Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1911-07-19
WIRELESS TELEGRAPH.
Messages Are Dispatched From
Mid Ocean to Land Without
Visible Means of Trans
mission.

not be presented here, Italy, once
occupying first place, lost prestige
and position among the nations of
the earth; yet, it was an Italian,
Marconi, who gave to the world the
most marvellous invention of the
centuries, wirel less telegraphy,
eclipsing for the time Americas
Edison, who for his versatility, as
we'll as for his achievements in his
speciality, electricity, possibly stands
pre-eminent among: the inventors of
all history.
Aside from the general uses of
the wireless telegraph from COM
mercial standpoint, the invention
seems to have been a revelation or
dispensation of a kindly Providence
to meet special need of humanity,
to wit: Providing relief for those
in distress at sea. There are innu-
merable means safeguarding travel
upon land, to say nothing of the re-
lief that is easily available after ac-
cident actually occurs, but before
the invention of wireless telegraph,
those overtaken by disaster at sea
had practically no means of escape
from the fury of the waves. Small
boats and life-preservers, even of
the latest type, while better than
nothing, were only makeshifts, es-
pecially when hundreds of miles
from land. With wireless equipment
a vessel that is wrecked by storm,
damaged by collision with anoth-
er vessel in a Jog or disabled by
reason of broken propeller or other
machinery can summon aid from
other vessels within a. airadius lof hun
dreds of miles. In this way thou
sands of lives have been saved since
Marconi gave his wireless invention
to the world.
Sent Messages to Edgefeld.
In compliance with the law re-
quiring all vessels that carry as
many as SO passengers to be equip
ped with wireless telegraph instru-
ments, sfs.of the beats of the Clyde
Steamship Company have a wire
less'' Office and operator aboard.
On the recent trip to New York the
members of the Edgefeld party
had an excellent opportunity of
learning something of wireless tele-
graphy. Two wireless messages
were sent by the writer to Edge
feld-one off Cape Hatteras en-
route to New York and the other
off Norfolk on the return voyage.
In both instances the boat was 40
or so miles from land when the
message was sent The charge is
always one dollar for ten words
from the boat to the station on
land and then the usual rate must
be paid from that station to the
place for which the message is in
tended.
But Little Actually Known.
While the wireless operators
were exceedingly courteous and
kindly disposed, yet there was but
little that they could impart con-
cerning the transmission of mes
sages through space. Briefly sta
ted, the theory is this: The sender
of a message by means of the in
strument sets in motion certain
waves or vibrations that are trans
mitted through ether, being receiv-
ed by instruments of like key or
tune" in that zone, producing the
same sound or note as was produced
by the sending instrument. When
a pebble is dropped in tub of wa
ter the waves or wavelets that are
formed icontinue to the extreme
boundary or edge of the vessel.
Continue to drop pebble after peb-
BILE and the waves or ripples follow
each other in quick succession. So
it is with the vibrations or waves
which are sent through space by,
means of the electric current and
specially devised instrument, such
as was invented by that world
renowned genius, Marconi.
Wireless Equipment Simple.
Strange to say, the wireless
equipment is apparently very SIM
pie. But few instruments seem to
be required to produce the marvel
GUS results, yet to the untutored
mind and unframed eye these few
can not easily be understood. First,
the operator must generate his
own current, the distance to which
the message can be sent depending
directly upon the strength of the
current. Messages are sent prima-
rily by the same ticking" instru-
ment that is used in the ordinary
telegraph office, the same code be-
ing also used. From the ticking
instrument the message passes
through another and more compli-
Gated instrument to the wires that
are stretched from the top of the
masts aany feet above the upper
daok of the vesse1