Evening star., 1923-06-25

youngster for a picnic. He was chosen
from long list of ssibilities-chosen
FOR his special abilities as wireless op-
orator for an arctic explorer.
And Mix says with his chief, We'll
get the messages through
In the United States and in Canada
army Of radio amateurs will listen
for Mix'S signal on a specified night
each week.
When they pick him up, they will send
the message-it will be in code-to the
nearest newspaper cooperating in the
experiment.. That means the nearest
rewspaper. in the United States and
canada, which is member of the
The message, decoded, will be published
n turn.
Radio League Works Out Plans.
~:The plans for the experiments COW
ering a year or more have been
worked out in detail by the Ameri-
can Radio Relay League, whose head
quarters are in Hartford. Conn. The
federal governments radio officers
are also giving complete co-opera-
1ls
Full technical instructions are being
.:sued by the league to its 10000
mamberS
# ever man set the world by the
ears. it is Macmillan.
For the first time the progress of
an arctic expedition will be reported
IS swiftly as the innings of a post
season base ball game.
The test is one of the most romantic
in the annals of radio and of polar
sAnloration. The imagination is
stirred by the thought of the little
ship and her small company of eight
white men frozen in among icy wastes
"r-iV ? 600 miles from home,
Visualize the radio operator at his
IT -,.,4ne apparatus in the forecastle,
the crew crowded eXpectantly around
him. Outside, darkness and 10 de-
forecastle and the little box that may
by its magic eliminate the desolate
miles and bring on the instant the
companionship of civilization.
No wonder these men will wait
tensely for the result of Donald Mix's
skilled knob b-twisting. 1t may bring
ne world marching down the COM
panionway or they may hear only the
moaning of the arctic wind outside.
Doubt Adds to Interest.
This innovation of radio trans
m nission in the arctic is in itself An
important scientific experiment be-
cause of the contention of many
radio experts that TRANSMISSION
through the aurora borealis is I'M
possible. Other radio engineers who
have assisted in preparation for the
event are confident that the attempt
will be surprisingly successful and
will forever establish the fallacy OF
ia theory. The element of chance
and uncertainty adds interest TO the
effort
viii the thousands of radio anna
Nar nf "a
Radio Relay League. hear their old
friend Donald Mix calling them from
cut the far north? They believe they
will. these amateurs, for they are en-
rhusiastic regarding this latest con-
quest of the air. This is a new test,
Il new possibility. They have work
ed almost every conceivable point
IN their low wave length. including
transatlantic communication.
The latter achievement was accom-
DlIshed in spite of the fact that 1t
had been held impossible except for
the high power commercial stations.
The radio equipment on the Bow
Goin was specially built for the test.
Il includes a transmitter. one long
wave and two short wave receivers
and accessories sufficient to last two
Ior three years. Engineers spent sew
oral weeks on the installation and
numerous tests were made while the
IShip was in various ports on the
t1aine coast. Signals from Germany
Sere copied and Chicago was work
hi' nightly.
Geld Makes New Problems.
Because of the extreme tempera-
lures to be encountered in the far
orth the design and installation of
he apparatus presented many inter
sting problems. In addition, be-
,ause the Bowdoin carries sail as
well as an oil engine, the rigging of
I antenna required some ingenuity.
In the apparatus itself every pre-
Faution was taken to allow for the
expansion and contraction of the va
ious parts without interference with
lormal operation.
The antenna is rugged to the two
(nastS with all four wires leading
he lead-in wire being taken off one
nd of a small spreader swung about
half way between the ton of the
oremast and the tip of the bowsprit.
The lead-in inSulator presented
'ectiliar problem. as the temperature
Il the radio section of the forecastle
viii average about 20 degrees in the
forth- while the outside temperature
Frequently is 20 degrees below, a. diff
ere nee of 140 degrees. The slightest
netallic connection between exterior
nd interior under such a great diff
erence in temperature conducts the
peat SO rapidly that it is almost i'm
possible to prevent ice collecting on
he inner end of the conductor. Ac-
ordingly, the inSulator itself was
Constructed of three concentric tubes,
surrounding a long slender brass rod
The outer tube is of specially treated
r0od, the next is of hard rubber and
he inner tube is of glass.
Because of the obvious necessity of
uel economy the power for the
: mil irlif
liant consists of duplicate S50-watt
FaS- engine driven generators con-
hected to d 60-ampere- hour, 32-volt
Ftorage battery. This battery must
larry the regular ships light load
n addition to that of the radio trans
hitter, which alone requires SO am
beres at 80 volts. Consequently, one
bf the gas-engine driven generators
must always be kept in operation
while the radio transmitter is in use.
Can Manufacture Batteries.
AS the failure Of the thirty-two-volt
battery would mean a breakdown of
he transmitter, this equipment was
Felected with great care and a very
complete set of spare parts, chem
Gals. etc. have been provided. The
small B batteries seldom have a life
IF more than one year, and the expe-
iition will be gone at least fifteen
nonths, and possibly several years II
Taught in the ice. Therefore. the