With Towns Crashed in Ruin

Radio Record, Volume IV, Issue 31, 13 February 1931, Page 2

With Towns

Crashed in

Ruin

Amateur. Transmitters are

quickly on the

air and make con’

‘tact with

outside

world.

By

Our Special

Representative

DP one terrible .moment the ' most dreadful calamity this Dominion has known fell upon . Hawke’s. Bay. In a few seconds the work of three generations was destroyed and the veil of silence drawn hastily over its wreckage. What th e plight of the inhabitants would have been had radio not remained as an avenue of communication, no one can imagine. But it was there, and among those who rose nobly

Let above = circum‘Stance and catried on when all was ‘desolation and confusion, was the ‘radio amateur, the "ham." He went quickly and quietly to his post and remained there, steadily "poundirig his brass" and calling for help that nobly responded. No’ one bade him do this or do that; he had foreseen no such emergency and relied-on no other organisation than his great world-wide brotherhood. He proved his ability, for his ‘station was wrecked, as was everything else, his power was cut off-yet

he-got through. And yet he thinks no more of this epic performance than he does of an ordinary e sk e d. bed After the first wrecking blow had fallen, the H.M.S. Veronica, fortunately in Napier harbour at the time, radioed and was picked ‘up in Auckland. Then the Northumberland’s’ transmitter began to click and sent brief messagés that told New Zealand of the terrible tragedy. These messages were received before noon, at a time when there was no means of broadcasting the

news. Such help as was availeble was . speedily despatched. In Napier there is one active "ham," Mr, G, E.:Tyler, of Vigor

Brown Street. A keen amateur, he has done a great deal for amateur radio in his home town. In the’ rear of his home is his

radio shack, a pleasant, glassed-in porch, ‘in. which are three sets: a big transmitter, a portable one, and a receiver. The transmitters derive their power from the electric light mains, but, in common ‘with the vast maj ority of receivers, the other set uses all battery power, WHEN the first- shock came, Mr ie Tyler was at his business in the city, and, like so many others, found himself struggling amid falling brick and masonry. "T cannot tell you how I escaped," Mr. Tyler told me; "every-. thing- was tumbling about my ears, a huge wall missed me by inches and I:had to scramble out the best I could. My escape, like that of others, cannot be explained. People around were crushed ‘under falling debris; others just disappeared in a cloud of dust and brick. Many’. who stopped in. the buildings were unharmed; others who rushed into the street were engulfed by the collapsing walls. 1 knew telegraphic communication was impossible, andI weighed for a momenit'the use of my services in rescue work or. here. | f decided it was here, and dashed home." ’ Finding his. wife and family. safe atid: his ‘hatue’ slightly damaged, Mr. Tyler looked to his’ transmitter. It.was-in a’sorry -mess. All instruments and gear were strewn hopelessly about the floor: The electric power was off and his ‘sets; to asivoue but such a man as himself, so much useless junk. mi The first need was batteries, and they were down ‘town in the

wr * now burning ruins. _.. ."I went for my life and dived into one or two shops that I knew had radio gear. The fire was rapidly approaching them and everything was frightfully battered about. I rescued a couple of accumulators and three "B"’ batteries and got them home." ‘Then came the work of reconstruction. The main transmitter was useless, for the power available was altogether inadequate. The batteries were few enough for the portable set, but they were made

to work. "At about one. o’clock I was chirping good,". said Mr. ‘Tyler, "but I could not raise anyone. I was on 40 metres and I suppose Wellington was being skipped" One o’clock, Two hours after a tragedy that would have numbed the imaginatio n s _of nine out of, ten ‘people,

