Evening star., 1922-10-29
PASSENGERS LIVES HANG
ON OPERATORS NERVE
Goodness in Face of Craze and Sudde1,
Danger Essential if Calls for
Help Are Understood.

nails of maritime or naval radio that
| a life has been lost at sea due TO
shortcomings on the part of a radio
operator.
This is a heritage of which we justly
should be proud, because the loss OF
vessel at sea might conceivably be
attended with an appalling loss Of
life, due wholly to shortcomings on
the part Of g. radio operator.
shore Stations Alert.
Not only radio operators afoat. but
also those on shore. may be confront
ed with grave danger In the perform
ance of their daily tasks.
The rule Of primary Importance with
respect to shore stations is that they
must be kept in condition for instant
operation primarily to serve ships at
sea.
No effort or reasonable expense is
spared to accomplish this purpose.
because naval and merchant vessels
must depend on them for service and
protection.
That the traditional courage Of Ameri-
can radio operators at sea prevails
among the radiomen at the Nays
shore stations in equal or greater meas
ure will be apparent from the follow
ing:
During the unusually severe wind
| and sleet storm of January. 1920. the
600-foot self-supporting steel towers
a. thc Annapolis niSH-po"er STATION
became what were virtually huge
| shafts of Ice. Heavy Accommodations
| of ice also collected on the steel tri-
attcs and wires forming the overhead
part of the antenna system suspend
| ed from these towers nearly 600 feet
| above the ground.
! Brave Ice and Gale.
A henSy electric current was cir
culated tS1ough the antenna wires
| from the power house, which pro-
J duced sufficient heat to melt the Ice
from the wires, but the ice could
not be removed from the steel triatics
! AS a result Of this abnormal load
| on the triatics with the strains caused
| by the attendant high winds. some
! Of the antenna wires broke loose and
| hung vertically, so that they were
blown with the wind against one OF
| the towers. thereby grounding" the
antenna and placing the station out of
| commission.
| Refore the station could ba again
placed in operation il was necessary
| to climb the ice-covered towers and
cut these wires free from the towers.
They could not be reached in Any
| other way.
! Certain members Of the station force
unhesitatingly volunteered for this
| duty. They climbed to the top of the
tower. regardless Of the ice and pre-
| vailing high winds. They then hauled
| up from the ground an eighteen-inc nct
plank secured to line. They braced
this plank in horizontal position in
the top of the tower, and one of the
| men worked himself out on 1t far
| enough to reach the swinging wires
| and cut them loose. thus removing the
difficulty and enabling the station to
| again be placed in operation.
Fight Fire ON Top.
| At o'clock in the morning Of Octo-
Der %. 1921. the operator on duty a,
the Navy's high-power station a,
Heeia, in the Hawaiian Islands, dis.
| covered the top section of the COS.
| foot. wood lattice guyed mast to be
on fire, while the transmitter was
functioning into the antenna.
The transmitter was Immediately
! shut down and the station force OF
| about ten men quickly assembled tc
deal with the emergency. They had
to rely on their own resources, be.
| cause this station is situated in iso.
| lated locality on the Island of Oahu
! 1t was imperative that the fire be ex-
tinguished. otherwise the mast would
! collapse and the station be placed in.
| operative for long period Of time.
The only possible means Of extin.
gushing the blaze was for men tc
! climb through the lattice work to the
top section of the mast carrying port.
able fire eXtinguiShers to play on the
fire.
Certain members of the Atatior
force volunteered for this duty, with
the result that the fire was quickly
extinguished, temporary repairs were
made and the station was again func.
tioning at s o'clock the same morn.
ing.