The New York herald., 1922-07-04
MARCONI Sees our
LARGEST WIRELESS
Visits Riverhead Station
Where Transocean Mes
sages Come In.
INSPECTS NEW DEVICES
Is Particularly Pleased
With Progress Made in
Conquering Static.
VIEWS HUGE ANTENNAE.
Net Nine Miles Long Re-
ceives Several Messages
simultaneously.
VIEWS HUGE ANTENNAE

The great radio receiving station
at Riverhead, which is to serve as a
model for future plants of the kind
to be erected in foreign countries. was
the object Of an inspection tour by
Senator Guglielmo Marconi and a
group of radio engineers yesterday.
The wireless inventor was particularly
interested in the great strides that
have been made at this station in re-
ducing static and the series of ex-
periments being conducted in
specially equipped laboratory by Roy
A. Weagant consulting engineer of
the Radio Corporation Of America, the
owners of the station.
Static, the bane of all radioists. has
been the subject Of special study by
Senator Marconi for number of years.
and a long and earnest conference
was held between him and Mr.. Wea-
CANT at the shed where some of the
best experimental work in this coun-
try has been conducted. Mr.. Weagant
has recently returned from a trip to
Nassau, taken in order to encounter
difficult atmospheric conditions with
which engineers have to contend.
The importance of eliminating the ad-
verse conditions at this point is readily
seen in the fact that the Riverhead sta
ton is the clearing house" for trans
oceanic messages from Norway, Ger
many, France and Great Britain It's
equipment in many ways is unique and
the engineers are constantly striving for
betterment of conditions that will add
to the accuracy Of their messages
Eighty per cent. of the transatlantic
business done through the station is com
mercial and the remainder press matter
OF the commercial cables about rs per
cent are delivered to downtown business
firms in New York city.
Single Antennae Used.
The point of particular interest at the
Riverhead station, for Senior Marconi
and his colleagues was the method
worked out by two American engineers
OF receiving various messages from for
eign stations on a single set of antenna,
then sorting them out by an intricate
electrical process known as ''fltering"
and retransmitting them to their desti-
nation.
Nine miles of antenne stretched thirty
feet from the ground running approxi-
mately from Rverhead to Eastport and
pointing directly towards the Atlantic
Ocean are employed in this process. They
are the only antenn@ of the kind in the
world, although in the new station being
erected under contract with the Radio
Corporation of America in Poland the
same system is being used.
The inconspicuous nature of the wire
strands hung across ordinary telephone
poles and the small shingled house stu
ated in wooded section of scrub pine
and spruce about mile from the village
of Riverhead occupied by the station
gives little hint Of the important work
accomplished there. Senior Marconi ex-
pressed the opinion that 1t was one of
the most compact and efficient stati ms
he had ever seen
Messages From Nauen.
Here messages are received from
Stavanger, Norway; Nauen and Eilveze,
Germany Carnarvon, Wales and the
French wireless station at Bordeaux
on the single nine mile wire loop reas-
sorted and transmitted over telephone
wires to the main office of the Radio
Corporation in Broad street
Mr.. Weagant explained to Senior Mar
conf the difficulties experienced with
static, and the wireless inventor was
apparently deeply interested in obtain
ing all the details, such as the time
OF day In which it was most noticeable
and the duration of the periods. He
was told that static was most prevalent
at the Riverhead station from May to
october and usually started about 3
o'clock in the afternoon and often be-
came steadily worse until o'clock.
Accompanying Senor Marconi. In addi-
tion to Mr.. Weagant, were @. Matthew.
chief engineer of the Marconi Company,
and A. c. Reoch. assistant chief engi-
neer OF the Radio Corporation, and sew
eral members of his private party. 1t
was announced that Senor Marconi ex-
poets to sail for England on Saturday.
although his yacht might be somewhat
delayed through coaling difficulties.