this amateur station was on the air calling CQ. No stopping to recover, no inactivity. : But fortune was against ZGE. No one was to be heard, probably because so few knew of the disaster, and two hours ‘of fruitless calling ensued. At last, the call was answered by .a Christchurch ham. Forthwith, without courtesies or pause, 2GE poured out ‘the terrible story. One pause was made: to send a message tothe postmaster that contact had been made and in that time Christchurch contacted Wellington over air and through wire. 2XP, Wellington, Mr. W. M. Dawson, picked up Christchurch and learned the poignant story. He made rapid arrangements and was soon on the way to the earthquake area, equipped with radio transmitting and receiving gear to do his bit.’ "8 In the meantime, Mr. S.. Perkins, of Wellington, heard Napier, calling and caught the first messages that were heard directly in Wellington. "Hang on for dear life," clicked over the air. This was at 4pm. Without wasting any time, 2GK contacted the Wellington Post Office and received orders to stand by to work traffic. His thus became the first official station-a definite channel had been formed between Wellington and Napier. _ In a very ‘short time ‘an experienced telegraphist and radio amateur, Mr, W. Asbridge, was sent from the Post Office, and 2GK was taken over. Messages then came through thick and fast. The Napier amateur, 2GE, whose indomitable courage had at last borne fruit, commenced now upon work in real earnest. All the while, his town was trembling with quakes, which although not comparable with the first one, were enough to keep almost all the population out of doors. All around people were preparing for the night in the open. Tents were going up, beds being taken into the open, and women and | children making for the beach and other open spaces: | No one knew when another violent shake might bring down the remaining buildings. Early inthe evening there was‘one that did further damage, yet 2GE’s. key pounded away unceasingly. No sooner was one message

finished than another was begin. in organisation betweerl the civic headquarters and the station was soon established. Runners connected headquarters with the station and. news and official messages for all parts of the world were taken. [X the midst of this anxiety and : distress Mr. Tyler pleaded with his wife to leave and take to safety herself and the young family. But she, like her husband, would not leave the station. "While 2GE.is on the air I will be here to look after him," she said, and so through that terrible night -Continued on Page lh,

When Towns Crashed in Ruins (Concluded from page 3.)

this brave family stayed indoors and forgot their fears. 2GH worked a great key. Twenty words a minute is the. aver- . age speed for amateurs. Good amateurs reach twenty-five and when there are important messages it is usual to repeat. But none of these had any place with 2GH. He pounded away, putting messages on the air at the rate of thirty-five words a minute without. repeats. Another colossal accomplishment of the night. He was well paired with Mr. Asbridge at 2GK. . He was receiving at this rapid speed and not once had to ask for a message to be repeated. As the night wore on, the power of the Napier station began to fail. He started on 2 watts input, a remarkably low power, and as the batteries weakened this dropped rapidly. The tell-tale meter moving slowly but. surely to the left told a tale that sooner or later 2GH would be no longer able ‘3 "chirp." "Send batteries quickly. Get as many as you can," flashed over the air. In the space of minutes the request was being acceded to and high capacity "B" batteries, together with

relief telegraphists, were being hurried -to the scene. The power dropped to one watt, to a half, to a quarter, and then to 4 tenth ;-there were 30 volts only on the plate of the oscillator. Still the signal came in at 2GK. And there was -no. elaborate aerial at that end, either. Such was impossible because of the power interference. From ai few doors down the street 2GI (Mr. Clive Liddel) brought. his a.c. receiver and set into. operation. From the roof of. the room where it was housed was suspended a thread-like wire, and on this 2GH was received. Through the long night Mr. Asbridge and his two willing assistants worked the Napier man.-until at.3 a.m. the failing batteries could no longer maintain contact with Wellington. But assistance was near at hand and at nine the following morning 2GH was on to Wellington again. He had now all the power he required and with the assistance of Mr. G. Sherson, of the Post and Telegraph Department, who had coméd to relieve him, picked ‘up the thread that had been broken in the night. The main transmitter was soon on the air and its signals came pounding into Wellington, clear, strong and distinct. All through that day (Wednesday), ’ and well into the next, they worked. Relief came when the telegraph line went through. But traffic still came over and the station was given the official call ZLZ. During that first night over 100 messages were put on the ~ air. During the whole period over 300 passed between these two amateurs, 2GH and 2GK. When not in contact with 2GK, Tyler contacted other hams, and sent messages to Hastings and Gisborne. In Hastings 2BH, Mr. J. ©. Mills, suffered a somewhat similar plight te 2GH, but wasted no time and got on the air. In the early afternoon he and’ 2FF (Mr. C. T. Hands), of Gisborne, found one another, and passed messages till the early hours of the evenng.

