But in wireless the
electrical waves, or current received, is so weak that it would not
operate the sounder. So a delicate telephone receiver is used.
This is connected to the receiving wires, and as the sender at his
station, perhaps a thousand miles away, presses down his key, and
allows it to come up, thus making dots, dashes and spaces,
corresponding clicks are made in the telephone receiver, at the ear
of the other operator.
It takes skill to thus listen to the faint clicks that may be
spelled out into words, but the operators are very skillful. In
sending messages a very high tension current is needed, as most of
it is wasted, leaping through the air as it does. So that though
the clicks may sound very loud at the sending apparatus, and the
blue sparks be very bright, still only faint clicks can be heard in
the head-telephone receiver at the other end.
"You may send," directed Captain Grantly to Captain Wakefield, and
the blue sparks shot out in a dazzling succession, as the spiked
wheel spun around. This was kept up for some little time, after the
receiving operator at the army headquarters had signified that he
was at attention. Then came a period of silence. Captain Wakefield
was receiving a message through space, but he alone could hear this
through the telephone receiver.
He wrote it out in the cipher code, and soon it was translated.
"I informed them that we had arrived safely," said Captain Grantly
to Colonel Masterly, "and they have informed me that we are to
remain here until further notice, instructing your cadets in the
use of the aircraft.
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