Coastal Radio Stations

Radio Record, Volume IV, Issue 17, 7 November 1930, Page 15

Coastal Radio Stations

A Comprehensive Network ee ADVAN CES in radio are being made so rapidly nowadays that many of the everyday services are often overlooked. One of the most interesting . wireless organisations in the Southern Hemisphere is the Pacific coastal radio service, which comprises over thirty stations, scattered throughout Australia and the Pacific islands. Many people are scarcely aware of their existence, yet throughout the 24 hours of the day the coastal operators are continuously sending and receiving messages to and from vessels within a radius of thousands of miles. ; The coastal operator not only communicates with ships at sea, but he acts the part of a traffic director. Sometimes several ships are trying to "talk" to him at the same time, and it is his prerogative to tell one to proceed with his message, another to eall him again in half-an-hour, and another to stand-by until he is called. The most important function of the eoastal operator, however, is to listen for distress signals. He is eternally on the watch for the 8.0O.8., and the moment that call is heard he sends out in eight letters a call, which is an order to all stations to cease transmitting and listen. It is the coastal operator who determines which vessel can most readily render assistance, and thus he reports to the navigation authorities. Recently, when the Tahiti sank in mid-ocean, the operators of Suva radio had complete command of shipping in the Pacific. Through their agency the messages from the sinking vessel were not only communicated regularly to the rescuing craft and other shipping, but the Tahiti’s owners in New- Zealand we-e kept in constant touch. Many improvements have been made in the coastal rAdio stations since 1922. In that year the A.W.A. company took them over from the Postal Department, which was never adequately organised for a radio service. The old spark transmitters were then in use, and an extensive research was immediately commenced with a view to developing an efficient valve transmitter with which to replace them. Thr experiments were successful, and now the most modern of transmitters are installed throughout the coastal stations. In order to ensure a trouble-free service, each station is also equipped with an auxiliary universal wave transmitter. This is a low-powered instrument, which can be operated on any wave- length as simply as a radio receiver is tuned in to various broadcasting stations. Although these sets use no

more power than would light an ordite ary house, they have a normal range of 500 miles by day and 1200 miles by night.