The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1908-10-24
HOW COAST, HEARD
OUR WIRELEssITALK

Call-An indistinct clicking-then a
tumble of Morse telegraphic dots and
dashes-all in an unfamiliar tone-and
| finally, slowly and clearly, the letters
aloha came, telling Lawrence Ma
larin, night wireless operator on Rus
/ sian hill, at 1:20 clock yesterday
morning that San Francisco and Ha-
waii were joined in wireless tele-
| GRAPHIC communication.
Congratulatory messages followed,
and for more than an hour and half
San Francisco spoke with Kahuku, a
bleak little station on the extreme
northern shore of the Island of Oahu,
upon which is also located Honolulu.
Lit me;lnt that a mysterious electrical
force was waiting across the Pacific,
| for the first time in the history of
wireless telegraphy on this coast, intel
| 1lgent messages, covering distance
of 2093 miles. At the same time the
operator in the Hawaiian Islands pick
ed up Bering Sea. And the operator
at Kahuku. Arthur A. Tsbell, was send
ing the messages on half power only.
Malarin was astonished when he learn
ed this. and he afterward expressed
the opinion that Hawaii and Manila
would soon be Joined in wireless COM
munication and that mo~e wonderful
feat would be accomplished-the es-
Enlistment of transpacifc wireless
communica ton.
A few months ago the station at
Kahuku sprung up, but the apparatus
was not in place until late Saturday
night Then it was that Isbell, anxious
to establish the new record, began
flashing out his Hawaiian greetings
He sent them out in all directions.
hopeful that someone would pick them
up and give him that satisfaction he
desired
MaIarin in his lonely office on Rus
sian hill was attending to the usual
nightly messages that go up and down
the coast. when the iumbled sounds
TEMPTED him to drop the routine work
He listened and was about to give up,
believing that some Young experiment.
er about the bav was "butting in, - /
but aloha the Hawaiian word of
weIcome-impressed him as strange.
He listened on and was rewarded with |
more greetings. and he FASTENED to !.
reply in this wise:
go. X. Tsbell Hu So a. M
''Fawaiian Wireless Company: Con-
gratulations.
"'UNITED WIRELESS COMPANY. -
Then there came back in the same
clear tone:
''Hu Isbell OK Oh 1:3S a. m. HUI H. /
"United Wireless Company, Phi, San
Francisco: Thanks. Same to you.
"ISBELL. +"
Anxious to spread the good news,
IsbeIl communicated with Balch, an
operator on. Barber Point, an inter-
island station in the Territory, giving
him all the details with boylike eager
ness. Malarin continued to listen and
he distinctly heard the message flashed
by Isbell to Balch as follows:
Z" HUI Isbell OK / :45 a. m
"Balch, Barber's Point: Just ex
changed messages with Phi, San Fran
cisco. He says I come good to him.
He came loud to, me. Also heard
steamer Victoria. in the Bering Sea.
calling cruiser Colorado. He came
loud. Nothing from feet yet-too
early Suggest you call Associated
Press and get message from Associated
Press, San Francisco. I will be on
watch some time yet-probably till q.
"ISBELL.
Without losing a minute Isbell pick
ed up San Francisco again and explain
ed that sleepy Jap in charge of the
switchboard in the station was unre-
liable and that it would be necessary
to adjust the engine governor. This
message read:
San Francisco: Good for you, old
man. Ny engine governor is out of
Have a Jap at the switch
board to regulate voltage. He goes to
sleep all the time I am living right
in bunch of 700 Japs. Say, San
Francisco, why not call up the Assoc-
ated Press and get a bunch of news
for the Hawaiian papers for Sunday?
Make people Sit up and take notice.
Say, look for me every night about
this time. Am using only half power
and small aerial to send on, but re-
eeiving on big one. Please give me
time to adjust receiver before saving
ANYTHING. Call few times like this:
Phi, Phi, Hu, HUI
"ISBELL, , a. m.