The sea coast echo. [volume] (Bay Saint Louis, Miss.) 1892-current, 1920-09-25
Subscription Annum Always BAY ST. LOU
BAY ST. LOUIS WILL HAVE
WIRELESS STATION.
Will Be the Only One On Seacoast
Between New Orleans and Mo-
bile.-Hubert De Ben Will
Construct Station.

l a summer resident OF Day 81. LOUIS,
is preparing for the erection in
Bay st. Louis of wireless station.
10 The Echo he said, Il will be-
gin work on the station in about a
month and should have it completed
about next spring. | expect to be In
Bay ST. Louis shortly with the nec-
essary testing apparatus so as to
md suitable location"
The station will have an approx
mate range of one thousand miles.
Messages will be handled free of
charge to any part of the United
States via the American Radio Re-
lay League trunk lines.
Bay st. Louis will have the dis
junction of being the only town be-
tween New Orleans and Mobile with
such wireless station.
Hubert E. de Ben, is still called the
leading wireless amateur OF New Or
lans, although he is now CONNER
cial radio telegrapher. He has the
best equipped and largest amateur
radio station in tn South, says the
New Orleans Item, speaking about
Mr.. de Ben in feature article Of re-
cent date, and continues:
About five years ago friend ask
ling him to assist in erecting sta
ton. At that time wireless" sound
ed like something mysterious and
magical but having mystery solv-
ling mind" Hubert, who was then 15
years old, listened to the brief ex-
planation of autobiography and
bfore the station was erected be-
cam as enthusiastic as his chum.
Coming in contact with radio
'fiend' lays one liable to the disease
Sof radiotis,' and | was in for an
overdose" says de Ben.
HEARS HIS FIRST SIGNALS.
after receiving the explanation of
the mysteries of wirelss, / returned
home and began planning. made
a few vicious attacks on my savings
account and bought material to con-
struct few pieces of crude appa
ratus. / erected a small aerial and
connected it to the apparatus. | sat
with the receivers clamped to my
Uranium for two hours before being
rewarded with FAINT sounds. They
were being sent by the naval station
four miles away. At last the myste-
rious of wireless had been mastered.
Friends and neighbors visitd me
and listened with awe to the mystic
rious flashes and buzzes. They re-
garded me as a miracle man with
more than human intelligence. There
were some Bolsheviki neighbors, too,
who started rumors that the wires
strung over the back yard drawing
ghosts and lightning. These rumors
were promptly stamped out. / claim
ed that persons with such ideas were
ignorant and their wild fears un-
worthy Of notice.
SIX MONTHS WORK WASTED.
The government requires all anna
teurs to pass an examination before
being allowed to transmit signals,
and the amateur, being dissatisfied
with only hearing them, began study
ing for the tests.
Alas! He studied the wrong code
and when he appeared before the dis
trict radio inspector, his six months
of labor had gone for naught. He
must return and learn the Internation-
al Morse or Continental code. Two
months later he returned equipped
with knowledge of Continental"
and various points of the theory of
radio electricity.
Having obtained his license, he in
stalled transmitter with nom
synchronous rotary gap. Such a gap
sounds like 40 freight trains crash
| ing down a hillside when the opera
tor begins to transmit signals. The
nerve-racking noises disturbed the
neibhbors aroused oa high pitch of
indignation, they would arrest him for
disturbing the peace, they would an
initiate him, they would burn his
shack.
For months the boy who master
ed the secrets of mysterious radio
feared to go forth from his home
fearing to leave his operating room,
sure destruction and death would
greet him if he ventured into the
streets and bombs would wreck his
apparatus if left unguarded. Jeal-
ously the boy watched his precious
set, beset with these and a hundred
other fears. But the noises of the
rotary gap continued far into the
night. In defiance of neighbors and
his own fear, he continued to oper-
ate.
BUILDS NEW STATION AFTER
WAR.
In six months having become pro-
ficient in many branches Of the
science, he took out a commercial Ii
cense. The sea with all it's wild
wonders appealed to his boyish ma
ture. The commercial license entit-
led him to sea service. That sum-
mer he spent his vacation at sea. For
thefour succeeding years, he has
spent the summers on the sea and
the winters in school.
Then the war came, and his older
chums left for the front. The gov
ernment ordered all amateur sta
tions dismantled. And amateur must
no tlisten to War Department orders.
Spies could not keep stations under
the guise of amateurs. Hubert was
too young to get into uniform with
the Merchant Marine.
When the war ended and the gov
Arnment allowed amateurs to oprate
their stations again Hubert erected
q record-breaker. It was the most
Iup-to-date high powered amateur sta
ton in the South. With it he could
receive signals 1900 miles and trans
nit 1900 miles. It had a working
range of 1000 miles. Direct COM
munication with Roswell, New Mexi-
co, Chicago, Norfolk and Washington
was established. He communicated
with stations in 20 states.
INTERRUPTED u. F. CO. SERVICE
l. n Il