Waterbury evening Democrat., 1906-06-14
SUBMARINE BELL TEST
Warnings In Fog and Storm
 Sent From Ocean Depths.
SIGNALS WERE HEARD MILES AWAY

Through the TelephOne's Receiver the Throb of an Unseen steamship's Screw Could Be Detected-Device That Enables Liners to Locate
 Ltshtships at Distance.
 To put the receiver of telephone to your ear and hear the sonorous note of a warning bell come out of the sea; by the same means to hear the throb of q steamships screw when the steamship cannot be seen and by these sounds to drive vessel through fog or darkness, avoiding collisions and reefs, acknowl- edging signals and making port as a skipper would in broad daylight, saw ors of the opening chapter of novel by Jules Verne. Nevertheless these things can now be done, and they are made possible by the submarine tele- phone.
 The signal is the invention of Pro- lessor Elisha Gray of Chicago and Ar thur J. Mundy. It is controlled by the Submarine Signal company. Through the courtesy of the latter representa- tive of the New York Times witnessed demonstration of submarine signal ing on recent afternoon at Sandy Hook.
 A specially chartered tug took the party that had been invited to see the demonstration from Pier to the San dy Hook lightship, which was riding easily on an oily swell and the crew were idling on deck playing cards and checkers. The only sound that broke the stiffness of the ocean was the mel ancholy tolling of bell. One tried to trace the sound in vain. The big bell on deck was motionless. One of the men was asked where the sound came from. He pointed down into the sea.
 Submarine" said he.
 Pong! Pong" was the sound that came from the depths of the ocean.
 The captain of the lightship explain ed that this was the bell from which steamships fitted with the submarine telephone took their bearings. It was hung from the keel of the lightship, he said, and ships miles away, be the weather thick or clear, could hear it by telephone and know just where they were.
 The telephone was shown later, but the bell was the first thing to be ex- plained. Deep down in the sea it is operated by compressed air. A wheel turning in the engine room of the light ship marked off'f1ve seconds of silence, then notch released enough com pressed air to drive the tongue of the submarine bell. The ghostly note came out of the sea twice with an interval of . second and a half, then there was lapse of five seconds. Again the dou- ble note sounded. Then there was a lapse of three seconds. The continued repetition of the bell notes with the al- ternate lapses of five and three seconds constituted a signal which to mariners spelled 'hf fatHe subnfaflne efg6al seoae ''Santiy HookrEtght4 4'r,sHor yam tus
 Although many ships are fitted with the telephone which receives the warn- ing note of the submarine bell, the yes sel used in the demonstration was a tug. in the wheelhouse of which there hung what looked like an ordinary tele- phone. The party returned to the tug to see the second and most important part of the invention. On the way from the lightship to the tug the carry ing power of water was demonstrated by the fact that while the air did not carry the sound of the deep sea bell the melancholy notes came through the oars and the woodwork of the row boat.
 On board the tug full speed was or dered. The little craft travelled over a mile to the west of the lightship. When at last 1t came to full stop absolute silence prevailed except for the voices of the passengers. The bell notes were lost. and the lghtship itself was little thing in the distance. Acting upon the suggestion of an oficial representing the signal company. the members of the party took turns at putting the telephone receiver to their ears. As clearly. though not so loudly as before. the sonorous bell pealed out of the sea. The throb of the steamship Francesca's screw was also heard long before the vessel came in sight of the tug.
 The submarine telephone Is exactly like any other telephone SO far as its general theory Is concerned. It begins In the wheel house and ends in the bilges. Here. closely pressed against the shell of the vessel. Is a transmitter case full of water. and Into it is insert cd a microphone. This mierophone is a metal drum. The plates of the vessel form the diaphragm. The water trans mits the sound to this. The importance of being able to trace sound in dark ness or fog has always been appreciat- ed by mariners. Many a good ship has gone 10 pieces through the inability of the master to do It. The submarine signal settles this difficulty.
 One each side of q vessel having the telephone aboard there is 6 receiver. A switch closes the port microphcne and leaves the starboard open. as msn might listen with one ear shut and the other on the alert. Both re- ceivers are opened and shut in turn until 1t is made clear from which side the sound comes the loudest. This part of the invention. the company hopes. will be much improved ss time goes on. 90 inst mariners will be able to find a sound with perfect accuracy. AS fl is. a vessel with the submarine signal appsrstus need not approach