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M R.
SEEING WIRELESS
MESSAGES
By WILLIAM A. COFEY
THE "SIGHT AND SOUND" TEACHING APPARATUS
GEORGE E. RIGGINS,
formerly connected with the
radio service of the United
States Navy on the Pacific
Coast, later in charge of the
navy radio exhibit at the Panama Pacific
International Exposition in San Francisco,
has perfected recently a device to
assist beginners in radio work. It consists
of an omnigraph and an electrical
attachment thereto that flashes, one by
one, the letters of the alphabet.
There is perfect synchronization between
the omnigraph and the attach­
ment : the latter flashes the letter at the
same instant that the former sends the
signal through the buzzer to the student's
ears.
The prospective wireless operator, in
the very beginning, is introduced to the
buzzer and the flasher. He is seated
before the apparatus and shown how to
adjust the receivers over his head. Then
the omnigraph is plugged into the circuit,
the flasher is switched on and his education
is under way.
At first the student does nothing but
sit still, listen to the buzzer and watch
the electric lights behind the little glass
squares as they faithfully keep step with
the signals coming to his ears. He
quickly learns to associate sight and
sound. He sees a certain letter and he
hears at the same instant a certain number
and arrangement of dots and dashes.
Then he takes pencil and paper and, still
watching and listening, begins to write
down what he sees and hears. Thus his
hand gets into the game and begins its
education. At first the flasher moves
back and forth in measured and regular
order and it is easy for him to follow it.
Then the speed is increased and he has
to screw up his concentration.
The lights behind the glass squares
begin to jump about here and there and
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