs L Hitch, H. li. Courtis, and Mayo have hat} stations m working order, though some of them are dismantled at prosent. It is to these that Mr Barclay has been, sending his messages, and one evening Mr Mayo was able to hear the Ulimoroa speaking with Wellington Post Office station when 120 miles off Wellington Heads on her M r ay to Sydney Over such a distanco it would be impossible 1o send messages with an experimental apparatus, but on certaiii nights when the atmospheric conditions are specially favorable to the passage of the ether waves, !he range of even a very small apparatus is greatly increased.

All the Timaru experimenters use the American De Forrest system, which has four wires m the "aerials," but Mr Mayo has also done come work with the Marconi apparatus. -■- •

Some time ago there was a movement, m the direction of having some restrictions placed upon tho erection of wireless telegraph stations, as the Government were of opinion that experimenters would interfere with the post office stations and the warships communicating to one another. This movement seems to have ceased, and now the authorities look upon private stations m a more encouraging light than disfavor.