# History of wireless telegraphy and broadcasting in Australia/Topical/Biographies/George Walter Exton
### George Walter Exton
#### Potted Biography

* Exton, George Walter - 1882(NSW)-1970(Qld) - Licences: 2CZ Lismore (1922-1930) - Qualifications: cc; Nil yet identified - early wireless experimenter (unlicensed); amateur operator; amateur broadcaster; broadcast proprietor and engineer (2XN Lismore) - Electoral Rolls: electrician (Lismore, NSW, 1930-1963); retired (Saddlers Crossing, Qld, 1969) - TroveTag: "2CZ - George Walter Exton"

#### Comprehensive Biography

A comprehensive biography of George Walter Exton has not yet been prepared for this Wikibook, however the following resources have been assembled in preparation:
* Research - George Walter Exton - Summary of research to date
* Transcriptions and Notes - George Walter Exton - More than 120 transcriptions (Reads like a biography)
* Photos, QSL cards and other graphics - George Walter Exton - Nothing uploaded as yet, but several QSL cards held
* Incubator of Wikipedia Article on George Walter Exton - Coming real soon now!

#### Key internet links:

Wonderful biography of Exton in mid-1922, which, if true would make Exton one of Australia's earliest wireless experimenters
   LISMORE EXPERIMENTER'S SUCCESS. CONCERTS FROM MELBOURNE AND SYDNEY. POWERFUL RADIO TELEGRAPH SET. PICTURES BY WIRELESS THE NEXT STEP.
   People in the Northern Rivers district have read of the wonderful achievements with wireless telephony in Europe, America, and in other parts of the world, and of Melbourne and Sydney wireless telephone installations talking to ships at sea and to Australian, but it is not generally known that Lismore has, in Mr. G. W. Exton, of Molesworth Street, an experimenter in wireless telegraphy and telephony who is quite as up-to-date as the most advanced experimenters in this country of the world. G. W. Exton has at his dynamo and magneto store, 202 Molesworth-street, a wireless set which is one of the best and most complete in the Commonwealth. He is an experimenter in wireless of long standing and fully qualified under the various licensing and certified authorities in connection with wireless. He is also a member of the Wireless Institute of Australia. Not only is Mr. Exton abreast of the times with the latest developments in the science. he is conducting experiments in a direction which, so far as can be learned from the text books and scientific journals, very little or nothing at all has been accomplished. He is investigating the possibility of adapting the cinema to wireless in order that pictures by wireless may become as usual a feature of everyday life as the ordinary picture show is today. In connection with this most interesting subject, his experiments so far have been eminently satisfactory, and it more than probable that at some time in the near future he will be able to announce results that will mark the commencement of (Start Photo Caption) SOME OF THE INSTRUMENTS OF MR. G. W. EXTON'S WIRELESS TELEPHONY AND TELEGRAPH INSTALLATION AT LISMORE. The instruments shown are (left to right):— 10 inch spark, at the back; in front of spark coil, tuning loose coupler; Marconi key, mercury break and motor; variable condenser, honeycomb coils; oil filled condensers; loud speaker; resistance rheostats; transformer condensers; radiotron valve set; Marconi detecting relay; balancing relay; Neon gas tubes; Brown's headphones; reflecting galvanometer, and at the back, direct reading cymometer. (End Photo Caption) a new era in the history of wireless and of the cinematograph. On entering Mr. Exton's modest establishment in Molesworth-street, there is, at first glance round, nothing which impresses one with the fact that the place is the workshop and laboratory of one of the foremost experimenters and exponents in the Commonwealth of the latest wonders in modes of communication. But side by side with the patients in his dynamo and magneto hospital are a number of contrivances not usually seen in such places, which give the impression that there is more than is to be found in the average electrician's workshop.
