Abstract
THE first practical application of radio provided communication with ships at sea over distances and under conditions which made all other forms of communication impossible. More than thirty-five years have elapsed since that first application, and marine radio still remains unique for this particular purpose, so important to commerce and so essential to safety. In no other field, except that of air transport, is radio irreplaceable by other forms of communication. A general survey of the present state of the art of marine radio communication was given at a meeting of the Wireless Section of the Institution of Electrical Engineers on March 3, when Commander F. G. Loring and Messrs. W. L. McPherson and W. H. McAllister presented a paper entitled “A Survey of Marine Radio Progress, with Special Reference to R.M.S. Queen Mary”. The first section of the paper comprised a short summary of progress during the last five years, with particular reference to the nature and volume of traffic, the types of communication involved, and the increasing use of direction-finding equipment by navigators. Next the types of equipment fitted in cargo vessels and the smaller class of passenger vessels were described. An account was then given of the radio problems encountered in the ‘express steamer’ class of vessel, and the paper concluded with a detailed description of the radio station of R.M.S. Queen Mary, the latest representative of its class. This installation comprises four transmitters and nine or ten receivers; the control room can handle four independent duplex circuits, and provision is made for high-speed transmission and reception, and simultaneous communication on both telegraphy and telephony with both sides of the Atlantic. The results of the experience obtained with this equipment have shown that in spite of the difficulties peculiar to ship installations of this character, by careful engineering, a good approach can be made to the operating efficiency of a large land station.
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Progress in Marine Radio Communication. Nature 139, 621–622 (1937). https://doi.org/10.1038/139621d0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/139621d0