The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-04-02
nlso lp%teryenlnr betneen the tno poaitIons. At

thought desirable TO bring the height Of the
pole at Ballycastle to 100 feet. as the proximity
OF the lighthouse to the wire Mt Rathlin seemed
10 diminish the effectiveness oil that station.
Following this. in July We were requested
by a Dublin paper. the Daily Express. to re-
port from the high seas the results and incl
dents OF the KinRstown regatta. In order to
do this we erected a land station. by the kind
permission OF the harbormtster at KinRstown.
in his grounds. where n pole 10 feet high was
placed. A steamer. the Flying Huntress. was
chartered to follow the racing yachts. the In
struments being placed In the cabin. The
height OF the vertical wire attainable by the
mast was seventy-n feet. A telephone was
fixed from our land station at Kingstown to
the Express Office in Dublin. and az the mos
sages came from the shin they were telephoned
10 Dublin and published In succeeding editions
OF the evening parers.
The relative positions OF the various yachts
were thus wirelsssly signalled while the races
were In progress. sometimes over a distance
OF ten miles. and we're published long before
the yachts had returned to harbor. During the
several days the system was In use between
the tug aud the land station over 700 messages
, were sent and received. none requiring to be
repeated. On irving longer distances 1t was
iound that with a height OF eighty feet on the
shin and the same height as already stated on
ldDu, IL WAS pOSSlDlO W COllluuhiCuGO w y n
distance OF twenty five miles. and II is worthy
OF note in this case that the curvature OF the
| earth interviewed very considerably at such a
distance betwe en- the two positions.
Immediately after fnishing at KinRstown
I had tho honor OF being asked TO install wire
| less telegraph communication between the
royal yacht Osborne and Osborne House. Isle
Of Wight. in order that her Majesty might
communicate with II. Il. II. the Prince Of Wales.
from Osborne House to the royal yacht in
Cowes Bay and during the trips his ROYAL
Highness frequently took. On the royal yacht
Osborne the top OF our conductor was sus-
pended to the mainmast at q height u eighty
three feet from the deck. The royal yacht
was mooredin Cowes Bay at a distance Of a mile
and three-quarters from Osborne House. the
two positions not being In sight OF each other.
.he hills behind East Cowes intervening. Con-
slant and uninterrupted communication was
maintained during the sixteen days the sys-
! tenn was In use. no hitch whatever occurring.
Ono hundred and fifty messages were sent.
being chiefly private communication be-
tween the Queen and the Prince. Many OF
these messages contained over $50 words. and
the average speed OF transmission was about
fifteen words per minute. The following tele-
gram was sent during a cruise. and while the
royal Yacht was under way. as YOU will see
from the context:
10Th Auoust-From n. r. II. the Prince Of Wales to
Duke Of Connduoht:
W be very pleased to see You on board any time
this afternoon whom the Osborne returns.
This telegram was sent when the yacht
was OIL Bembridge. at a distance OF seven or
eight miles from Osborne. On Aug. IL the
Osborne steamed to the Needles. and COM
munication vas kept up with Osborne House
until ofr.Newton Bay. a distance Of seven miles.
tho two pouif,ppa haipu oonn letaIv acrsapad
from each other teven to the tops Of the mastsl
by the hills lying between. At the same posi-
ton We found II q1ite possible to speak with
our station at Alum Bay, although Headon
Hill. Golden Hill and over five miles Of land
lay directly between. The positions were
eight and a half miles apart. Headon Hill was
forty-fve feet higher than the top OF our con-
ductor at Alum Bay station and 3l4 feet higher
than tho vertical wire on the Osborne. An
other day the yacht went on a cruise round
BembridRe and Sandown. communication
being maintained with Osborne House. al
though moro than eight miles OF land lay be-
tween the two positions. The Prince OF Wales
and other members OF the royal family. es-
peclally the Duke OF York. made much use Of
the system and EXPRESSED themselves as high
ly satisfied with its practicabllity.
In December Of last year my company
thought it desirable to demonstrate that the
system was quite practical and available for
enabling telegraphic communication to be es-
tablished and maintained between lightshIps
and the shore. This, as you are probably
aware. 10 a matter OF much importance. as all
other systems tried so far have failed. and the
cables by which some three or four ships are
sometimes connected are exceedingly expep-
sive. and require special moorings and fittings.
which are troublesome to maintain and liable
to break in storms. The officials OF Trinity
House offered us the opportunity OF demon
strating to them the utility OF the system be-
tween tho South Foreland Lighthouse and one
Of the following light vessels. viz. the Gull. the
South Good win and tho East Goodwin. We
naturally chose the one furthest away-the
East Goodwin. which is Just twelve miles
from the South Foreland Lighthouse.
The apparatus was taken on board in an
open boat and rugged up in one afternoon
The installation started working from tho very
first without the slightest difficulty. Tho sys-
tenn has continued to work admirably through
all the storms. which during this year have
heen remarkable for their con tinuance and
severity. On ono occasion during a big gale
in January a very heavy sea struck the ship.
carrying PITT Of her bulwsrks away. The re-
port OF this mishap was promptly telegraphed
to the superintendent OF Trinity House. with
all details Of the damage sustained.
The height OF the wire on board the ship is
eighty feet. the mast being for sixty feet OF It's
length Of iron and the remainder Of wood. The
aerial wire is let Town among . great number
OF metal stays and chains. which do not ap-
pear to have any detrimental effect on the
strength OF the signals. Various members OF
the crew learned In two days how to send and
receive. and. In fact, how TO run the station.
and owing to the assistant on board not being
as good a sailor as the instruments have
proved TO be, nearly all the MESSAGES during
very bad weather are sent and received by these
men. who. previous 70 our visit to the ship.
had probably scarcely heard .: wireless telec-
raphy. and were certainly uracquainted with
even the rudi,nents OF electricity. The men
on board send messages almost daily on their
own private affairs: and this naturally :ends
to make their isolated life less i%rksome."
Since Mr.. Maroon read his paper there has
been a practical demonstration OF tho useful
ness OF his system In connection with the Lite
Saving Service on the English coast, A bark
entine went ashore on the treacherous