Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1900-02-01
MARCONTS SYSTEM o. K.
Recent Tests Up to 80 Miles Prove En-
tirely Satisfactory.

The cruiser New York, flagship of
Rear Admiral Farquhar, and the bat
tleship Massachusetts returned tonight
to the anchorage off Thirty-ffth street,
North river, after being employed for
three days in evolutions for the pur-
pose of demonstrating the working of
the Marconi system Of wireless teleg-
raphy under various practical condi-
tons, says a New York dispatch. The
operations were under the direction Of
board of three naval officers appoint
ed for the purpose, namely, Lieutenant
Commander J. T. Newton. aboard the
New York; Lieutenant J. W. Blish,
with the instruments at Navesink, N
j., and Lieutenant F. K. Hill, aboard
the Massachusetts.
A practical use of the wireless tel
egraphy that pleased all on board the
New York occurred yesterday. While
the New York and Massachusetts, the
latter astern, were putting out to sea
in the forenoon, the Marconi operator
on the battleship called the flagship
up and clicked out that there was a
man overheard. The message was
taken to the officers, who were cluster
ed aft trying to make out why the
Massachusetts was heaving to. The
battleship's lifeboats were lowered
and were soon pulling a race for the
rescue of the unlucky jackie. Signals
were sent aloft notifying the flagship
what bod hut 70
minutes occupied in displaying the
message, Rear Admiral Farquhar had
been in constant communication with
the Massachusetts by wireless teleg-
raphy and had learned that the man
overheard had caught the life buoy
thrown by the sailor whose duty it was
to watch for such occurrences, and was
therefore not in much danger.
Rear Admiral Farquhar ordered the
Massachusetts to report when the man
had been picked up, and half an hour
later, while those on deck were watch
ing the return of the port lifeboat
through their glasses and wondering
which boat had succeeded in getting
him, the receiver in the instrument
room recorded that the starboard life
boat, which had been hidden from view
from the New York, had made the
rescue and been hoisted aboard
Beyong the simple test of the abil-
ity of the instruments to transmit and
receive messages the government
boards program called for long dis
lance transmission and interference
tests. On Monday afternoon the New
York lowered about the Sandy Hook
lightship and the Massachusetts
steamed off to the east at about twelve
knots Constant communication was
kept up between the two members Of
the government board on the two
ships, the instruments working with
out hitch until the battleship had
proceeded about thirty miles. Then
the recording OF Impulses from the
Massachusetts by the receiver aboard
the New York began to grow weaker
and at thirty-six miles became unread
able. Mr.. Marconi expressed his re-
greet at his inability to show the board
transmission at eighty miles which
would have been possible with more
preparations.
Speaking of the longest communica-
ton he has secured Mr.. Marconi said:
"One day we discovered that we were
getting signals from France, 100 miles
away We had been working on inter
mediate points, when we found that a
communication from Winner to the
next station was being recorded on our
instruments in England. We took the
matter up and worked the 100 miles
successfully"
Mr.. Marconi said that his system
would probably be established at Hav-
ana and Key West. For transmission
between these points. about 80 miles,
il would be necessary to have the YER
teal wires at each station reach about
$50 feet into the air.