Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-08-11
Steel Tower Soon to Be Erect
ed on Reservation.
EXPERIMENT STATION HERE
War Department Laboratory Is
Well Equipped.
PLANT INTERESTED IN PHONE
Anxious to Produce Talking Ma
chine Without Wires for
Field Use.

Before long Washington will be talking
with Fort Myer by wireless telesraphy.
But ii will be close corporation ana
even the officials of the War Depart
ment If they want to carry on any con-
versation between the capital and the
post will resort to other means.
II is possible that at some later day a
wireless telephone installation from the
same point here VIII be talking with
Mount Weather or some equally remote
government reservation. This is a mat
ter for speculation and the future. Wire
less telephones are not yet sufficiently re-
liable for field use.
The wireless telegraphy installation has
progressed d good deal farther than
speculation. The War Department has
put in new plant on Pennsylvania ave-
nue. near 18th street. Work on steel
tower at Fort Myer will soon be sta ted
This will be u short-distance installation
for purely experimental purposes. The
outfit in place in the experimental labor
atory has already talked with Cape Cod.
When it is finished it will be able regu-
larly TO get Pensacola and other southern
coast points.
Well Equipped Laboratory.
There Is nothing about the little build
ing containing the wireless laboratory to
indicate that il is one of the best plants
in the country. In fact, it is d question
IL many people have ever noticed that
there Is an aerial wire strung over on one
corner of the Mills building, the annex to
the War Department, 18th street and
Pennsylvania avenue.
The high wire Is there, however, and
drops down in the court at the back.
There II enters the wall of little in
conspicuous building that houses the
plant.
The current used in the plant is taken
right off the street circuit and run through
transformers and big condenser till it
Is the proper consistency for wireless
use. BY the time it sparks over the three
inch interval between the ends of the
plugs it sounds like a machine gun bat
terry.
The wireless outfit is of three kiowat
capacity. about the same as that at the
navy yard. 1t is. if anything, finer in
detail. and when completed probably
will be able to talk farther than any pres
ent government plants, till the navy gets
its big 6O0-foot tower and 1O0-horsepower
motor installed.
For Experiments Only.
The whole of the little shop. however.
is purely laboratory for experimental
work and will not transmit regular serv-
ice messages. There is a machine shop
and wood working establishment at
tached to the plant All new instruments
for field biography, telephoning, the con-
troll OF gun fire and the like are made up
as models and tested for their adaptability
TO the service.
The shop turned out the wireless out
fit that was designed for use in the army
dirigtbie balloon, and has 1t still, await
ing trial with the airship. 1t is the
lightest wireless outfit that had ever
been built. weighing a little less than
seventy pounds. 1t is mounted on a
frame not more than two by three feet
As extra precaution for balloon work
II has all the sparkling mechanism boxed
in with mica. This makes the apparatus
ent reason why the installation should
not be used with an ordinary free bal
loon
Some experiments are to be tried to
hydrogen gas. The apparatus has a
range. under favorable conditions. of
about twelve miles
me laboratory is working now on
pounds for use in the field with pack
trains. There seems no reason why an
equipment Of this sort cannot be carried
IN the field and used anywhere, doing
aMay with the necessity of laying ground
wires, and putting all branches of an
army In instant touch with each other.
Interest in Wireless Phone.
Nc" types or neld telephones are being
constructed. Some of these are exceed
ingly light and compact.
The thing that the laboratory is look
ing forward to is the wireless telephone
OF course, wireless telephones have been
constructed, and the signal service has
tried out number of such appliances.
But 1t has not found anything up-to-date
that was not too complicated and unre-
liable for practical use. The greatest
EFFORTS are being put forth to perfect an
instrument that will work In the face of
adverse weather conditions and will be
practical for field service