New-York tribune., 1922-12-24
Code and Voice Compared in
Radio Transmission Work
by President Of Famous
National Amateur Body
Code Accuracy Described
Difficulties of Speech for
Transmission of Messages
Shown by Simple Example
Bv Hiram Percy Maxim
Prcsident american Radio ReIdD
League

League
Now that the radio telephone is per
fected and We have concerts ana
speeches broadcast, Why bother win
Ghe radio telegraph This IS one OF
the questions the novice In radio thinks
OF drst. Tho answer is worth knowing
and it brings up lot Of extremely IN
teresting things.
language was invented II was never
CONTEMPLATED that there would De ele-
phones with metal diaphragm. SOUNDS
we're adopted which were very siniiaI,
and IL required quite go0d ply o.
practice Tor even such an eXqui Heiy
delicate mechanism as the human
auraI ORGANS Co distinguish between
them. Witness the very slight dihcr-
ence between the sound on ana
"B.1 or ct" and ID" or M and M"
Tho alphabet Is full Of such similari-
tieq Tho letter rs" and the double
"Th" which we English speaking people
use. but which is almost impossible
FOR the rest Of the world 20 master
are very dlficult for the telephone
diaphragm TO duplicate.
The result has been that speeeh
transmitted by telephone is somewhat
doubtful, and questions arise eontinu-
ally as 20 what the exact meaning was.
We all know how often We have %
spell out word when using the tele-
phone, and even that Is not satistactory,
for we have 20 say "ID as IN Tom or
"V" as in Victory or "S' as m sam.
By using some familiar word we are
able 20 get across the letter which
cannot be understood when pronounced
alone.
Why Telegraphy Is Used
Thus when we have anything exact
such as messages or railroad train de-
snatehinQ. we use the dots and dashes
OF telegTaphy. It is easy 10 be sure
with telegraphy for we can count thc
dots and the dashcs and that - All
there T. 20 10. When one learns what
letter is one dot. What is two dots,
what is three dots. what four and what
FIVE, and what letter Is one dash, what
two dashes and so on mp 20 i've, snd
what the combinations Of dots and
dashes are, It is amazing how indis-
tinct and confused the transmission
can be and yet be absolutely clearly
understood. Telegraphy, therefore, is
the necessary form Of communication
In a great many services.
A verv queer condition arose during
the international Radio deliberations
some few years ago, when the interna-
tional agreements regarding radio COM
munieation we're drawn up. IL seems
that Chinese and japanese cannot be
telegraphed. They have nothing like
our simple alphabet, which Is built up
into words. They have Bome manner
Of unspellsblc sounds. When u came
20 telegraphing they we're compelled TO
use some other language than their
own. They chose English.
Even laps Have Difficulty
Then when the radio telephone came
into use they seized upon IL with avid
ity and wanted extraordinary wave
bands for telephony. for they realized
the latter would handle their peculiar
language where the dots and dashes
could not. But they suffer the same
Disadvantages as the rest Of the world
with telephony, for Il is not suitable
for exact understanding under DIM
cult conditions.
For the amateur. communicating by
the dot and dash is a source Of never
ending interest. There Is a thrill
about Il which commands one. To con-
verse back and forth briskly with dots
and dashes over great distances under
conditions which would make the tele-
phone impossible. and securing COM
plete understanding. is worth all the
effort Of learning the code.