New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-05-12
WIRELESS TELEGRAPHY.
EXPERIMENTS MADE BY THE UNITED
. STATES SIGNAL CORPS.
GENERAL GREELY THINKS THE ORDINARY
METHOD OF COMMUNICATION WILL
A

METHOD OF COMMUNICATION
NOT BE sUPPLANTED.
Washington, May r-General Greedy to-day made
the first authoritative statement as to the progress
making in the development Of wireless telegraphy
under the auspices OF the United States sshai
Corps. The important conclusion Is reached tnat
the wireless system Is not likely to supplant tne
ordinary method OF telegraphic communication Inc
results so far obtained have been uncertain. GEN.
erai Greely's statement is as follows:
Since the announcement OF the tests In space
telegraphy by signor Marcon two years ago. tne
subject has been under consideration by the Sgnai
Corps Of the Army and recently experiments
the value Of this means oee o for milf
tary and other governmental purposes special ap.
tests. which have already shown sufficient promise
to warrant further and systematic trials In view
experiments by other scientists in the United States
1t is deemed proper to put forth this statement OF
.S he eaperments thus far
forms OF transmtters for the generation OF the
has been realized from use Of large alternating
ordinary R"hmko orr coil empoyed BY Marcon This
coll is energizcd by a three quarter horsepower
potential, and this arrangement makes a very pow,
erful and efficient source OF Hertzan radiation.
sanay the srsRey oSs in
and the signals transmitted are recorded upon a
The transritter has been mounted upon the west
elevation OF the State. War and Navy Building,
wire Tor the transmitter The receiver r." was first
placed at the old Naval Observatory grounds about
three-quarters of mile distant and later moved
to the Signal Corps station at Fort Myer. Virginia
During the experiments constant communication
by heliograph and flag between the transmitting
and receiving stations has been kept up by the
has greatly facilitated the work OF experimenting
Slgnals. letters and words have been transmitted
ssa wed those stations but the great
present receiver have made the transmission OF
regular messages as yet unreliable and uncertain
and NJ
and metal, necessarily present in cities makes such
places undesirable for carrying on experiments OF
this character The distance over which signals
function Of the height OF the vertical wire used at
either end, and this has naturally suggested the
use or small gas balloons such as have already been
used for signal and other purposes by the Signal
Corps. supply Of these balloons has already been
obtained and will be used for this purpose in the
near future.
That there is field of usefulness for space teleg-
raphy is undoubted but that IT Will supplant 10 a
material extent the use OF wire for ordinary COM
connection between lighthouses and lightshps and
the shore at points where cables cannot now be
permanently maintained will be great. For signal
ling between ships at and to replace ordinary
flag methods In use between naval vessels n should
prove Invaluable since no kind OF weather neither
ioE oarkness nor storm. avails to affect Its use.
the radiation TO particular points has already met
with partial success and should be Thoroughly
hhvesugated Al present the radiation proceeds from
the transmtter In all directions and the same mes
sage can be received at any point within the proper
RADIUS at which receiver is placed. A satisfactory
directing reflector and receiver Of the proper cleo
trlcal capacity, or. In other words tuned to the
vibrations OF the particular transmitter would make
great ADVANCE in space telegraphy and do much
toward the extension OF its fod ~ ran,t.ai ,snSi
While secrecy OF transmission Is among the proba-
p!nties the present stage Of experiment does not
justify Its positive prediction.