Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-11-17
Now for the Dinners.
POCKET TELEGRAPHY.
Some Business and Domestic Compile
cations Hitherto Unforeseen.

From the London Telegraph.
If in the near future an electric bell con-
ceafed about the person of a man in the
street is heard to ring, and he draws from
his pocket a small case. listens to it. and
then hurries off. it must not hastily be
sumed that he is mad. The probability will
be that he has just received a message by
wireless telegraDhy
Such things are not yet, but that they
may he is not very wide an assumption
from d demonstration which took place yes
terday at the Crystal Palace. In wireless
telegraphy there are several Richmonds in
the field. Best known is of course, Marco
mis- system. But on Saturday Sir William
Preece described to the British Association
"a system which he claims to be both earlier
and simpler and which may be used for tcle-
phony as well telegraphy. Yesterday the
first item at the Cafe Chantant of the Crys-
tai Palace was an exhibition of Mr. Rosen-
berg's system. The chief point of difference
between this and Marconi's method is
in a slight but important alteration in the
construction of the coherer. which arrests,
as they travel through the air, the Hert
zian waves on which all wireless telegraphy
depends. Otherwise. the apparatus is much
the same and for long distances Mr.. Rosen-
berg depends vertical poles, Just
Marconi and Sir William Preece do. Mr..
Rosenberg uses an induction coil, supplied
with electricity from an accumulation; Il
Morse keyboard Is fitted to enable him to
make or break the current a will, and the
message Is sent as usual by means of an
oscillator. 1t is taken at the required spot
by an instrument containing the coherer, Il
small brass tube filled with nickel filings.
and a receiver. from which the message
may be printed on tape in the usual way.
This was demonstrated to the interested
audience at the Cafe Chantant to their COM
plete satisfaction. But with view to OBJ
tanning further information. the representa-
tives of the press present afterward accom-
panied Mr.. Rosenberg to the press room of
the Crystal Palace and discussed the mat
ter more at length. Mr.. Rosenberg's claim
is that he has provided practical system
which is clear of Marconis patents and
which can be much cheaper. With only the
apparatus used yesterday and with no
vertical poles, he maintains that he can
telegraph two miles: with poles he can
send messages forty miles. and is engaged
on an automatic repeating device which
shall enable them to be sent on indefinite
ly. But in the course of conversation he
mentioned interesting fact. When he
leaves his office to lunch in a restaurant.
couple of hundred yards off. he takes with
him little box containing the receiving
apparatus. This he sets the table be-
side him. and IL the bell rings he knows
that he Is wanted at the office, even though
his clerks might not be aware where he
was and he can receive a message from
them.
Whether this introduces a new boon or a
new terror to life cannot be hastily de-
cided. 1t is not too much to suppose that
before long the receiving apparatus might
be improved and reduced In size, so that a
man could easily carry it in his pocket ;
and the range of the message may be In
creased up to- say. half dozen miles. Then
the business man may carry his receiver
about with him and be in touch with his
office all day. This would probably be an
advantage; but, on the other hand, jeal-
Gus wife might insist on her husband carry
ing a receiver with him, so that she might
admonsh him from time to time, which
would have disadvantages. The irritated
husband would labor under a disability in
that he could not talk back" he could only
receive advice not return 1t, when the tink-
ling of the bell once more smote upon his
conscience. Again, the system would be
very useful for Issuing instructions to en-
ployes and others away from headquarters
but what il the messages became mixed?
a receiver" will not receive unless it is in
tone with the sending instrument: and there
is obviously great scope for variation in
this respect. But when few thousand of
those receivers were in it would be
strange II there were not many of the
Identical tone. A confirmed misogynist
might feel annoyed at receiving an imperi-
Gus command to come home at once baby
is ILL., II half a dozen busy merchants were
five of them would be displeased on hurry
ing to their offices. And II Angelina tele-
graphed to Edwin. meet me at Victoria by
the 3:40," and found half q dozen waiting
for her, the situation would probably re-
quire a good deal of explanation to the
right Edwin. Dramatists and noyelists
should keep an eye on wireless telegraphy;
but whether 1t will be q boon ana q bless
Ing to the public remains to be seen.