   HISTORY OF EXPERIMENTS. Before proceeding to describe his plant and demonstrate its possibilities, Mr. Exton gave a brief outline of the history of his work with his hobby. "In 1896," he said, "I conducted my first experiments with what was known as the induction system, now known as wireless. At that time I had a crystal detector and 'phones for the receiving set, and the transmitting set was the morse key and coil, with a carbon transmitter and the telephone set. With this apparatus it was possible to send a message five miles with the key and two miles by the telephone set. It was in 1900 that I added to my set a one inch spark coil, which so increased the transmitting power of my plant that it was able to send ten miles, and to receive on the crystal detector. I again changed my set to a Wimshurst machine, giving a 13 inch spark and ???? through condensers. This increased the sending radius to fifty miles. After this I exchanged the receiving set from a crystal detector to a coherer, as a detector. The coherer was made with a glass tube filled with iron and nickle filings.
   MEMBER OF INSTITUTE. At that time I joined the Electrical Engineering Institute, from which I hold nine passes. I continued my wireless studies through the institute. In these further studies, I now turned my attention to the old crystal detector, with the addition of a battery. This set would receive up to a distance of 500 miles. A loose coupler which I added to the set for tuning brought the receiving range up to 1000 miles. Later experiments I conducted with vacuum tubes of all types, with the result that signals could be heard from stations up to 1500 miles. Then attention was given to wireless in real ??st in 1919, and with the set I hold today I can receive up to 25,000 metres wavelength, which means that I can take messages sent out by stations in any part of the world. The present transmitting set consists of a 10 inch spark coil, giving 130,000 volts through a high-tension oil-filled condenser and a rotary spark gap, with an oscillation transformer for tuning-in any wave length from 200 metres to 3750 metres. The set is operated by the Marconi key, through a mercury break, driven by an electric motor; with current supplied from a Weymouth dynamo (100 volts, 20 amps.). The dynamo driven by a Crossley gas engine. I also work the arc for resistance for the wireless telephones, but for wireless concerts I use the arc or valves circuit.
   THE RECEIVING SET. The receiving set consists of the Fleming cymometer, which has a graduated scale over which moves a pointer. The instrument is calibrated by the manufacturer so as to indicate at a glance the frequency corresponding to any particular adjustment of the tubular condenser. It is designed for reading frequencies from 50,000 up to 5,000,000 oscillations per second. With this machine I use vacuum tubes of the spectrum type filled with neon. Neon is a rare gas contained in the atmosphere, about one eighty thousandth part by volume. In addition to these instrumcnts, I use with the receiving set Marconi's detecting relay and oil-filled variable condenser, Murdoch's loose coupler, oil and air filled condensers, and block condenser, an expanse condenser and transformers and Federal transformers, honeycomb coils from 100 to 1500 turns, Moorhead valves, radio frequency, radiation valves, detectors, Radiotron valves amplifying. These valves will oscillate 5,000,000 times per second, and are the very latest, having just come to hand through Australectic, Sydney. I also use a reflecting galvanometer, Brown 6000 ohms telephones, Telefunken 4000 ohms telephones and resistance regulators. The aerial is 154 yards, two wires 35 feet high. I use a 12 volt Edison battery, also a 140 volt plate. The receiving set also includes a direction finder, for determining the direction in which the waves are coming in. The circuit employed at present is the cascade amplification using radio and audio frequency. The rate at which the current travels is 186,000,000 miles per second. Mr. Exton mentioned that he now holds an experimenter's transmitting and receiving license.
   STATIONS COMMUNICATED WITH. As has been stated above, the plant is sufficiently high powered to communicate with any part of the world where there is a wireless station. An interesting feature of the advanced wireless student's hobby or science is that he is at all times in touch with the whole world. It is a fact that it is possible for this station in Lismore to be in touch any day of the week with the world's centres of the publication of news by wireless. All the principal stations have their fixed hours for sending out their daily budget. For instance, the Eiffel Tower station at Paris commences at 2.30 a.m. and continues until 5 a.m.; Lyons 1.30 a.m. until 3.30 a.m.; Nauen (Berlin) 11.30 p.m. to 9 a.m.; Carnarvon (Wales), 2.30 a.m. to 5 a.m.; Budapest 5 a.m. to 10 a.m.; Moscow 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. These hours are according to the Sydney time. Each station transmits in the language of its own country, and their messages can be received with perfect satisfaction in Lismore. However, under the strict rules and regulations which govern the license which Exton holds for the conduct of his investigations in the science of wireless he is bound not to disclose the nature of any message picked up. Very heavy penalties are imposed for a breach of these provisions of the license conditions, and it would be the end of his wireless studies for any one who committed a breach of them.
