RADIO COMMUNICATION 



The entire plan and structure of the ice patrol rests upon a founda- 

 tion of efficient communication and intercommunication. The 

 more exact and complete the information received from cooperating 

 vessels and stations, as to location and movement of ice, the more 

 successful the patrol will be. It is not too imaginary to say that as 

 the ice information is news of a perishable nature, almost everything 

 depends upon its rapid and accurate dissemination. 



The success of the patrol has been due primarily to communication 

 made possible through the courtesy and cooperation of the merchant 

 fleets of the various nations in furnishing ice, weather, and temper- 

 ature data; the willing and efficient service afforded by the Canadian 

 radio stations in transmitting reports of weather conditions and 

 radiocompass bearings, as well as that of the Navy Radio Station 

 NAA (Arlington), the radio stations of the first naval district, and 

 WCC, the Radio Corporation of America's radio station at Chatham, 

 Mass. 



During the ice patrol of 1925 a total of 524 vessels of different 

 nationalities cooperated by furnishing radio reports of derelicts, ice, 

 currents, and weather, some for a single cruise and others constantly. 

 These may be summarized as follows: 



Belgian 4 German 20 Panaman 3 



British 226 Greek 4 Spanish 5 



Canadian 12 Italian 5 Swedish 18 



Dutch 32 Japanese 2 United States 158 



French 14 Norwegian 21 



On the part of the patrol a splendid record was made by the 

 radiomen assigned to the two vessels under the leadership of Chief 

 Radioman Ole Friis ably assisted by Chief Radioman G. M. Gal- 

 lagher of. the Modoc and Chief Radioman T. H. Rounsefell of the 

 Tampa and their assistants in receiving and disseminating radio 

 data which, as stated above, are so important to the successful opera- 

 tion of the ice patrol. The radio work covered every phase of traffic 

 and required a continuous watch. 



The following radio equipment was carried by the patrol vessels 

 during the International Ice Patrol, season of 1925: 



(a) Main transmittirig set. — Coast Guard model T-2; 2-kilowatt CW, ICW, 

 and phone transmitter; reliable transmitting range under average conditions 

 900 miles daylight, 1,200 miles night on CW, 600 miles daylight and 800 miles 

 night on ICW, and 400 miles daylight and 600 miles night on phone; wave- 

 length range in two bands, from 550 to 960 meters and 1,550 to 2,750 meters. 



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