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t * Canadian Club Members Learn About Unsung Hero The* Canadian Statesman, Bowmanvillc, February 19, 1997 Page 9 by Mary Fraser Reginald Aubrey Fessenden is an unsung Canadian Hero who should be recognized for his many inventions in the fields of electricity and radio. In a well-researched speech to the Bowmanvillc Men's Canadian Club, at St. John's Anglican Church on Wednesday, February 5th, John Charlton told his audience audience that on December 23, 1900, Fessenden was the first person to transmit the human voice without the use of wires, an incredible accomplishment accomplishment and one absolutely critical to all subsequent technology technology in the field of communication. communication. Yet he is virtually ignored in the history books. "Fessenden," said Mr. Charlton, "was born in Bolton Quebec in 1866 and spent part of his childhood in , Fergus Ontario, where his father was an Anglican minister." minister." His mentor was his Uncle Cortez, a teacher of mathematics and physics who, after watching a telephone telephone demonstration at the Bell home in Brantford, spent long hours with Aubrey discussing discussing the invention, inspiring inspiring his young nephew to develop his own creative abilities. abilities. Military School Aubrey's formal education took place in a U.S. military school, Trinity College in Port Hope and University at Bishop College in Quebec, after which he taught school for two years in Bermuda. He then travelled to New York where he realized a dream to work for Thomas Edison. He quickly rose to the position of head chemist of the Edison Engineering Company where he experimented with the properties of rubber as insulating insulating material for electrical wires. After this he worked for George Westinghouse and taught university classes. His : talents were also sought and put to use by the U.S. Weather Bureau in Washington, D. C. Among Fessenden's 300 inventions during these productive productive years was the innovative innovative use of electric power, rather than a steam engine, for driving the gyroscope. To be able to communicate "further than a man could shout" without wires, was always Fessenden's particular dream. "Watching a stone produce ripples on a pond one day, lie realized that radio waves must follow a similar pattern in order to transmit," said Mr. Charlton, adding that Fessenden's use of a transmitter transmitter to send out the wave and a receiver to decode it and discard discard the carrier, is still the basis for all radio communication. communication. Voice Message On December 23, 1900 Fessenden succeeded on his second try to send a one-way voice message from a 50 foot tower on Cobb Island in the Potomac River to another a mile away. Acknowledgement that his voice had been heard and understood came triumphantly triumphantly back by telegraph. This was one year sooner than Marconi's achievement in sending a message by Morse Code from England to Newfoundland. In 1903 Fessenden formed an American firm called the National Electric Signalling Co. He also worked for Adam Beck on a generating station underneath Niagara Falls. Then in 1906 Fessenden built two towers, one at Brant Rock, near Boston, and another on the coast of Scotland. He sent a voice message from Brant Rock to a receiver eleven miles down the Massachusettes coast and a reply was sent from Scotland, "We hear you!" This thrilling moment, the first trans-Altantic wireless voice communication, was never shared with the public, as shortly thereafter a storm destroyed the Scottish tower. "Fessenden also produced Welcome New Member The blustery conditions outside were in sharp contrast to the warmth and good humour that prevailed at the February 11/97 Bowmanvillc Toastmasters meeting. .Our newest member Toastmaster Dirk Bminsma presented his introductory speech. Not only did we learn a little of Toastmaster Bruinsma's background but also we-were treated to samples of his rich humour. For his efforts, Toastmaster Bminsma earned not only the best speaker award but also the Table Topics trophy. Please join us any Tuesday evening 7:30 - 9:30 to share the prowess of our budding members. We meet at "The Darlington Information Hydro Centre." For more information please call 623-2243 or 623-3527. Welcome to the By Glenn Trider This week we will deal will) same questions in aur mail bag. Q. We have an air source heal pump iuul an electric lurmice. Ever since it was installed aver 8 years ago the furnace fan runs continuously ami tile heat pump never seems to shut all' in cold weather. The house feels deafly much of the time. Can anything he done? Dim Ik. Bowmanvillc. A. Dan, you have a two stage system! system! That is, the 1st stage operates on the lient pump ami the 2nd stage operates operates on your backup electric furnace. The heal pump supplies the base heating heating load for die house. For example: suppose you have a 2 1/2 Ion heat pump. At 32"F an average heat pump output is around 20,(NX) BTU's/hr. As die temperature outside fulls the lient loss from the house increases. At some point when die lient loss of the house exceeds the lient output of die heal pump, then