NEW ZEALAND WIRELESS INSTITUTE.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXVI, Issue 17935, 31 July 1920, Page 4

NEW ZEALAND WIRELESS INSTITUTE.

WANGANUI BRANCH. In a recent issue we mentinn.tA that with the idea of encouraging' work in wireless telegraphy in the Dominion, it is understood that le,’ gis'ation will be passed this session to permit the formation of a New Zealand Wireless Institute. This body will have branches in various centres, and it is desired that a licence be granted to each local branch to instal a wireless apparatus and train persons interested in its use. Incidentally we suggested that such an institute might well be established in connection with our Technical College. For the moment we had overlooked the fact that a numerically strong branch, independent of any scholastic institution, had already been formed here. So far thirty-nine members have be-i enrolled, and we have no doubt that as the educational value of the organisation becomes more widely | known and appreciated the member|ship will substantially increase YOUR WIRELESS. HOW IT IS DONE IN ENGLAND. By One Who Has Done It. It is by no means a difficult matter to set up a small wireless station at home, and it is not costly, either, but those wishing to send wir-I?ss messages to other amateurs, or wanting to “listen in" to the myriad messages which are passing in ail directions across the ether, have first of all to deal with the PostmasterGeneral. An application must be made to the Postmaster-General at the General Post Office. St. Martin’s-Ie Grand, E.C., 1, stating very clearly what kind of experiments you ar«A going to carry on. The recent typp<™ of receiving apparatus, which are many hundreds of times more sensitive than those used by amateurs before the war, actually radiate wireless energy, and will sometimes interfere with wireless stations proper, and in some such cases a license may not be granted. Certain types of receiving apparatus made by well-known makers of amateur wireless sets have been approved by the Postmaster-General, and those who apply for a licence, if they specify these apparatus, do not. as in other cases, have to furnish a diagram of their proposed plant. Amateur wireless workers may be divided roughly into three classes —the first comprises the hundreds of amateurs who are content to listen for the more powerful signals of such stations as the Eiffel Tower. Nauen, and so on. and who do not possess much real technical knowledge. An aerial wire, a crystal»deteetor. a tuning inductance (to get [into sympathy with the wave-length [of the signals), and a sensitive telephone receiver represent the whole apparatus, and may be pur- ■ chased for a few pounds- | The second type comprises those | who wish to make use of the modern 'valve detector, requiring, in addition jto the valve, a battery and tuning (condenser. An apparatus of this type, will be more ■expensive, hut ft will [provide much fascinating interest [and enable one to hear Poldihu. Cleethorpes, and the telephone [stations at Hounslow and Boulogne, i The third type of wireless amateur, providing he be fortunate enough to obtain the necessary cense, will want to transmith me sages also, and will require the ir duction coil that generates the sending current, a spark gap, and an inductance with which to control the length of his waves, and some knowledge of electricity and wireless work in particular will be necessary if he is to communicate successfully I with wireless friends five or ten [miles away.' ' Probably about twenty pounds | will to-day be necessary to provide a really efficient sending and receiving apparatus of this type, though [wonderfully good apparatus can be made at home at a fraction of the cost by those who are of a mechanical turn of mind and care to study the subject sufficiently. As ' wireless telephony becomes more general the earlier necessity of becoming familiar with the Morse code will gradually disappear, but I recommend to beginners the plan on which 1 started many years ago. of arranging with a wireless friend a few hundred yards away to make nightly communications. If one. of us did not quite understand the other it was a simple matter to run round and ask “What was that last message you sent?”