The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1909-05-07
TALK MINUS A WIRE.
WINONA HIGH SCHOOL BOYS AT
WORK ON TELEPHONE.
They Have Now in Operation Marconi
Signaling Apparatus By Which
They Can Communicate Very
Nicely With Each Other; How
the Instruments Were Perfected;
Electrical Magazines Mention Work.

Winona, May 5-Joseph Parson and
Roderick Watkins, two high school
students eighteen years old, have per
fected wireless telegraph stations sta
toned at their homes, 1872 Fifth street
west and 1913 Wabasha street east, and
may transmit .Alarconigrams to each
other with the very efficient apparatus
they have made and set up with their
wits and hands.
The station is a very simple affair
similar to regular Morse telegraph
system, excepting that no wires are
strung, an aerial receiver or lightning
rod like extension in connection with
the Instruments being substituted. This
is placed in a high position to catch
the electrical oscillations transmitted
by the other station.
The sending apparatus comprises a
two inch spark coil, condenser hav-
ing thirteen plates, each thirty inches
in diameter, and variable tuner of
2l0 wave length by which the waves
can be heightened or shortened ac-
cording to the distance it is desired
to transmit A regular telegraph key
is attached to these at one end whose
/ dots and dashes in the hands of the
operator are transformed into short
and long discharges from the spark
gap of the sparkling coil to travel on
through the ether as the waves of
water when a pebble is dropped into a
lquiet pool.
1t took Mr.. Parsons four weeks to
make the most difficult accessory in
strument, the electrolytic, especially
designed for the alternating current
of the electric light current used, which
creates the oscillations of the dis
charges from the spark gap, these in
terruptions of the current and succeed
ing oscillations in the other occurring
when the bubbles of steam are gener-
ated in the small holes of the glass
tumbler, which are only one thirty
second of an inch in diameter and
which it took some time to make.
the receiving apparatus consists of
two telephone receivers, a detector,
two storage batteries, a variable con
denser and sliding tuner, this latter
being the latest improvement in the
wireless telegraph, by the use of
which the receiving apparatus can be
tuned exactly to the transmitting and
all outside stations also cut Off Thus
without this the perpetual discharges
of the great Hatfield dam works
would interrupt the Marconiframs just
as buzzing in the telephone interrupts
talking.
Mr.. Parsons has a very simple de-
tector made by putting two pieces of
carbon in the circuit with the two tele-
phone receivers and batteries. The
oscillations of the air started by the
sending station having been caught by
the magnetic aerial come down into
the receiving apparatus through the
sliding tuner and into the detector.
Here the waves break through the re-
sistance of the two carbons across
which has been laid a sewing needle,
causing a reproduction of the dots
and dashes in the telephone receivers,
and the message is received.
Stations Described.
Mr. Parsons has his station in the
basement of his home, where he has
set up manature laboratory and
does a great deal of electrical expert
menting. The aerial is made of cop
per wire eighteen feet long attached
to the roof of the barn similar to a
lightning rod and has four spreaders
Mr.. Watkins has an aerial made of
aluminium, twenty five feet long The
boys will try to make wireless tele-
phone by attaching speaking arc
lamps. They are sending descriptions
of the outfit to electrical magazines.
Mr.. Parsons is in the physics class
of Professor F. T. Hardwick at the
high school and in cooperation with
Mr.. Hardwick perfected a magnetic
telephone receiver this winter, a de-
/ scription of which was printed in these
columns. This is the latest great tele-
phone invention by which the sound is
reproduced in much larger volume by
the simple use of a magnet suspended
in the field of an electromagnetic in
circuit with telephone receiver The
boys have been working for two
months on the wireless telegraph, and
have practically mastered its problems.
Plan Airship Line
Stuttgart, May 5.-At a meeting held
here today by the Wuertemberg Aerial
Navy League a representative of Count
Zeppelin said that the concern formed
in connection with the Zeppelin Air
Ship Construction company has under
taken to establish regular line of air
ships from Lucerne or Friedrichshafen
to North Germany, by way of Frank
furt on the Main. The route will de-
pend on the offers of landing places by
! cities. 1t is hoped to open the line
for traffic next year.
Berlin, May 5.-The German Motor
Air Ship company today confirmed the
report that it has purchased the pat
ents of the Wright aeroplane for Ger
many, but says that the sum of $780,
600, mentioned in the dispatches from
| Paris, is exaggerated
Routine Business Only.
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