Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1903-09-05
FIRST CABLE STATION.
First Wireless Signal Sent Across Allan
tic Received Near Where First
CablegTaa Was Sent.

Ii is curious coincidence that the
first signal sent from the old world to
the new by means of wireless biography
should have been received not far from
where the first Atlantic cable message
was also received. Signal Ill., which
marks the entrance To the harhor OF 81.
Johns. Newfoundland, was the site of
tho first AIarconi station in this coun-
try On the shore of Trinity bay on the
Northeastern coast Of the same island is
located little village hearing the at
tracJivc r@:ac of Hearts Content. In
ii reside Tess than Il thousand souiS. and
II differs little in appearance from otlEe.
Newfoundland settlements. with the ex-
ception that the houses are somewhat
more precautions and ii does not con-
tain aS many flakes for drying Goldfish.
This il because the town owes its exist
euce To the fact that il is one of the
terminal points for the cables which ex-
tend between the eastern and western
hemisphere. Hearts Conten: might
be called the birthplace of submarine
communication. for in one of its build
ingS was received the first message sent
under the Seas-in which Queen Nic-
toria congratulated the President of the
United States upon this connection be-
tween the nations. The cablegram CON
sisted of ninety words and required
sixty-seVcn minutes to transmit owing
Ia the crudity and the imperfectionS of
the apparatus. shortly after beng
in operation the cable failed en-
tir,ly as Il means Of connnuni
.;.tion Seven years later the Great
Eastern entered the harbor of Hearts
Content. and another cable was complies
ed. 10 he severed within Il year. Again
this famous steamship crossed the Atlan-
rio with Il third cable, and her crew
finally Spliced the one laid in 1860, 50
that the Newfoundland operators could
receive messages over two separate sys-
TENS. the newer one containing no less
than 1000 tons of wire and covering.
In the early days of the cable service
the receipt of messages depended largely
upon the operators eyeslght. as the
words were indicated by electric flashes
of different lengths. which appeared on
the surface of a small mirror. Then
came the invention of Lord IXelvin--the
siphon rccorder-which has been in serv-
ice nearly thirty years. transatng the
breaks in the electric current sent under
the sea into legiblc characters upon a
roll of paper with which il is connected
So many communications are going to
and fro between the two worlds that al
though other cables have been laid. Il
force of nearly thirty operators is re-
qurcd in this little town in the far north
They are divided into Il night and day
staff, and are in chage of a general SUI
perintcudeut- William Bellamy.
The cable office is the principal build
ing in Hearts Content-a plain two-story
structure of brick and stone. The prin-
cipal apartment is the operating room.
where are placed the Siphon recorders aud
other Instruments Considerable space
however, is required for the battery as
a large quantity of chemicals are re-
quired TO fill the several hundred cells
used. These are placed in racks in the
battery room, and the services OF on,
man are continually required to clean aud
replenish the jars. The cables are laid
10 the operating room through an nnder-
ground conduit which is walled with ma
sonry. The shore section and that which
extends into shallow water is consider
ably smaller than the dccp-sea cable. rs
1t requires less protection. The one
which was last laid consists of eighteen
strands, each strand composed of seven
iron wires forming metallic sheath for
the copper wires which convey the electric
current. The copper is embedded in
gutta pcrcha incased in hemp which is
saturated with a combination consisting
principally of becsWaX, parathne and oil;
this easing is surrounded by the iron
wire. which is also covered with water
proof compound. Several coatngs of the
hemp covering are wound about Tho
gutta percha, so that the copper wires of
the deep-Sea cable are really protected
10y five wrappings. The shore section
riffers from the dcep-Sea principally in
the absence of the wiring on the outside.
The services of repair ship are fire.
quently needed. as the terminals of the
cables are liable To be injured by the
masses of ice drifting down from the
Arctic regions throughout the summer.
as we'll as by other causes, and n repair
ship is stationed in Trinity bay ready for
immediate service. The Nina is n
schOoner-rigged steamship carrying three
masts. so that sail as well as steam can
be employed when under way. The sails,
however, are principally utilized in Lying
to" when the vessel is making repairs
where the water is too deep to permit
anchorage. She carries lengths OF extra
cable coiled in tanks specially built for
the purpose. and is provided with a set of
steam winches and drums for hoisting
and lowering. Her equipment also in
cludes modern graphing appliances. elec-
trlcal testing outfits, and in addition to
the regular crew she carries several eN-
pert electricians and cable repairers.-
Scientific American