Evening star., 1931-06-14
ASIAN EXPEDITION
WILL RADIO NEWS
District Amateurs viii Re.
ceive Reports for Geo.
graphic Society.

All press dispatches from the Haardt
Transasia Expedition, one party Of
which left Beirut, Syria, April l for
the start Of an 18-monta trip across
Asia, are being handled for the Ma
tional Geographic Society through Sta
ton W3BWT, operated by one of WASH
ington's outstanding radio amateurs,
Eppa w. Darne, of 1872 Tennessee ave-
nue. northeast. They are delivered d.
rcctly to National Geographic Society
headquarters here for daily newspaper
release, SO that the American people
may be kept informed of the progress
of the expedition headed by DR.. May
nard Owen Williams.
The expedition carries a mobile radio
tranSmitter, call letters FPCP, which
transmits daily to the French radio sta
ton FXC at Beirut. From FXC the
press and ordinary traffic are trans
mitted directly to Station W1BDI at
Hartford, Conn, operated by F. E. Ham
dy, communications manager of the
American Radio Relay League, the nA4
tional amateur radio organization. Bus
iness and social messages are thence
relayed to their destinations, but the
press goes to Darnes station. SuppleL
n1entary copies are made by Edmund B.
Redington, W8AJ, Savannah. to insure
complete and accurate delivery. =
Expedition in Two Sections. r
The Transasia Expedition, which iS
one of the most comprehensive and best
equipped of modern times, is divided
into two sections. One, the group
which DR.. Williams is accompanying,
will span 5000 miles of the least known
part Of Asia, from Beirut to Peking
China, and then return over a more
southerly and extended 8.000-mile route.
The other section, starting from Peking,
Is known as the China group, and has
six Chinese members as well as the full
cooperation Of the Chinese government.
They plan to meet at the mid-Asia
rendezvous of Kashgar.
In each group one of the caravan Of
unique caterpillar tractors used fof
transportation of the scientists and sciL
entiflc apparatus, which includes sounds
recording apparatus and color cameras,
Is devoted entirely to a complete radio
station, which operates on both long
and short waves lengths. These serVD
TO at all times keep the expedition in
touch with Paris, headquarters of the
venture and the home of the leader,
Georges-Marie Haardt, "the motor car
Livingstone of France" and the sporl-
sor, Andre Citroen, benefactor of many
scientific projects. With the co-opera-
ton of United States amateurs. theF
supply daily contact with the National
Geographic Society as well.
=
On Way to Peking. -
More than one-third of the initial
journey has already been accomplished
by the first party. according to latest
reports received from DR.. Williams.
Travelling at present in Afghanistan,
having passed through Syria, Mesopo-
tamia and Persia. they have yet to tra-
verse Pamir, Chinese Turkestan and the
Cobb Desert to reach Peking, their OBJ
jective. n
The radio work in connection with
the expedition is all in the days fun
for the amateurs on the receiving end
in this country. Darne, like his col
leagues, operates his radio station pure
ly as hobby; not one cent of reconTt
pense can be paid to any amateur under
the self-imposed rules of radio
"hamdom." ~~