Radio age research, manufacturing, communications, broadcasting, television (1941)

Record Details:

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Aerial view of the Tangier station. Radio waves travelling with the speed of light be- come weaker with every passing mile, and on very long circuits they diminish to a magnitude about equal to or even less than the magnitude of the local radio noise at the receiving station. The solution is either an ex- tensive increase in transmitter power at the point of origin, or the installation of a radio relay at some mid- point in the circuit. The Tangier station performs this relay function. The station comprises two separate clusters of build- ings and antennas — one for receiving and the other for transmitting. The message handling or traffic function is combined with the receiving center, while the 400- kilowatt diesel electric power generating equipment for the entire station is included in the transmitting center. There are 22 rhombic antennas — forming the pat- tern of a rhombus or a diamond when viewed from above — and 30 diversity receivers at the receiving site. The antennas operate in groups of two or three, spaced at least 1,000 feet apart. Erected on steel masts 80 to 150 feet high, the rhombic antennas act somewhat like a hearing trumpet to concentrate the received energy. The radio receiver automatically picks out the strongest signal from any of the three in a group, making for considerable improvement in reception. Signals Are Put on Tape The incoming signal goes by cable to the nearby traffic center, where it is converted automatically into perforations in a continuous paper tape. While the mes- sage is being converted into perforations on the tape, the automatic device also types the information on the tape, permitting an operator to read the letters, figures or symbols being sent. Although tape appears at Tangier with dozens of different languages, the operator does not need to know —• and in fact seldom does know — the contents of the message being relayed. It is important only that he quickly scrutinize the tape for any technical flaws. The process of converting the message to perforated tape creates a duplicate of the original message, to be sent out completely refreshed on the second leg of its journey. The destination is determined from the pre- amble of the message, and the tape goes on to a so-called transmitter-distributor, which translates the perforations back into electrical signals that are sent by cable to the transmitting site. At the transmitting site, the signal is amplified and sent out from rhombic transmitting antennas which concentrate the radio energy in a narrow beam like that of a searchlight. Tangier is equipped with 26 such antennas and 25 radio transmitters ranging in power from one to 15 kilowatts of output. Another function for which Tangier is equipped is automatic electronic relaying, a method employed for messages over leased channels between New York and an overseas point. This technique eliminates the per- (Continued on page 32) Thompson H. Mitchell, President of RCA Communications, Inc., explains a transistor to Eagle Scout Stanley Becker in this photo sent from New York to Tangier and back again by radio. 28 RADIO AGE