Los Angeles herald., 1908-07-19
TALK CLEARLY
WITHOUT WIRES
REVOLUTIONARY DEPARTURE
IN TELEPHONY MADE
COLLINS SYSTEM SHOWN TO BE
UNQUALIFIED SUCCESS =

Los Angeles May Soon Be Able to
Talk Freely with San Franz
cisco and Even with
Portland
Long distance wireless telephony was
converted last week from q scientific
experiment to commercial accom-
plishment, when A. Frederick Collins
conducted a most successful demon
stration of his system, which is owned
by the Collins Wireless Telephone
company, between the forty-first story
of the Singer building, New York, and
the Collins laboratory in Newark, N. j.,
fourteen miles distant, and thence to
the Land Title and Trust company's
building at the corner of Broad and
Chestnut streets, Philadelphia, ninety
miles from New York. This is the first
absolutely successful commercial test
of long distance wireless telephony that
ever has taken place in this country
and demonstrated to the thorough sat-
isfaction of the scientific, business and
newspaper men who witnessed and
participated in 1t, the fact that wire
less telephony had taken its place as
permanent factor in business and
commercial life.
Keep us in touch with the weather
conditions in New York throughout the
day and flash Immediately If liners are
sighted coming up the bay"
This was the message that was sent
by the representative of a New York
morning paper from the laboratory of
A. Frederick Collins at "a Clinton
street, Newark, N. j., to j. c. Clements,
who received it on the twenty-fifth
floor of the Singer building, corner of
Broad and Liberty streets, New York.
The message was received with great
clearness and among numerous 9TH
ers that were flashed back and forth
were those of congratulation to the in
ventor, who acknowledged them with
thanks.
Eighty-Mlle Test Made
Later, in Philadelphia, from the top
floor of the Land Title and Trust COM
pany's building at the corner of Broad
and Chestnut streets, over eighty miles
away and in the presence of a group of
scientific men and newspaper repre-
sentatives, a conversation was carried
on which was as distinct, ineligible
and clear as If the parties had been
conversing over the ordinary Bell tele-
phone wires at close range.
The messages were sent out from
Phosphor- bronze radiating wires and
were received in the tower of the Sing
the ground in New York, and on the
roof Of the Land Title and Trust COM
pany's building in Philadelphia, about
800 feet above ground. They were
transmitted through an ordinary
Blake transmitter such as is used in
the Bell telephone service, the receiver,
however, being specially designed and
patented by Mr. Collins, the inventor.
The sending equipment had cur
rent of 500 volts, derived from the
public service corporation at Newark,
but by means of the Collins speaking
arc this was transformed into currents
of great frequency and high potential
ity, which formed continuous waves
| by which articluate speech was con-
veyed without break or interruption.
Under all former methods the trains
| of energy have been made up of coh-
| tinuouS spasmodic oscillations by
which only intermittent sounds were
occasionally transmitted, making a
| sustained and continuous conversation
impossible. The Collins system, as
demonstrated, overcomes all these pre-
vious difficulties and makes CONVERSE
ton as distinct and clear, If not more
so, than on the wire telephone.
Another innovation that will prove
of great benefit to wireless work and
of incalculable value is the resonance
tube that Mr.. Collins has just perfected
and patented. This prevents inoistinct-
ness in messages during the uneven
ness of the current as by a glance at
this tube, which contains two small
wires, it can be observed at once
whether or not the sending and receiv
ing waves are all right and, if not, they
can instantly be adjusted on the send
ing or receiving coils. This instrument
indicates the distance that the waves
are travelling.
Invaluable at Sea
This, in itself, will be of the great
est value to ships at sea using the tele-
phone when in a fog, as they can by
reference to this instrument tell eX-
actly the distance that they are apart
and inform each other of the direction
in which they are steering, thus MAX
ing collisions at sea impossible. The
radiating coils are of the variety that
are used in wireless telegraphy. This
is made possible by the substitution of
the speaking arc for the saunders used
| in telegraphy, thereby insuring steady
wave, as described above The words
are spoken into the transmitter of an
ordinary telephone and conveyed
through a highly charged phosphor-
bronze radiating wire and through this
to the air at rate that iyRares the
words being caught up on a Sensitive
apparatus.
Mr. Collins stated that he expected
in the very near future 10 nold con-
yersation from points inland to ships
at sea, and to reach any reasonable
distance overland. He said: 81 eX-
pect to beat the record of clear con-
versation made by Valdemar Poulsen,
who has recently been sending mes
sages from Copenhagen to Berlin, a
distance of $50 miles, but can assure
YOU that there is no limit to the dis
|. lance. as, with sufficient energy at the
initial point it will be possible to send
wireless telephone messages thousands
and not hundreds of miles"
The Collins Wireless Telephone COM
pany has established permanent head
quarters for the Pacific coast IN Los
| Angeles and 1t is expected that be-
fore many months the people of Los
| Angeles may be able to talk to San
Francisco, and, perhaps, as far as
Portland Ore, without the means of
intervening wires.
I'll FIU EMDCpHsc lee &c