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[TowerTalk] The Early Transatlantic Wireless Stations

To: TOWERTALK@contesting.com
Subject: [TowerTalk] The Early Transatlantic Wireless Stations
From: <donovanf@starpower.net>
Date: Fri, 6 Jul 2007 08:44:04 -0400 (EDT)
List-post: <mailto:towertalk@contesting.com>
Dave,

Rugby was indeed a massive longwave and HF station.  Unfortunately, 
technological progress made it obsolete. It was the fourth
generation of transatlantic wireless stations in the British Isles.

The first generation was Marconi's famous station in Poldhu, Cornwall, built in 
1901.  Its counterpart stations in North America were in
St. Johns, Newfoundland; Table Head, north of Glace Bay, Nova Scotia; and 
Wellfleet, Cape Cod, Massachussets.  All of these were experimental 
transatlantic stations. They carried some commercial and government traffic but 
not with the reliability needed to compete with the transatlantic telegraph 
cables.

Poldhu was replaced by Marconi's huge station near Clifden, Ireland in 1907.  
Its North American counterpart was Marconi's new station in Glace Bay, Nova 
Scotia, Canada.  These were the first transatlantic wireless stations that 
could compete successfully with the transatlantic telegraph cables.

Marconi replaced the Clifden Station with his new wireless station near 
Caernarfon, Wales.  This was the first commercial wireless station designed to 
communicate directly with the United States.  Marconi's
counterpart was in New Brunswick, New Jersey.  

Caernarfon was replaced by the General Post Office station in Rugby, although 
Marconi's Caernarfon station continued in operation through World War II.  
Rugby initially communicated with RCA's Radio Central in Rocky Point, Long 
Island, New York.

Most hams are unaware of the massive transmitters and antennas required
for transoceanic communication prior to the discovery of long distance 
shortwave communication by hams in 1921.  Prior to 1921, the transatlantic 
receiving antennas were just as large as the transmitting antennas -- typically 
400 feet high and more than a mile long -- and located at least 20 miles from 
the transmitters.  

Harold H. Beverage's invention of the Beverage antenna in 1920 lead directly to 
the consolidation of the former Marconi transatlantic receiving stations into a 
single station at a 2000 acre site in Riverhead, Long Island, New York. The 
Beverage antenna made the gigantic transatlantic receiving stations in Belmar, 
New Jersey and Belfast, Maine obsolete and directly lead to their destruction 
in 1924.

These huge stations were then made obsolete by the discovery of transatlantic 
shortwave communication by hams in 1921, but the big transoceanic wireless 
stations powered by the 200 KW Alexanderson alternators continued to be used to 
supplement shortwave communication through the end of World War II.  All of the 
longwave stations that survived after World War II were used for naval and 
marine communications.

An excellent starting point to learn more about the early transoceanic wireless 
stations is:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexanderson_alternator#Stations

Just click on the name of each station for more details.  

All of these longwave stations were demolished except Grimeton which is a now 
very unique wireless museum.  There are also excellent wireless museums in 
Glace Bay and Table Head, Nova Scotia; Poldhu, Cornwall; Chatham, 
Massachussets; and Camp Evans, New Jersey

73!
Frank
W3LPL


---- Original message ----
>Date: Fri, 6 Jul 2007 00:10:15 -0400
>From: "WA3GIN" <wa3gin@comcast.net>  
>Subject: [TowerTalk] All 12 of Rugby Station's 820FT tower (demolition video)  
>To: <TOWERTALK@contesting.com>
>
>Our tour first visited the coil room on the upper floor of the transmitter 
>hall. The vast arrays of copper 'plumbing' were similar to those of Criggion 
>but in the larger building looked more impressive. All of this was supported 
>on wooden framing held together with plastic bolts (no ironwork allowed that 
>might detune the radio performance). The apparatus was built to carry 1000 
>amps of radio-frequency current, although it normally operated at 750 amps. 
>The frequency transmitted was 16kHz normally, although tests had also been 
>made at 22kHz. The transmitter valves operated with an anode voltage of 12 
>kilovolts, supplied by some pretty powerful power transformers or else by 
>standby generators that we saw later in the power hall. Transmissions were 
>normally MSK (Minimum Shift Keying, a form of FSK-Frequency Shift Keying-used 
>to carry digital information on a radio carrier) and occasionally A1 (on-off 
>keying or 'OOK').
>
>Some great radio history at these web sites:
>
>http://www.subbrit.org.uk/sb-sites/sites/r/rugby_radio/index2.shtml
>
>http://www.subbrit.org.uk/sb-sites/sites/r/rugby_radio/index70.shtml
>
>I was there several years ago visiting a friend who worked at BT.  It was a 
>beautiful site to see on a clear day...100s of sheep feeding on the grassy 
>fields under the towers; a  massive installation...British TEL actually built 
>their own towers in those days, had their own repair and maint. shop, crew, et 
>al.
>
>This installation was significantly larger than our Annapoplis, MD  VLF 
>station.  ;-)
>
>73,
>dave
>wa3gin
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