Imperial Valley press., 1923-06-11
RADIO TELEPHONE
FROM CATALINA TO
|. A. IS IMPROVED

The radio telephone link between
Los Angeles and Catalina Island, 81
miles off the coast of California,
will shortly set a new record IN the
history of communication 1t IS 10
be the scene Of the first trial on q
commercial basis of a radio teie-
phone system insuring privacy 10
its users. About June II the radio
telephone apparatus which now es-
tablishes connection with the main
land will be replaced by 4 new Ia
dio development of the Bell sys-
tenn engineering which may be eaii-
ed a privacy system for the radlo
telephone. After the new apparatus
is mt in service, it will not be pos
sibie for any of the receiving sets
commonly in use to pick up the mes
sage transmitted by this system
and convert them into understand
able speech. :, -.
The wireless "talk bridge" which
has given telephone service across
SO mile gap of water separating Cat
alma from California coast is un-
ioue in many respects. 1t was de
siened and installed in 1929 to give
two-way talk between the main
land and an island 80 miles at sea.
Submarine Gable Planned
At the time the radio apparatus
was installed, a submarine eaple
could have been laid joining the IS,
land and mainland which would
have supplied q better grade OF
service at less expense, but the con
aitions which existed at that time
and which grew out Of the war were
such that the manufacture OF eapie
would have involved long delay
in supplying service. Suitable sub
marine cable has since become
available, and the laying OF TINS
cable between the mainland ana
Catalina will be completed in the
next few days. This cable is to be
brought into service at an early
date but not before the new prl-
vate radio system has received a
thorough trial.
The radio system, even with prl-
vacy assured, can only be considered
somewhat in the nature of a tenn
porary affair for it is known that
a cable could handle the traffic
more economically, as well as more
satisfactorily in all other respects.
The wireless link connects Cata-
lima Island not only with Los An
eeles but also, through the trunk
lines of the Bell system, it connects
the island residents with every
commercial center in the United
States. After the laying of the tele-
phone cable between Key West and
Havana. the longest telephone cir
cult on record was set up between
Catalina island in the Pacific and
Yhe island of Cuba in the Atlantic.
This circuit was remarkable for
its character as well as for ITS
length.
Starting from Catalina Island the
first 80 miles of this circuit was
wireless; from Los Angeles to Key
West, distance of 5000 miles, the
transmission was over the long dis
iance wires Of the Bell system, and
from Kew West 70 Havana there
ives 10 miles of deep sea submarine
telephone cable.
The new radio equipment which
has been installed both on the is
land and the mainland will handle
telephone messages in such way
that they viii be uninteliligible TO
an ordinary radio receivers. In a
word, the new sets, before putting
the messages .fon the air. will dis
tort "a scramble them, and on re-
eeiving set which is not especially
desfgned or manipulated to un-
scramble them can obtain anything
saielligible.