Evening star., 1953-11-18
Navy Today Begins
Operation Of Worlds
Biggest Iransmitter
BY L. Edgor Prino
Stor Stoff Correspondent

JIM CREEK VALLEY, Wash,
Nov. 18.-The Navy will put the
worlds most powerful radio
transmitter into operation here
today, and for the first time
It will be able to flash an in
Simultaneous message to its bases,
ships and aircraft around the
globe.
Admiral Robert B. Carney,
chief of Naval Operations, will
dictate the first message, and
David Sarnoff, board chairman
of the Radio Corporation of
America. designers and builders
of the giant IL million-watt
station, will dispatch it by hand
key, in dedication ceremonies at
this 6,000-acre site in the Cas-
cades Mountains, SIS miles north
east of Seattle.
Submerged submarines, air.
craft on Korean patrol, Arctic
outposts and Atlantic and Pacific
feet units will receive the brief,
historic message and. within
minutes, send acknowledgment.
Immune To Disturbances.
The transmitter, nicknamed
''Big jim" is % times as power
full as any commercial station in
the United States. 1t has high
power, very low frequency trans
mission which will pierce mag
netic storm barriers and be i'm
mune to atmospheric disturb
ances that interfere with the
average transmitter. It will send
its signal anywhere in the world.
Big Jim's" antenna, the larg-
est ever built, consists of a series
Of cables strung from thirteen
200-foot towers between two
mountain tops and anchored to
the valley floor. Ten miles of
steel and copperweld cable inter-
lace the SUBMITS.
Jim Creek Valley, which is 20
miles inland from Puget Sound,
was chosen as the site for the
globe -girdling transmitter after
an extensive search by Navy and
RCA planners.
The need was for two noun
tains at least $500 feet high, of
nearly equal height, with even
CrestS two miles apart, and rum
ming parallel for one mile. |
Wheeler and Blue Mountains, |
which bound the Jim Greek VAL
ley and whose 3.000-foot sum-
mitS vary only 46 feet, met the |
requirements almost exactly.
Uses 1000 Kilowatts.
Engineers estimate that 1000 !
kilowatts are required to power |
the transmitter and other facili-
ties.
Admiral Carney and Mr. Sarn-
off will speak at the dedication
ceremonies. About $50 guests. in
cluding civic. State and Navy |
officials will attend. Mr.. Sarnoff,
who will hand key" the first |
message, is no newcomer to this
field. 1t was the RCA chairman
who received and relayed to the |
Nation the first report of the
sinking of the ocean liner Titanic
in 1912.
To prepare the way for con-
struction of the windoWleSs, |
seven-story concrete and steel |
building which houses the $14 |
million transmitter, the Navy |
had to clear a heavily wooded |
wilderness of thousands of trees
many of them towering Doug
las frs.
Rode in 27 Freight Cars.
Twenty-seven railroad freight |
cars we're used to haul equip /
ment for the transmitter from
the RCA Victor plant at Cam
den, N. j.
The radio station was designed .
to be completely self sufficient.
1t has it's own water and sewage
disposal systems. and a fully
equipped fire house. There are !
living accommodations for 48 Of
flcers and men and their fami-
lies. Others of the complement |
of four officers. 10 enlisted men
and 35 civilians will live in near
by Arlington, Wash.
Because of an intense electric /
magnetic field around big Jim."
an elaborate grounding system !
for the entire structure has been
installed. This includes copper !
shielding and a ground screen
around the building. Some 220 !
miles of copper wire went into
this pattern of buried ground
conductors. I
Acknowledgements of the first |
message. and subsequent ones.
will pour into the Naval Com
munications Station, Seattle. and
thence sent by land-line or radio
to Jim Greek. |