The Washington herald., 1920-03-03
SHIPS STEERED
BY WIRELESS
Uncle Sam Has Unique De-
vice to Guide Vessels
That Lose Bearings,
EXACT LOCATION GIVEN
Wireless Method Proves
Successful During Storms
On Atlantic.
By FREDERIC WILLIAM VILE.

BY FREDERIC WILLIAM VILE.
Uncle Sam viii shortly have sixty
radio compass" stations at work on
the Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf coasts
for the purpose of guiding from
shore ships which have lost their
bearings at sea The annals OF
wireless record no more wonderful
achievements than these STATIONS
are daily accomplishing.
The story of how 'the system
works, told here yesterday for the
first time, is romantic enough TO STIR
the imagination of every American
youngster who ever sailed a toy
boat. sixteen stations are in full
operation on the Atlantic seaooard
and forty-four additional stations
on our Eastern, Southern and West
ern coasts are in process of con-
struction.
Used mt poo Miles.
Although the advertised working
range of these radio goniometers,
as they are sometimes called, Is 100
miles, they frequently show results
at much greater distances.
The record to date is held by the
stations at New York harbor en-
trance, which picked up" lost"
ship nearly 800 miles from New
York. She was the S. S. Eastern
Breeze On January 4 she asked
. New York for a set of bearings
while en- route from Cristobal, Pan
anna, to New York. The bearings
were furnished by the radio COM
pass stations and the ships position
fixed nearly 900 miles to the south
east of Manhattan Island.
II NavIy
York, Capt. r. II. Caughill stated
that the bearings supplied were
within one and one-half miles of his
actual position. Considering the
distance involved, it was a remark
able performance.
Returns safely to Port.
On February 3, the S. S. Catalina
left New York for Barcelona. When
about a day out, she ran into a
heavy storm and was damaged,
necessitating her return to New
York. As the Catalina had left
port during thick and stormy
weather, she could not obtain OBJ
servations. In other words, she did
not know where she was.
She appealed to New York for in
formation. The radio compass sta
tions not only notified her where
she was, but laid her. a course
along which the Catalina was as
sured she could proceed in safe
ty. BY this means she returned to
port.
The Naval Communication Serv-
ice of the Navy Department is IN
receipt of hundreds of letters from
masters of merchant vessels attest
ing the great value of the new shore
radio compass stations to shipping.
They are one of the beneficent in
heritances from the war. the COM
passes having been effectively uti-
lized in 'spotting" submarines.
Special Apparatus Used.
The compasses consist of a spe-
ciaI type of wireless receiving ap-
paratus, coupled with revolving
coil, and are capable of determin-
ingthe direction of signals ema-
mating from ships radio transmit
ter. These stations have been
erected at carefully selected points
along the coast and in the vicinity
of the principal harbor entrances.
They maintain a continuous watch
twenty-four hours of every day in
the year.
Virtually every time there is
rough weather at sea some mer-
chantman owes it's safety to the
new Lost and Found department
of the United States navy.
When a ship at sea desires its
bearings from one or more compass
stations, she calls the station or
stations in the regular way and
makes a pre-arranged wireless sig
nal for one minute.
Stations Compare Notes.
The operator at the compass sta
tion takes the ships bearing while
she is transmitting and forwards
the bearing by radio to the ship.
A bearing may be had simultane-
ously from any number of these
stations within range and by the
use of two or moro bearings the
ships master can accurately fix his
position.
The harbor entrance stations are
operated in groups of three or more
and are centrally controlled from a
plotting station" connected with
each compass by land-wire tele-
graph.
In this case. taking for an exam
pie. New York. a ship approaching
New York and desiring her position
would call NAH" the central con-
troll station located in New York
City The control station would
notify by land-wire the compass
stations at Montauk, Fire Island,
Sandy Hook and Mantoleking.
Data Checked for Accuracy.
The ship would be told to trans
init and the compass stations would
then take bearings, forwarding same
to New York, where the bearings
are plotted, to check their accuracy,
and are thereupon forwarded to the
ship by wireless.
In the severe weather experienced
along the Atlantic coast during the
present winter, the radio compass
was of great assistance to the U. S.