15^2 



dark. This has made it very difficult to 

 handle traffic during the summer months 

 and as the communication is limited to 

 the period of darkness, it has frequently 

 happened that more business has been 

 offered than could be despatched during 

 one night. For this reason, the Govern- 

 ment has been desirous of installing 

 equipment, capable of handling traffic 

 between North Head and Alaska, during 

 all seasons, day and night. With this 

 object in view, the Navy has ordered a 

 thirty kw. arc set to be installed in the 

 present Cordova (Cape Whiteshed) sta- 

 tion, to test with North Head. By em- 

 ploying continuous waves of great 

 length, generated by this set, it is very 

 probable that the desired daylight com- 

 munication will be established. A much 

 larger station will also be erected near 

 Cordova, at Mile 13 on the Copper River 

 and Northwestern Railroad. Here will 

 be installed a one hundred kw. arc set, 

 which will insure continuous communi- 

 cation between Alaska and the United 

 States, and may make direct communi- 

 cation with Arlington (Va.) possible. 



The adoption of the arc type trans- 

 mitter, by the Navy, marks a long-fore- 

 seen step in advance, and the results of 

 the tests to be conducted by the Navy 

 will be watched with interest by the en- 

 gineering profession. If the operation 

 of the continuous wave transmitters 

 proves satisfactory between the United 

 States and Alaska, where the conditions 

 are unusually trying, it is not improbable 

 that they will be installed throughout the 

 Navy service. 



The Signal Corps, of the United 

 States Army, operates a chain of sta- 

 tions throughout the interior of Alaska, 

 with stations on the coast at Nome, St. 

 Michael, Kotlik, Petersburg and W'ran- 

 gell. These stations serve districts 

 where the maintenance if not the con- 

 struction of a landline would be a very 

 difficult matter. The Signal Corps sta- 

 tions work in conjunction with the 

 United States-Alaska cable system, and 

 the interior land telegraph system, both 

 of which are owned by the Signal Corps. 

 In the interior many points have radio 

 stations as the only means of communi- 

 cation, because the extremely heavy 

 snow fall prohibits the use of telegraph 

 lines. Between Nome and St. ]\Iichael, 



Popular Science Monthly 



a distance of about 120 miles, it was 

 found, after many futile attempts, im- 

 possible to keep a cable intact, during 

 the winter months, on account of the 

 heavy ice floes, which carried the cable 

 away. Accordingly radio stations were 

 erected at these points, and all cable or 

 telegraph traffic for Nome is now sent 

 by radio from St. Michael. A some- 

 what similar condition exists between 

 \\'rangell and Petersburg, in Southeast- 

 ern Alaska, but in this case it is the tides 

 in W'rangell Narrows, rather than ice 

 floes, which make the maintaining of a 

 cable difficult. 



With few exceptions, the Signal 

 Corps stations in Alaska are of one uni- 

 form type. The regulation equipment 

 consists of a single 200-foot steel tower, 

 from which is supported a 12-wire um- 

 brella antenna, and a ten kw. Telefunken 

 set. Receiving equipments include both 

 Telefunken and I-P-76 Tuners. Alost 

 of the stations have counterpoises. 



Another group of radio stations in 

 Alaska, is the group of salmon cannery 

 stations. The majority of salmon can- 

 neries are located at points distant from 

 the cable or telegraph lines, and for their 

 own convenience, the owners have in- 

 stalled, or leased, small sets. These sta- 

 tions w'ork with Government or Com- 

 mercial stations, and afford a means of 

 communication with the outside world. 

 These sets, at small expense, handle 

 business between the canneries and the 

 home offices of the packing companies, 

 in the United States, that would other- 

 wise have to go by the slower mail. 

 These stations are in operation during 

 the canning season only, which lasts 

 from about May to September, and are 

 some ten or fifteen in number. 



In times past, when the Seattle-Alaska 

 cable has broken, the radio stations of 

 the Government, in conjunction with the 

 commercial stations of Alaska have sat- 

 isfactorily handled the heavy traffic al- 

 though these station then had low- 

 powered sets, and were able to hold 

 communication at night only. With the 

 completion of the improvements and new 

 installations now planned for, however, 

 the radio system of Alaska will be capa- 

 ble of giving uninterrupted service be- 

 tween the United States and most of 

 the important points of Alaska. 



