Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1922-05-21
Isl HIPS FIRST TO TAKE
UP COMMERCIAL RADIO
introduction of Wireless Aboard OccanGoing Vessels
Completely Changed Status at Sea-Nade Noy-
age Safe Travel on Land.

sea-" !; is not a complicated pro-
cess.
The sender fiI-s the message sor
" vessel at sea at any telegraph Of
flee. giving the name of the passen-
ger and the ship and marking the
radiogram Via RCA." If he desires
tho Radio Corporation or America TO
handle his message The handling OF
the message then Is as follows: II
is teicEraphod by landline to the
nearest coastal radio station. which
IN turn calls the ship through the air
using The call letters which the gov
eminent assigns to each vessel as AN
Identification. Operators on shi2s
are required To listen for these mes
sages. They acknowledges the can
FOR their particular vessel and ac.
ccpt the message transmitted from
the shore. II an answer is required
the ship calls 10y rhdio the thrcc-lct-
ter designation Of tho coastal sta.
ton wanted. transmits the reply
which in turn. IS put on the tclc-
graph wires directed to tho person
addressed anywhere In the United
States. or. for that matter. in any
part Of the world.
WAVE Lengths.
There arc two main points in this
process which appear confusing to
the lay mind, The first is. how does
the ship operator know when he is To
he called? The answer is that he
docs not; he listens: maintains :,
watch during which time il Is his
duty 10 bc on the alert for signals
Intended for his SHIP; hearing his
call he answers. and the message
is then forwarded. Tho second qucs-
;lon is; How is interference. conru-
sion o: messages. avoided when sew
crnl stations are workln at the same.
time: This L. "A matter OF tuning
and wave length: this is the radio
waves NJ" OF definite l9ngtn Just as
the r;pplos from stone made on
water are of different length meas
ured from peak TO peak
TranSmittcrs are adjusted to RAJ
diato "a specified length Of electro
magnetic wave. and the receiving in
struments arc also made sclcctive,
so as 10 receive as nearly as possible
only the desired wave length. In
'crrational regulations govern the
length OF wave on which the various
classes OF messages are sent. For
example. ship TO shore traffic is gen
orally conducted on COO meters; the
caiI Toy ship or coastal station is
mad" on that wave length. If the
air Is not Congcstcd at that moment
the message Is then transmitted on
that wave length. but IL II happens
that several ships are working In the
vicinity, To avoid interference the
operators. by agreement shift to n
band between 800 meters and $50
meters or "A band OF wave lengths
above 1900 meters. also designated
Tor this class OF message traffic.
great number OF messages thus
can be transmitted through the air
at one time without causing inter-
ference or confusion. The generally
used wave length bands ran from 900
meters. used by the amateurs. IN 10
10000 meters, employed by CONNER
cial tranSoccanic stations. Control OF
the length Of the radiated wave came
in the early stages OF the develop
mcnt Of radio communication and this
feature obviously has contributed
largely to the rapid expansion OF the
prescnt-day system.
The vaTncss or this system today
is little appreciated by the general
public. y score OF nations in Europe
and Asia are IN regular radio tclc-
graph communication with America
ANA millions of words arc exchanged
III straight commercial message
business operated day and. night.
great network OF high power
stations Is required To maintain the
world wide system of the Radio Cor
poration of America; powerful trans
mitters are located In Massachusetts,
Long lsisnd, New Jersey, California
and Hawaii. South America. too.
viii soon be adequately provided for
ART
foremost position in tho matter OF
commercial radio COMMUNICATIONS
The correspondent stations abroad art
located in the important communities
ton ccni"rs OF europe. Hawaii anu
in Japan.
In the accomplishment of the re-
Liable transoccnnic service which pre-
walls today radio biography has
made some wonderful strides in teen
Mica! development The o!d-tim.
"spark" station has made way for a
newer type transmitting signals
carried on a. continuous wave
through which speed and accuracy
have been Increased and Interference
reduced to u minimum. This great
Improvement is largely due ia lnc
development OF the AIoNanderson al
i"rnator. n radio frequency machine
which gives an output of 20O kilo-
ats, and which is produced by the
;cncra. Electric Company. Moro
than dozen Of those machines have
been installed ia American stations.
Increased Efficiency.
Marked increase It the radiatlng
efficiency of these transmitting sta
tons mas come. too. through nm
proved design ana application Of the
multiple tuned autcuua. And of canal