Radio Broadcast (Nov 1926-Apr 1927)

30 RADIO BROADCAST NOVEMBER, 1926 watts of electrical energy radiated almost circularly; so that the object I had set myself of finding, a means of rapid communication more economical than that afforded by the ordinary wire or cable telegraph, seemed to a great extent frustrated. I then thought again of my first experiments at Pontecchio. I again remembered all I had then proposed to pursue by means of the radiation of electric waves concentrated in a beam by means of suitable reflectors. Thus in 1917, at Genoa, where I devoted myself to particular studies for military purposes, I made numerous distance experiments with the first beam (the Italian is " afascio") apparatus, using short waves, that is of two or three meters length. Yes! "Beam System" (" Si sterna a Fascio"). I do not now use any of these words because 1 am a Fascist and because Fascismo, for the fortunes of Italy, is triumphant. I always claim for myself the honor of having been the first Fascist in radio telegraphy, the first to recognize the desirability of uniting in a beam (fascio) the electric rays, as the Honorable Mussolini has first recognized in the political field the necessity of uniting in a "fascio" all the best energies of the country for the greater greatness of Italy. But long waves were no longer suitable owing to the use of my Beam System. This system, instead of radiating the waves in all directions, concentrates them in the desired direction almost like a beam of light projected from a reflector. The British Government has officially decided to use this Beam System on the greatest scale for direct communications between the most important Dominions and the Mother Country. And yet I was responsible for having caused the expenditure of hundreds of millions on long-wave stations. A certain courage was therefore necessary to say "Let us turn back." TURNING BACK PAGES OF RADIO HISTORY BUT the Bolognese, after building at Bologna one of the highest towers in Italy, did not hesitate to build near it another much lower one. Near the longest wave stations I was the first to have had constructed, I did not hesitate placing beam stations using very short waves. In my practical study on the ranges of transmission of such waves, while cruising on the Atlantic for several months aboard my yacht Elettra in 1923, I was able to discover some of their very valuable properties unknown to science before that time. I thus gathered that by using short waves in installations of very low power with a suitable reflector it was possible to IN HIS SEA-GOING LABORATORY Senatore Marconi is here shown amongst some of the experimental apparatus on board his famous yacht Elellra. He has crossed the Atlantic eighty-six times, many times in his own yacht THE ITALIAN WARSHIP "CARLO ALBERTO" When Senatore Marconi had made his first long-distance experiments across sea, it was generally opined that communication across mountainous country would not be feasible. The King of Italy placed at Marconi's disposal the Carlo Alberto from which experiments were conducted, and these proved conclusively that the above supposition was incorrect, for communication across the Alps and Pyrenees was effected without difficulty carry on tne most regular, rapid, and economical service by day and night between the antipodes of the globe, that is between England and Australia. With such short-wave installations I was able in May, 1924, for the first time in history, to cause the human voice transmitted from England to be heard and understood in distant Australia. RADIO — ALMOST UNIVERSAL TO-DAY TO-DAY there are thousands of ships equipped with radio telegraphy for the safety of human life at sea and to maintain alive the daily activity of the countless persons who cross the oceans; to-day radio communications between Europe and America, the Far East and South America handle a huge traffic to the advantage of the growing demands of civilization; today millions of radio telephonic receivers scattered in the most distant countries carry on continuous communication with the greatest centers radiating news of everything of interest to mankind; to-day, by means of circular radio telephonic diffusion (so-called "broadcasting"), public opinion can be kept calm during any popular disturbance which interferes with the peace-making work of the press, as was proved on the occasion of the recent general strike in England; to-day many hundreds of thousands of people find occupation, study, and work in the new industry created by radio telegraphy; today aerial navigation is possible and safe up to the farthest bounds by means of radio communication, as has been recently demonstrated by the great triumph of Italian boldness and technical training obtained in the glorious Norge expedition. The field of radio transmissions is con