CHAPTER XVII. OPERATION.
The first essential in order to manage a wireless station, after learning the construction and handling of the instruments, is to acquire a thorough knowledge of the telegraph codes.
The two codes in use in wireless service are the Morse and the Continental. They are given below.
In some cases, the intending wireless operator has had some experience with a Morse sounder and then it is merely a matter of transition and of accustoming the ear to a new sound. However it is always best to learn the Morse code first as Continental is merely an adaptation in which no space characters appear.
A beginner may learn to receive most easily by communicating with another person to whom it is also new. They should first memorize all the letters of the code and practice transmitting before commencing any communication.
It is a great mistake for a beginner to start by writing down the dots and dashes as he receives them on paper. He should make an effort to translate them and set the characters and words down directly. This at first will sacrifice speed but will make a better operator and enable one to become proficient sooner than if he begins otherwise.
In case two complete sets of wireless apparatus are not convenient, one may learn to read from a buzzer connected to a key and a battery. The signals may be read directly from the sound of the buzzer itself, but if a pair of telephone receivers are connected across the terminals, a sound will be produced in the phones similar to that of a wireless receptor.
In sending, avoid a short, choppy or jerky style and handle the key with a light but firm touch. Keep the dots and dashes firm and of the proper relative length, as also the spaces between letters and words.
The following suggestions and instructions adapted from the Rules and Regulations governing Naval Wireless Telegraph Stations may be of value and service to many in operating their instruments.
"The operating room should be well lighted and free from vibration. The room should have a well insulated entrance for the aerial and should be fitted with an operating table about two and one-half feet wide, not less than seven feet long and of a convenient height for working the sending key.
The table should be of dry, well-seasoned wood and the instruments should be mounted on the table at safe sparking distances from each other.
"The connections should all be as direct as possible and well insulated. High potential leads should be kept away from low potential leads and where they cross it should be at nearly right angles.
"Sending key contacts must be kept clean and flat with surfaces parallel to each other.
"All sliding contacts, especially in the receiving tuning coils, should be kept clean and bright and free from foreign matter. A sending set working at low power with all connections good, closed and open circuits in resonance, no sparking from edge of condenser, jar or plates, no glow from aerial and no sparking to rigging, is utilizing its power much more efficiently than the same set pushed to the limit with high resistance connections, sparking at all points and out of resonance."
Fig. 147. Marconi Station at Siasconset, Mass.
It is a good plan for any amateur to keep a note book in which he can record the various distances he has been able to receive and transmit. He should try more than one circuit and jot down the results. It is then possible to bring a station up to an efficiency which cannot be reached in any other manner.