   STANDARD TIME SIGNALS. Another interesting feature of the regulation of the world's wireless systems is the determination of standard time for each hemisphere by wireless signals sent out by an appointed station in each. For the Northern hemisphere, Stavanger, in Norway, transmits the time signal, and Marion, Massachusetts, United States of America, performs the same function for the Western hemisphere. To the uninitiated it will doubtless be a matter of wonder how it is that with such a great number of land stations working, as well as ships at sea transmitting messages, that there is anything but an incoherent jumble of signals, wholly unintelligible. This is provided for by fixing for any station a given wave length. The wavelengths of every station are published and distributed to all operators, so that to get into communication with any particular station known to be transmitting, the operator tunes his receiving apparatus to the given wave length, and is ready to take what is being sent out. As an example of this it may be stated that Hong Kong comes in on 5000 metres wavelength, Bathurst (Sierra Leone) ???? metres, Demarara (British Guiana) ????, Rome 11,000, Eiffel Tower 10,000, Stavangar 12,000, Berlin 5500, Lyons l5,000, Cavite (Philippines) 12,000, Pearl Harbour (Hawaii) 11,000, San Francisco 8600, Boston 5000, Carnarvon 14,000, Clifden (Ireland) 6000, Nauen 12,600, Rabaul 2900, Singapore 3000, Mexico City 4000. The wave length is in no degree an indication of the power of the station or of the distance over which the messages are transmitted. It is an adjustment to facilitate clearness in hearing the signals throughout the world.
   START WITH TELEPHONY. As Mr. Exton was one of the earliest experimenters in Australia to turn his attention to wireless telegraphy, so he is one of the pioneers in the Commonwealth with wireless telephony. Of course his progress in this development of wireless was res??? easier by having such a complete and up to date installation for telegraphy, and the adaptation to the new science did not take so long as if a start had to be made at the very beginning. Last month Mr. Exton was entertained at the Observatory to to a concert transmitted by wireless from Mr. Maclurcan's, Strathfield, and a few days later Australectric, Sydney, transmitted a wireless concert at which he was entertained at Mr. Marsden's, Bellevue Hill. Concerts have also been transmitted from Melbourne which Mr. Exton has been able to receive on his set, at Lismore. For this he couples to the loud speaker. It may be mentioned that sound is transmitted in tone about as loud as that of a good gramophone.
   PICTURES BY WIRELESS. As to his experiments with wireless pictures, Mr. Exton at present prefers not to disclose the full nature of the results obtained. He declares that the success which had attended his work so far is very satisfactory. So rapid has been the advance of wireless that it is impossible nowadays to predict with any degree of certainty what the future will bring forth. But it may be said that the object of Mr. Exton's experiments is to perfect an apparatus whereby cinematagraph films of any great public event taking place in, say, Europe or America, ???? transmitted by wireless from a central station and received, and thrown on the set as they are received, in any part of the world. To give an instance of what may yet come to pass if this invention is perfected to such an extent as to make it commercially practicable, when Mr. Hughes opens the first session of the Federal Parliament at the Commonwealth capital, Canberra, the cameras will record this great event in the history of Australia. The films after development and printing will be shown in London, Edinburgh, Dublin, and every other place in the United Kingdom, and throughout the world, equipped with a picture receiver. There are great possibilities before the experimenter in this direction and everyone will wish him all success in his work.

## References

* ↑ "WIRELESS TELEPHONY.". Northern Star (New South Wales, Australia) 47: p. 6. 5 July 1922. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article93385464. Retrieved 12 February 2025.