your electric lient will kick in to provide die extra additional lient your house needs. At tills point your heal pump will run continuously as well as your furnace fan. As far as your complaint that the house Is ilrulty feeling during cold weather, this is due to the fact that the heal pump can only supply about DOT healing output through the registers. At this low temperature the placement of registers becomes very Important. If located near people this tepid air stain becomes unliearahlc, Duct design anil register location Is very Important to avoid complaints with iical pump systems, If the pump docs not cycle on and oil' In milder weather, weather, above 32"F,.I would suggest you call a i|iialilicd heal pump Icclmlchm to discuss your problem! Q. We have a gas furnace dial Is 12 years old. The furnace fan seems to run all the time when we use,the furnace furnace over the winter. Is this normal? CVd/iv • Bowmanvillc. A. Cathy, this is definitely not normal! normal! Your furnace fan should cycle on and oil' in response to heating demands from your thermostat. During the no heat cycle your fan should shut oil'. Running the furnace fan unnecessarily causes higher power consumption (hydro) and drafts due to cool air being blown out the hot air vents. If you have a hcat/cool system make sure fan is set to auto oil thermostat. thermostat. Also make sure your suin- mcr/winlcr setting is correct. If problem problem continues, a qualified and licensed gas and electrician should be called. My bet is a problem widi the combination fan/limil control on your furnace. Q. 1 wish to install a used gas furnace furnace in my garage/workshop, Can I do this? Dave, Newcastle. A. In most cases you probably can. The installation will he inspected by Consumers Gas and must adhere with the latest installation codes, A qualified gas technician should be able to give you a definite answer. Some things dial must be addressed are: ventilation, gas piping, venting of appliance and protection from getting damaged from cars, or other objects. An inspection of the healing appliance heal exchanger Is important, especially especially If it Is a second hand npplkmcc, before It Is hooked up for carbon monoxide reasons, Some newer appliances arc direct vent which draw air from outside and hence are less prone to venting problems. problems. These can also be installed through the wall in most cases, avoiding avoiding a chimney being installed. We welcome general questions In the hume comfort urea. Please send them to: The Comfort Zone, c/o 'Hie Comfort Shoppe, 1(10 Baseline Kil. K„ Bowmenville, See. you next week! For more information I can be reached at jit Slje Comfort ÉHjoppe ~A 160 Baseline Rd. E, 905-623-2956 -J " CJ.P. the world's first radio program program in 1906," Mr. Charlton explained. At Christmas time Fessenden entertained listeners listeners aboard United Fruit Company ships with a broadcast broadcast that included both human speech and a phonograph recording of classical music. When Fessenden returned home to form, his own Canadian firm known as the Fessenden Wireless Telegraph Company, he discovered discovered that both Canada and Great Britain favoured Marconi's Morse Code system system of communication to his more advanced voice transmissions. transmissions. Permission for his own commercial stations was denied. Yet he freely gave his patents and services to both governments during World War One. The allies benefitted greatly greatly from another of his inven tions, the fathometer or sonic depth finder, a piece of submarine-detection submarine-detection equipment, which prevented ships from colliding with objects that could not be seen. Fessenden died in Bermuda on July 22, 1932, still basically unrecognized. He is mentioned briefly in one encyclopedia as an American who invented wireless wireless voice communication. Mr. Charlton was born and raised in England. After serving serving during war time as an air force electrician, he moved to Canada in 1947 where he eventually secured a position with Bell Canada. In 1959, during the cold war, the U.S. air force acquired his talents for defence work in Labrador. Mr. Charlton has a keen interest interest in, and a mission to inform Canadians about their unsung heroes. Volunteer Administrators Hold Meeting in Bowmanville The new executive of the Durham Region Association of Volunteer Administration includes: (sitting) Fran Harsell of the Red Cross; Debra Prescott of the Oshawa Senior Citizens' Centres: Mary-Jane Nettle of the Eastview Boys and Girls Club and Past-President of DRAVA, (standing) (standing) Carole Climenhaga of the Canadian Cancer Society; Kerry Delaney of K.C. Consulting; Cathy Obright of Scouts Canada; Susanne Clark of Big Sisters; and Jennifer Gushue of the Distress Centre of Durham. DRAVA provides members with an opportunity to develop excellence excellence in the administration of volunteer resources. Member Sally Barrie, of Clarington's Community Care, says being a member gives her networking opportunities, peer support and friendship. DRAVA held its most recent meeting at the Bowmanvillc Lions Centre. hltp://www. 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