By six in the evening atmospheric conditions made contact between the two amateurs difficult. Mr. Mills then directed his attention to the Government station in Wellington, and eommenced a long connection that was broken only by the establishment of telegraphic communication, 2FF, Gisborne, did great work. He was having morning tea at the time of the ’quake, and together with his companion rushed from the room amid falling debris. They were unharmed, and as there appeared to be little or no loss of life, Mr. Hands hurried to his station and was soon on the air. This was 11 a.m., less than fifteen minutes after’ the wrecking shock. Other shocks were coming thick and fast yet, and with the same courage shown by his brother hams he stayed at his set and sent messages even to Australia. Through contact with Hastings he learned of the awful ruin in that and the neighbouring town. Picked up by a Wellington listener, the news was speedily conveyed to ‘the Wellington Press. He endeavoured to connect Hastings direct again, but:owing to 2BE’s connection with ZLW, was unable to do so. He found a willing partner in Mr. Kyle of 2AW, Palmers- ton North, and from there sent out the news of the disaster, and received the reassurance of help. ' In Wairoa the work of the ham was again plainly in evidence. Very shortly after the main shock the amateur 2ZP came on the air and contacted with 2CJ in Wellington. He was later heard sending messages to Auckland. "Shake is very bad at the moment, but I am hanging on." "Houses are falling all around me." That was again a manifestation of the splendid spirit of the hams. That they must have been fearful of their surroundings there could be no doubt.

Who, who went through the ordeal « , afew hours before would not? But the’ ideals. triumphed over all feeling, an:. their messages went through. Hams go to Napier. THE same unselfish devotion to duty that was manifest by the hams in the Hawke’s Bay district prompted others to pack up their sets and make all speed to the wrecked areas. Barly in the afternoon three well-known amateurs left Wellington by fast cars for Napier. Among these were Messrs. Green and Dixon, who took with them the portable transmitter that is to be used to send out progress reports in the forthcoming Cook Strait swim. Leaving late in the afternoon by fast car, they arrived in Napier just as day was breaking. The fires were still burning, the casualties still being cleared, and organisation uncertain, They were commissioned for Red Oross work, and with difficulty they leeated the temporary hospital in the Botanical Gar dens from which they were to work. One of the tents was occupied converted into a transmitting shack. # was next to the operating theatre which were being brought those unhappy patients who had been injured in the collapsed hospital, — The ground’ still quaked, once severely that the wireless pole tumbled down. Not to be deterred, the station was soon again sending official and private messages. To make contact in Wellington was a difficult prolem. ..Many. of. the hams who could operate at sufficient speed to be of real value were already engaged on Press and other official work. (Concluded on page 16:)

When Towns Crashed: in Ruins (Continued from page 11.)

By Thursday most of the hospital , patients had -been transferred to established .camps, some evacuated, ©The Government at this stage took over the . transmitter, changing its call to ZLN, and it. to -the temporary Post Office in the Hastings Street School. Further good work was done by. ZL2XP, Mr. W. M. Dawson, of Wellington, who, soon after the news was. received, hurried to Napier. He was | quickly established in the Hawke’s Bay club’s grounds, utilising the substantial flagpole as an aerial mast., Down. on. the for ty-metre -band, ‘he- contacted the two Christchurchstations, 83AW and 34D, and* handled" Press and private messages. ,Several;thousands of words . were sent ‘through under very difficult conditions. ~ ° By Thursday traffic had eased owing to the telegraphic communication being established, and 2XP ceased operations. He had done commendable work. LL over the country. the hams have proved their worth in an emergency. No.task they considered too great to attempt and no distressing circumstance withheld them from their jobs. Throughout New Zealand they responded. It is difficult at’ this stage to know who did help. There were many whose names we cannot record, for information on their work is indeed secant, Yet all New Zealand appreciates the great work and great task they bravely faced and so nobly carried through.