The Daily Alaska empire., 1936-03-06
PATCO SPEEDS
 TRANSFO ORMER
 FOR BROADCAST
Equipment Is Transferred from North Sea and Flown
 Here-Tests Being Made

An emergency charter flight was made by the Alaska Air Transport Patco, flown by Sheldon Simmons, to Cape Fanshaw today to bring to Juneau the RAG radio trans former from the North Sea, neces- sary to conduct radio broadcast tests from the PAA Lockheed Elec- tra this afternoon. The 100-watt transmitter was shipped from Se- attle aboard the North Sea which was delayed enroute and will not reach here until 5:30 o'clock this afternoon, and the test had to be made at 3:30 o'clock today as the first program of the series of broad casts is scheduled to go on the air at 9:30 o'clock tomorrow morning.
 The North Sea was notified by radio that the Patco plane would meet the ship in the sheltered water inside Cape Fanshaw as strong winds and rough water pre- vented the plane from landing in the open waters of Frederick Sound.
 Meets Steamer
 The Patco left Juneau at 10:30 am. and arrived at Cape Fanshaw an hour later, at almost the same time as the ship. The plane taxied alongside and the transmit ter, weighing 1l6 pounds in it's packing case, was lowered over the side of the ship at the end of two ropes held by seamen. Pilot Sim mons climbed out on float t, brought the case aboard the pom toon and after removing the rope4 discovered that the case was too large to enter the door to the cabin of the plane. He was forced to un- pack it while balancing precariously on the float in the heavy swells
 At 1150 am, with the trans hitter safely aboard, Pilot Simmons took off for Juneau arriving at a small field of open water in the Mendenhall River near the PAA Airport at about 12:30 o'clock. The transmitter was unloaded and car ried to the hangar where the work of installation was immediately begun.
 Testing This Afternoon
 If installation is completed and weather permits the Electra is to take off, the test was to be con- ducted at 3:30 o'clock this after noon. In the event that the trans hitter had not reached Juneau in time for the test today, the Electra would have been delayed in reach ing Fairbanks in time to broadcast from that city during the Ice Car nival which ends Sunday.
 The transmitter flown here aboard the Patco today is the only one of it's kind in the world. and is the most recent development in the short wave field. It was first used in broadcasts from the air over Grand Canyon last August and was received at that time in River Head, Long Island. The transmitter was installed last fall in the Philip pine Clipper and broadcasts were made throughout an entire round trip to the Philippine Islands. It was designed and constructed by RIGA in an effort to develop a port able long range short wave trans hitter
 At a late hour this afternoon the PAA Airport was the scene of feverish activity as J. w. Baker RIGA Operations Supervisor; Robert Gleason, PAA Superintendent of Communications; Lyman s. Peck, Vice-President of the PAA; Bob FL lis, local PAA representative; Don Thompson NEG Program Director Pilot w. J. Barrows, and Co-pilot Murray Stuart of the Electra, and other PAA employees hastened in- stallation of the transmitter and prepared for the test flight.