Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-02-21


Mundy are now connected with the Sub
msrine Signal Company Of Boston, and
their patents (which cover the maritime
countries Of the world) are owned by that
company.
Operation Of the System.
I'm this country the submarine signal sys-
tenn was first put in operation on the light
ships between Boston and New York, and
during June and July Of 1906 the United
States lightship board required the ringing
Of the bells on five Of these lightships con-
tinuously day and night for two months,
with the idea of establishing an endurance
with the receiving apparatus were request
ed to report their experiences with the
submarine signals. The result Of these
tests proved entirely satisfactory to the
board, which purchased the apparatus on
ten hghtships on the Atlantic coast and
permitted the installation Of the apparatus
on nine other lightships SO as to provide for
the protection of the entire Atlantic coast
from Portland to Cape Hatteras. The Ca
madam government had already equipped
stations on the St. Lawrence river and on
the Atlantic. and Germany had installed
bells at the approaches to Bremen and
Hamburg. The United States navy had also
made tests on the Maine and Alabama, with
the result that the equipment bureau Of the
navy recommended the installation of the
apparatus on the vessels Of the Atlantic
fleet
Meanwhile receiving apparatus has been
fitted on all the important transatlantic pas
senger lines. and large number of coast
wise lines have also adopted the system on
their vessels. Sea-going tugs, schooners.
yachts and fishing vessels, representing
over 100000 tons are equipped to receive
submarine signals, and the company is rap
idly adding to the number.
with a view to the Introduction of sub
marine signaling on the great lakes, Presi-
dent Livingstone of the Lake Carriers As
ISOLATION has provided that the Lake Erie
lightship. belonging to that association, be
equipped, and President Coulby of the Pitts
burg Steamship Company sent three of his
most experienced captains to Boston to in
vestigate the merits Of the system for lake
use. These captains on their return made
an enthusiastic report, and arrangements
have been made to equip the Pittsburg
Steamship Companys fleet, which consists
of over 100 of the largest vessels now navi-
eating the great lakes.
The extension of submarine signals to
the Pacific coast, where there is fog "A per
cent of the time, and a full equipment for
the great lakes await only an appropra ton
by Congress. 1t will require an appropria-
ton of 900 to supply every lightship in
the United States not already equipped.
The vessels of the navy will be fitted as
fast as the appropriations warrant Our
Atlantic fleet is constantly passing up and
down the coast within hearing of the
bells.
Tests in English Waters.
Just about year ago." continued Mr..
Moore, 1.-The British public We're shocked
and Inundated by the loss of their five mil
lion dollar battleship Montagu, which ran
on the rocks in the British channel in a
fog while the captain was experimenting
with wireless biography. The stir caused
by this accident led the British admiralty
to take up seriously the question of SUBJ
marine signaling, which had been advo-
Gated by Sir William White, X. c. B., popu-
larry known as the father of the British
navy, having been naval constructor during
the time the first large battleships We're
built. Mr.. J. B. Millet of Boston was in
London at the time looking after the in
terests of the Submarine Signal Company
of Boston, and made arrangements for a
series of tests. The admiralty made lib
eral allowance to cover the expenses and
assigned to the work the armored cruiser
Antrim (Which is to be with the British
fleet at the jamestown review next spring.
and the gunboat Spanker. The latter was
fitted with a submarine bell, which was
lowered twenty feet below the water line
from the cathead. The bell weighed about
300 pounds, and consisted of two parts; the
upper part containing the mechanism oper-
ating the tongue of the bell and the lower
part consisting Of the bell itself. 1t is
operated by compressed air furnished by
small COMPRISING engine on the vessel.
The Antrim was fitted with two receiver
tanks placed one on each side, about
twenty feet below the water line in the fore
cast iron about sixteen inches square, hav-
ing the open side placed against the inner
side of the ships outer skin. Two micro
phones were placed in each tank and con-
nected by insulated wires to a switch box
in the chart house. The switch box has
two earpieces, or listeners, connected to it
through leads of wire. The person using
the listeners can hear sounds caused by the
sound waves striking against the starboard
side of the ship, or by working the switch
he may listen to those striking the port
side; but 1t is impossible to hear sounds
coming through both microphones at once.
BY comparison of these sounds the navi-
gator can locate the direction of the source
of sound to within half a point.
ION October 80, 1906. the bell on the
Spanker was set going and kept at work.
or three miles Of the bell got the sound
without the use of the receiving appara-
tus, but were unable to locate the direction
from which 1t came. The Antrim pro-
ceeded to make tests for distance; first at
five miles, then at seven and half miles,
and 80 on, up to sixteen miles At ten
miles the result was that the sound was
lost with the port microphone when the
Spanker was half a point on the port bow
and was picked up with the starboard
microphone when she bore half point on
the starboard bow, the mean of the two be-
ing the exact bearings of the Spanker. At
fourteen miles, with the Antrim running at
five knots, the code signals of the Spanker
were still heard, and the sound was still
audible when the Antrim was sixteen miles
distant.
"On the same day when the two vessels
were five miles apart, the following mes
sage was sent and received accurately:
THE king went to Bath last night in
motor car which did not break down, and
from there proceeded to Hythe." This mes
sage was sent by use Of the Morse al
phabet, as it Is ordinarily used in signal
ing. Experiments were also made with
submarine boats with like success.
Utility of Invention Demonstrated.
'rIn summing up the results of the trials
the admiralty report states that the results
obtained in these tests demonstrate the
extreme utility of the submarine bell as
an adjunct to coastal navigation in thick
weather. 1t further states that the fog
signals at present in use on lightships in
Great Britain, cannot be depended on in all
conditions, even at one or two miles dis
lance; but that the submarine bell in
creases the range at which the fog signal
can be heard by a vessel until it approx
mates the range of the light vessels light
in clear weather, and, moreover, it's bear
ings can be determined with quite suf-
ficient accuracy for safe navigation in fog
from distances far beyond the range of
aerial fog signals, If the vessel is equipped
with receivers. Even should vessel not
l.