Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1909-04-12
WIRELESS WONDER
WIRELESS TELEPHONES IN use
In Los ANGELES.
Invention of Philadelphia Nan Prom.
ises to RevOlutiOnize Telephone
Business. One Can Talk Through
Space, Water or Stone Wall with
Ease.

SOITcSDOuuCuCC.J - uOAA~ uoV Va -
wireless telephone in one Of the big
department stores of this city is at
tracing great amount of interest
and great crowds are always waiting
in line to try it. Many Of those who
throng the machines are doubters and
pooh, Pooh!" the idea Of being able
to talk without the use Of wires, but
after one trial, during which it is
amusing to watch the utter amaze
ment depicted on their faces, they are
converted and usually make the stock
remark, Il told you so-of course,
we can talk without wires. In this
age anything is possible!"
News that the wireless telephone
had been perfected and was reality
has filled the press for some time,
but it was not until recently that the
public was given chance to see for
themselves that it was really SO.
Until the last five years wireless
telephone communication was consid-
cred a dream, but the inventor, A.
Frederick Collins of Philadelphia, has
been perfecting it for nearly ten
years and the completion of his labor
marked the birth of the Collins
Wireless Telephone company, which
is now installing the wireless phone
and which has made it a commercial
utility. In reaching the present sue
cessful development of the wireless
transmission of speech the inventor
faced many obstacles. The first great
one was to obtain a medium which
would carry the words spoken. Az
ter much investigation it was discov-
cred that the ether in the atmosphere
was the ideal medium and this was
utilized. Until very recent years the
very existence of ether was unknown
and few facts about it are of inter.
est. Ether is found wherever there
is air and by using it as the medium
for transmission it is possible to tele-
phone through brick walls, the earth
and in fact any obstacle which may
be found on or below the surface Of
the globe. This is equally true with
water and in this way it is possible
to communicate with submarine
boats at no matter what depth they
may be immersed. Ether Is many
million times lighter than air and
III fo
heat or cold and therefore there can
be no climatic disturbance Of trans
mission in the use Of the wireless
telephone.
The great difficulty which had to
be overcome was that of obtaining
privacy in sending the speech. After
finding that speech could be trans
mitted through the ether, the invent
or commenced the investigation of
the manner in which it could be made
private and only be received by the
proper person. Experiment showed
that this was to be secured in a very
simple manner. BY using the prin-
ciple of the we'll known musical tun-
ing fork it was possible to obtain ABB
solute privacy. 1t is done in this
way. A dial similar to that of the
combination of a safe is placed on
the phone and this dial carries num-
bers from one to ten. When Jones
desires. to talk to Smith, whose num-
ber is, let US say, 500, all Jones has
to do is to turn the dial first to
then to 0, and then to and Smiths
telephone bell will ring and call him
and tell him that he Is wanted. The
same way may be done with any COM
bination of numbers. The result OBJ
tanned by this manipulation is that
when the number is marked of on
Jones' telephone he is in tune" with
Smiths phone and therefore rings
him up. In this way any two per-
sons may hold conversation and theer
is no central or attendant drawbacks
to private and unlimited conversa-
ton.
There is no limit to the distance
over which speech is possible with
out using wires. Up to this time
wireless telephony has been success
fully demonstrated between Newark.
N. j., and Philadelphia, Penn. dis
tance of 81 miles. and with proper
installation it is but question of
short time when it will be possible
to talk from San Francisco to New