Evening star., 1922-09-17
Copyright. 1922. All right. reservsd)

Copyright, 1922. All rights reservsd)
] The value Of radio to the nation is
nowhere better exemplifled than in the
service 1t renders in connection with
the Panama canal.
1t serves the hundred or more mer-
, chant ships as they approach from the
Pacific and Caribbean and daily pass
through the canal in peace times
1t bridges the intervening 1.S00-air-
| mile distance between the Canal Zone
and Washington and provides a medium
for rapid intercommunication between
| the department heads and the military,
naval and civilian officials at the canal.
1t links the Canal Zone with our pos
sessions in the West Indies and with
through strategically located high-pow-
er radio stations.
1t enables contact to be maintained
with our Atlantic and Pacific fleets,
when desired. either directly or through
tho Navy Department in Washington.
1t provides means Of intercomnfuni-
cation between the defensive agencies
| within the Canal Zone. including Army
and naval aircraft. "
| or blockadng of this important water
| way would undoubtedly be one Of the
primary objects of the enemy. In this
event radio would comprise the one
| available agency for effectually co-or-
! dinating the activities of all Of the de-
| fenses Of the canal and keeping 1t open
for the passage of our fleets and their
auxiliaries.
! The Importance Of radio in its relation
| to the defenses Of the Panama canal is
nv ~ ykNryt
| Navy has been diligently striving for
| the past ten years to perfect its radio
system.
The conception Of the Navys existing
| chain of high-power radio stations on
shore took definite form with the gov
canal.
| Valuable Acquisition.
The acquisition of the Canal Zone.
| following closely on the heels of our
acquiring permanent possessions in
the West Indies and the Philippines
as result Of the Spanish-American
war. with our previously acquired
rich empire in Alaska and the strate-
| gically valuable Hawaiian Islands,
! constituted a formidable array of ex-
| tremely important. though distant
and widely separated. outlying pos
| sessions
| To retain these possessions they
must be protected and administered
| Obviously. our three fleets comprised
the principal or first line of safe
; guarding agencies. Obviously. also. a
| reliable system of rapid communica-
tion between Washington. our out
! lying possessions and the fleets was
essential If effective protection was
| to be afforded. Adequate facilities
for the exchange Of rapid communi-
cations were also necessary for the
efficient administration Of these ter
ritories
Transocean cable facilities in the
Pacific and the Caribbean were
meager and not wholly reliable under
normal conditions and but little re-
lance could be placed on them in the.
event Of war. as they could readily be
cut by enemy forces.
Although at this time. high power
| radio had not yet been developed to
the stage where satisfactory trans
| ocean communications over distances
| of the order Of 1000 miles was con-
| sidered feasible. the radio art was
advancing rapidly then as now. and
1t wa confidently expected that the
enectual bridging of these distances
was only a matter of time.
Consequently the construction of
super-hiSh power station of 100 -kilo-
watt power was undertaken at Darien
in the center Of the Canal Zone.
The Darien station was the second
American super-high-power radio
station established.
Important Changes Made.
1t was designed after the pioneer
| Arlington station. but important
changes were made in the final plans
| Self-supporting steel towers were
used. but all three towers were ex-
tended to height of 600 feet
whereas only one of the Arlington
| towers was Of this height, the other
two being $50 feet. The Darien tow
ers, We're spaced 900 feet apart
whereas the Arlington towers were
| spaced only $50 feet, thereby result
; ing in large losses from absorption.
! The most noteworthy change how
F! ever, and one which profoundly af-
fected the subsequent development of
! the radio art throughout the world.
! was the installation of continuous
wave high-power transmitter instead
| Of the then commonly employed in
! terrupted wave or spark transmit
/ ter. This change in the type of
| transmitter for use in the Navy's
/ projected high-power stations was
made only after exhaustive tests had
been made at the Arlington station