The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1904-01-28
WORLDS HIGHEST
WOODEN MAST
JUST COMPLETED FOR WIRELESS
TELEGRAPH STATION HERE
Towers 23S Feet Above the Ground
Some Comparisons with Other Masts
o Pacific Coast and In Great Britain,
Station Neari. Ready for Service.

The great wireless telegraph mast is
completed, with the exception of paint
ing, which will not be done till drv
weather. 1t is few inches over 237
feet in height and is believed to be tho
highest wooden mast In the United
States, If not in the world, and it is
questionable If any steel mast has ever
been erected of quail height. The ma
chinery is installed, the storage battery
charged and it is expected that the sta
ton will be open for business next
week.
In December DR.. De Forest, inventor
of the De Forest system of wireless
telegraphy, conducted, under the au-
spices of the ritish postoflice, a series
o very successful experiments between
Holyhead England, and Howth, Ire
land, across the Irish sea. distance in
dir 4 line OF sxty-four miles. The
stations are admirably Illustrated and
described in the Scientific American of
the 10Th inst. It appears that the mast
at the Holyhead station is $50 feet In
height, but II stands on the top of
great rock cliff rising 400 feet above the
sea which washes its base, The mast
at the Howth station, on lower ground,
is only II feet high, or practically only
one-half the height of the mast here,
while the distance between the two
stations is double the distance between
here and Port Townsend, in an air
line The height Of the Port Town
send mast is about 10 feet. The dis
tance between the Pacific Wireless
Telegraph Company's stations atSan
Pedro, California, and Avalon, Santa
Catalina island, is almost exactly the
same as the DIST ,nce between here and
Townsend, but the masts at the two
southern stations are both considerably
under 200 feet in height. From the
triangu ar "armp ut the top of the mast
here Fix parallel copper wires are
strung vertically, connecting at the
lower end with the receiving and send
ing instruments in the Office and ma
chinery building. The electric energy
required for transmission il supplied to
the storage batteries by dynamo OPP
Grated by six-horse power gasoline
engine, which is much larger than the
engines in use at the other stations of
the Pacific Wireless Company. A very
high voltage Is obtained by means OF
the largest induction coil ever manu-
featured on the Pacific coast, and in
fact it j. said to be the largest in use in
any wireless station in the world with
the exception of the Marconi station
on Cape Breton island. The "coiP'
consists OF several hundred miles OF
fine, closely wound wire. "From this
highly-charged coil the electric force IS
discharged by means of an ordinary
Morse key, the opening and closing OF
the circuits by means of the key caus-
ing fiashe between two copper spheres
placed short distance apart, one De-
ing a positive aud the other negative
poe. The sharp, cracking sounds pro-
duced by these flashes are the dots ana
dashes of the Morse code" The instant
they are produced they are transmitted
to the masthead, whence the SOUND
waves radiate in every direction, form
inc circles similar TO those made by
dropping pebbles into pool. The re-
ceiving instrument in the Townsend
station is keyed to the same tension az
the sending apparatus here and Will
respond to tho sound waves instantly,
reproducing them by ticker as ac-
curately as though the instruments
were connected by a continuous wire
circuit.
The big mast here was erected, an"
chored and guyed under the direction
of J. ID. Nordyke, who came here about
the first of December from Anacortess
not In the least sx pecting to have charge
of such a contract. The work was done
very quietly, by small force OF men
without the least 'bluster' anu IL re"
fleets much credit upon Mr. Nordyke''
mechanical skill and good judgment,