The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1900-09-19

Mareoni is Peffecting the Mechanism.
for TeIegraphing From Europe
TO America Without Wires.

for TeIegraphing From Europe
to America Without Wires.
Marconi is spending much of his time
this sumner on the bat of beach lying to
the north of Poole Harbor-on the English
Channei-which he Gals his Laboratory .
1t is the s,rangest laboratory ever estao-s
lished by any scientist, and even those
VINO are familiar with the ordinary Iofm
Of wireless Geographic apparatus would
scarcely be able TO recognize the keno. Of
work he does in it For Mafccni has
changed the form of his experimental
work-cylindrica! tin cans make for nm
more convenient capacities and radiators
than vertical wireS-and tables covered
w4th tin cans, wires and micel.aneous
instruments are scattered about on the
beach whenever he is at work.
Some who have seen the apparatus with
which he is experimenting at present nave
taken DIT fo1 a set of tide measuring lnstI,l-.
ments; others have supposed MS devices
to bk arranged for taking the Temperature
| OF me sea water; it has even been sus-z
pected by the fishermen who have watched
him with wonder that his tin cans ana
tables and wires formed parts of some
new-fangled coast fishing machine.
Marccni chose the strip Of beach near
Poole Harbor because it is remote
Here he said one day, 81 can be aione
and do my work without fear OF inter
ruption, and what ! once do here on
small scale can do anywhere in larger
way.
THE FIRST MESSAGE.
It is now almost year since Professor
Fleming, of University College, London,
addressed the British Association for the
Advancement Of Science, on wireless tee
graphy, and. in sending greetings by the
Marconi system to the French Association
III rod tt,nt
of the messages exchanged were detected
fifty miles beyond their destination. Mes
sageS sent from Boulogne to Dover We're
read in the stations at Chelmsford, away
across the hills OF Kent and beyond the
smoke and fog Of London town. The
achievement was remarkable. even though
the public refused to be surprised. Pro-
baby nothing short OF wireless messages
halfway round the world would excite
unusual interest now, and Doubtless many
are wondering whether anything more Will
come of wireless biography than has
already been accomplished.
But Marconi has not been contented to
stop at the attainment of hundred miles
There We're and are still too many prob
lens unSolved for him TO rest from his
lators. To prevent the interrogation of dis
patches. and the tanning of the instru-
ments, to attain llnser distances. to mas
ter the secret of tuned ether waves, and
to apply the system Practically to ship
ring, 81 as TO increase the safety Of YES
seiS at sea-these are z few OF the things
he has set out to DO. Already the little
strip of coast necr Poole Harbor has Wit
messed some Of these solutions.
The writer had the pleasure of spending
several weeks recently with aIarccni at
the Poole station and of watching the
work from day TO day. Each morning
began with a wireless conversation with
the Isle of Wight station when orders We're
given to the man there To stand by iater
IN the day and meantime 10 look out for
any unusual ''ctheral' occurrences. The
English navy was experimenting with
wireless telegfapily at Portsmouth, forty
miles beyond. and the Isle of Wight install
iation kept up lively action While these
experiments We're going on.
DIFFICULTIES OVERCOME.
The most widespread cry against the
usefulness Of wireless biography has been
based on the fact that Interrogation of
dispatches was for long time possible.
1t may not have occurred to the objecSors
that the same fault may be found with
the wire system of biography. But by
means Of variable conductors and capaci-
tiles, Marconi has worked our system
by which only certain instruments can re-
ceiNr certain mes ages.
A hundred wireless instruments tapping
out a hundred different messages o. tc-a
cording a hundred different dispatches
from as many different places ranging IN
distance up toilet us say-I09 miles would
| be most marvellous. yet Marcon is now able
to do that and much more. He has taken
up the old problem Of tuning messages
and worked il out practically
Marconi sometimes works days without
apparent result, but he is never d.scour-
aged.
Il am about as well satisfied. said ne
one day. when I fail in an experiment
as when I succeed because if | try a
thing faithfully once and it does not work,
l can dismiss that possibility. After have
tried a great many things that fail | get
the things that succeeds, and don have
to repeat experiments in future trials
In the evening Marconi reviews the
work he has done during the day and plans
the experiments for the next. a days
work is a valuable thing 10 him, because
he has the feeling that tomorrow may
bring some great development.
No kind of weather hinders him. He
viii only stop work in the rain when II
is severe enough to short circuit MS
batteries or make a shock from the key
possible On stormy days when work out
side is impossible, indoor experiments are
carried on from one room to another. Inc
shirt Of the work is dominant, and II IS
always intelligent work
He routs us out at night sometimes,
said one of his assistants. Al Saisputy
~
because the nights were good and the
DAYS bad Persistence patience and
muck are embodied in Marconi.
HIS NEXT MOVE.
Al present Marconi is busy with plans
for the extension of his work along the
line of greater distance than before at
tempted, and with contracts for the use
of the system at sea, as Wen as OF !s Ia
where wire systems are not in use. One
Of his men is at Berkum, GERMANY, com
pleting the establishment Of me m
stallations for German steamship eohl-.
pany. and making stations at Asht-
house and lishtship there. Another ASST
ant is locating stations on six OF the Ha-
waiian Islands. and instruments Tor the
complete outfit are now on their way
there.
The use of the system in South Africa
has been chiefly confined to signaling be
tween the English ships along the coasts
and stations on land, though Lord Roberts
has made good use of it on land in some
Instances. During the recent fear OF
N I