Evening star., 1933-09-20
ELLSWORTH RADIO
HELD FINEST MADE
Explorer Hopes to Keep in
Touch With New York on
Antarctic Flight.
BY LINCOLN ELLSWORTH.

BY LINCOLN ELLSWOkTH.
AUCKLAND New Zealand, Septem-
Der 20 (N.AN.A).-The radio equip
ment for the Ellsworth tranS-Antartic
flight expedition is by all odds the finest
of it's kind so far devised. We will have
four transmitters and q like number Of
receivers.
These transmitters and receivers will
keep each unit of the expedition In
touch with the ship or base station.
In turn, the main transmitter at the
Antarctic base will radio our daily ac-
tivities direct to New York, for trans
mission thence throughout the world.
For this excellent equipment we are
indebted to many manufacturers and
individuals who have donated their ap-
paratus and energy to help make the
expedition great success.
Perhaps of greatest interest to read
ers is the radio apparatus aboard the
airplane. This transmitter is so con-
structed that it can transmit on any
wave between 20 and 80 meters, and
also on the 600meter intermediate
ship waves The transmitter will
be mounted in the rear of the fuselage
and operated by remote control from
the after cockpit The power output
will be 100 watts, double the power
used by the radio on Admiral Byrd's
pldllC Oll lllS plCNlOuc fAlldl VIZ CAPSQ4s
ton, the Floyd Bennett.
May Be In Touch With New York.
The New York Times successfully ex-
changed messages direct with the Floyd
Bennett when this plane was flying
over the Antarctic Continent. It IS
therefore entirely within the realm Of
possibility that our own plane will be
in continuous communication with New
Vnrl/ u,f,i1o po1c1on M
flying from the Bay Of Whales to the
Weddell Sea and return. II not. our
base station will be certain to receive
news concerning the progress of our
flight as radioed by Balchen. and in
turn will pass it on to New York for
distribution to newspapers throughout
the world.
The transmitter will receive its pow
er from generator coupled direct to
the engine Of the plane. thus keeping
wind resistance to a minimum The
output OF this generator will be 400
watts, and there will be no moving
electrical parts to get out OF operation
The antennae for the plane will be
OF the trailing-wire type. This is by
all means the most eficient and most
foolproof radiator. The wind resistance
on a trailing-wire antennae Is negli-
gible. especially so when operating on
oIlOlC Wdfco, DIS Illc Wuc ID very SIudu
and only few feet are exposed.
Modern in Design.
The receiver for the plane is very
modern in design, having a detector
and one stage of audio amplification
Plug-in coils are provided and the
receiver may be run either from bat
teries or from the output of the engine
generator.
Tp odSifio,, fo tho ot>o,,o on,,;n~.,~4
the plane will carry an emergency
transmitter and receiver which can be |
carried on the trail should q mishap |
force us to trek back to the baSe This
apparatus is of very light construction. |
The transmitter has an output of Is |
watts and can be tuned to any wave |
from 80 to 100 meters. Although the !
power is small. we expect no difficulty |
in communicating with the base sta
ton should a mishap make use of this |
apparatus necessary. |
The ship carrying us to the Antarc- |
tic will be equipped with both short and |
intermediate wave transmitters. The |
intermediate wave tranSmitter will be |
used to communicate with nearby ships |
and will be especially useful on our |
route from New Zealand to the Ross |
Sea, when it will be necessary to get |
information from the whaling ships in |
the vicinity of the ice pack as to the |
ice conditions.
A short-wave transmitter is provided
for communication from the ship to |
far-distant points, and it is this trans |
m1tter which may be moved to a base |
on the ice barrier if it Is found i'm
possible to anchor the ship safely with |
in close reach Of our Antarctic base |
Upon this transmitter we must depend |
to inform the world of our Antarctic |
activities.
Gas Engine Develops Power.
During the fight to the Weddell Sea !
constant communication will be main |
tanned with the plane, and in turn this ]
tranSmitter must inform the outside |
world of the progress and result of our |
flight. This transmitter is of the con- |
ventional self-oscillator, self-rectif1er |
type, employing two 204A tubes as oscil- |
lators, and it was built by the expedi- |
tion's own engineers. Simplicity was the |
keynote in its construction.
Power is derived from 2-kilowatt |
kasoline engine and generator. An
anti-freeZe preparation will be used In |
the cooling system of the engine to pre-
vent the water from freezing. A 34-watt |
short wave receiver employing five tubes |
will be used to receive signals from the |
plane and distant stations.
The expedition has been licensed to
work on large number of wave lengths. |
but the only ones capable Of reaching |,
the United States are approximately 18. |
~. 27, SO and As meters.
Walter j. Lanz. experienced radio en- |
gineer and operator, is in charge of the /
expeditions radio apparatus. Lanz re- |
Gently accompanied DR.. Herbert A. |
Dickey's expedition to discover the |
source Of the Orinoco River During |
the voyage upstream Lanz set up the |
radio apparatus whenever the expedi-
tion halted for brief rest and never |
failed to establish communication with |
distant stations We have every conf
dence LAM will achieve a like success
in the Antarctic.
(Copyrjrht 1919 bv North American News