The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-08-01
TO TALK WITH THE SHIPS.
TESTS OF THE HIRELESS TELEGRAPH
IN NEW YORK HARBOR.

Experiments Under Direction of the Light.
house Board, with View ca Effect
ing Communication Between tho Light
houses, Lightships ana Merchantmen.
Experiments in wireless telegraphy were
begun last week at the United States Light
house Depot at ompklnsvlle. Staten Island.
the work being done by William II. Clarke. a
New York electrician. under the direction Of
Col. David p Heap. the engineer officer In
charge OF the Third Lighthouse district. SO
soon as tho electrician perfects some new
apparatus. the experiments will I've con-
tinued. and II they prove as successful
as he believes they will. 1t ia prob
able that wireless telegraphy will be adopt
ed for such use as it is now adapted to IN
sending messages between lighthouses light
ships and merchant vessels and lighthouse
stations. Mr.. Clarke is the inventor who had
charge OF the exhibit of wireless telegraphy at
the spring Electrical Show in Madison Square
Garden. He has been conducting experiments
In his laboratory and about New York Bay,
amplifving Marconi's work and he hopes great
ly to improve upon the results obtained by tho
Italian.
The Lighthouse Board has sought fo:a num-
her OF years to establish communication be-
tween sea and shore. All experiments thus
far have been futile. Several years ago Prof.
Blake submitted Il plan for sending messages
between the shore and moving ships by telc-
phone. A cable was laid off the shore from
Tompkinsviilc and lighthouse tender running
down the channel picked up the current "a it
passed over the exposed end Of the cable. BY this
system the officers at the depot succeeded in
ia king from the tender to the shore. One
great defect OF the system was that there was
no way VI ringing up." and even II this sys
tenn were adopted for lightshps somebody
\youl1 hnNa tn sit lny fInr ,luV th the -
ceiver TO the ear to wait for messages. The
Government officers did not consider the
Blake system Of utility. and the experiments
were discontinued
No system has been devised even Of sending
messages from an anchored lightship to the
shore. II some inventor could contrive a way
OF hitching submarine cable to n lightshp so
that the electrical connection would I've always
sure and SO that the shin might toss about
in u storm without damaging the cable
the Lighthouse Board would adopt his
invention. Experiments have been made
ty the board in this line. hut without success.
The officers at TOmp kinsy lie laid cable from
Sandy Hook to the SANDY, Hook lixhtshiip. and
connected il by Il swivel Joint to Il cable run
anchor, cables. M"chanlcaly ne swivel pan
was all right: the cable didn't TART in the
severest weather. But the electrical conn"c-
ton was uncertain and soon it was Impossible
to get current
of he "a flagstaff at the Tompkn~lie deInt.
aud established communication with a light
HOUSE t"nder in the bay No messages were
sent, hnt an electric bell on the tender
was rung from shore. The tender then
steamed down I" IOney Island, and an
attempt was made to ring the bell across the
Ave miles Of water. The he'll on "a" tender
rang, and Mr.. Clark" believed that tn" sending
Instrument at TompNinsvilL" rang IT, After
that Il transmitter was set up Oh board the tcu-
der and n he at Tomrkinsvilie was rung.
Tn" GOyrrnmrut officers saw tirat the bells
rang. but they did not take the experiments as
cone usNr.
What will he ATTEMPTED shortly will be the
sending NJ messages from TOmpskinville to
Coney Island. and il this experiment succeeds
experimruts will follow with the Scotland,
Sandy Hook and Fire Island lightsutps. aud
the Nayesink lights. Romer Shonl beacon and
other lights about this hnrhor Mr.. Clarke ex-
poets to SrLd messages across the forty miles
between the TomIRkinville station and the
Fire Island li2htship.
Cot Hsap saws hist wireless tel"graphy may
prove Of great srrvir" to- the lixhthOus" estuh-
l~hment. II would give a means OF cOmmuni-
, cation not only between The harhpr lights and
the station. hut between the lights and ships
entering or leaving the port In England aud
France very SAT- 'tactury progress has been
made in experiments with the Marconi sys-
TEN. communicating between ships and the
shore.