Page:Jack Heaton, Wireless Operator (Collins, 1919).djvu/159

 for Marconi had a lot of would-be rivals in those days especially on this side of the Atlantic.

The receivers were of the usual ship type, with magnetic detectors and head-phones, and these were connected to the leading-in wire of the aerial through switches and passed outside through insulators in the wall. Several other wires connected to ordinary telegraph instruments also passed through the wall.

“You see, Jack,” my guide said, “these lines belong to the ' and the ' and by means of them the transatlantic cableless messages are received for transmission: to England or are forwarded to their destination on the Continent.”

This was all interesting enough but there wasn’t much to see. We went over to another building which contained the power plant. In here a big steam engine was running an alternating current generator.

“This generator develops 820 kilowatts, or about 1,100 horse-power, and,” he continued, “this is the most powerful generator ever built for a wireless transmitter.”