Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1914-04-17
NAVY YARD STOPS
d.. { ". WIRELESS
Flashes to Fast Train Interfere
With Messages to War
ship Fleet.
TO CHANGE LENGTH
WAVES ON APPARATUS
May Mean Long Delay in Try
ing Out Phone Tests on
Lackawanna.

NEW 1oINh, April III il1 Siiihe
of the Atlantic fleet. on their way to
Mexican waters, were cut off from all
Official communication by wireless
nnintentionally yesterday by a pas
senger train speeding through the
meadows of New Jersey. The official
messages to the battleships which
were interrupted were being sent from
the wireless station at the Navy Yard
I'm Brooklyn. The wireless waves OF
the Governments apparatus were con
fused and blurred by the waves sent
out by the wireless telephone appa-
ratus at the Lackawanna railroad sta
ton at IIoboken which communicated
for the first time successfully to the
Lackawanna Limited ten miles away.
The Lackawanna Limited, equipped
with its new wireless telephone appa-
ratus, pulled out of the station at Ho-
bolSe1 at 1915 a. m. On board was
Louis B. Foley the railroads super
sntendent of telegraphy who first in
stalled the wireless apparatus on the
Lackawanna Limited
Hear from Navy Yard.
Soon after the train was lost to
sight in the meadows the operator at
the fixed wireless telephone station in
tors going and set his Instruments in
tune The operator on board the NOV
ing train adjusted his receivers. In q
few minutes the operator at the fixed
station in Hoboken was informing the
operator ON the train of the disagree
able weather conditions.
Suddenly the telephone bell in the
office of superintendent Philips at
HobolIen rang violently.
"Hello!e said superintendent Phll-
lips.
us this the office of the Laellawan
ma railroads superintendent in
quired the voice at the other end of
the line.
1T is" replied the superintendent.
"Wel1" said the voice at the other
end, 1.-The commanding officer of the
United States lJavy Yard i'm Brooklyn
wishes to inform you that important
messages directing the movements of
the battleships are being interrupted
by the messages in transmission TO
the Lackawanna train"
On further inquiry Superintendent
Phillips was informed by the Brook
iyn Navy Yard that the wave length
of the Government wireless apparatus
Installed on the battleships and at
gxed stations was GOO metres. That is
exactly the length of the waves sent
out by the wirless telephone appa-
ratus installed on the Lackawanna
Limited.
To Change Wave Length.
The Lackawanna superintendent
was requested to stop sending mes
sages until the length of the wave
used by the Lackawanna was
changed, and this superintendent
Phillips readily said he would do.
Further tests of the wireless telephone
on moving trains will be suspended
until the apparatus can be overhauled
for changing the wave length.
According to Mr. Foley, 1T will be
necessary to change the length of the
antennae in order to increase the
length of the wave. The antennae,
and, i'm fact, almost the complete APP
paratus used yesterday for the wire
less telephone tests, were installed
originally for the wireless telegraph
experiments, and their installation
was a tedious piece OF work, requiring
much time. Mr.. Foley did not know
how long it would require to make the
required changes.
At present the experiments with the
wireless telephone on board the Back
awanna. Limited are confined to
transmission from the fixed station in
Hoboken to the train. When the APP
paratus is found to be working salts
factorily, then the railroad will begin
tests to find out whether it is not pos
sible to communicate from the train
to the fixed station.
The first wireless telegraph message
+ to a moving train was communicated
to the same Lacllawanna Limited on
November q last soon after it started
from Hoboken on its daily run Com
munication was established success
fully between the train and fixed sta
tions at Scranton, Penn, 145 miles
away, and Binghamton, N. y, 81 miles
distant Since that time experiments
with the Baekawanna Limited wire
less have been made with increasing
success.
The wireless message from the
Brooklyn navy yard commander to
the operator of the Lackawanna rail-
road, Hoboken ordering communica-
ton between the terminal and test
train stopped because of the interfer-
> ence with the messages to the war
ships off for Mexican waters, Is be-
lieVed to have been intercepted, by a
wireless operator for a newspaper
and in this manner the news of the
tests of the wireless phone leaked
out.