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APRIL, 1927
WITH M ACM ILL AN TO THE ARCTIC
553
to help with the sails and to satisfy •my curiosity. I found that we had almost run on to some rocks. It required a little fast work to keep the ship clear. One of the girls appeared on deck to find out what all the noise was about. "Get those damned women below!" was the order immediately issued by Commodore Metcalf.
Running the radio was not much easier than running the ship. The fog and sea water on the rigging set up a small amount of electrolysis that sounded like a thunderstorm in the receivers. The sails were slapping against the antenna, and the ship was rolling badly, so my signals stood little chance of getting through without swinging. The signals from wnp had a bad swing too, so we even had difficulty working the short distance between us. After the first day of this run I was unable to handle traffic with 2 gy on account of the heavy roar in the receivers. At 2 gy, reports show that our signals could be heard but the swinging was so great that ours were difficult to copy.
Many of our messages to the Bowdoin contained information to the effect that we had no charts, that we ran close to the buoy over certain rocks, etc. The operators at 2gy in Garden City were trying to copy everything but were only able to get occasional words and fragments of sentences. It so happened that what they received tended to indicate we were in danger and had run on to rocks in the thick fog. This naturally caused them considerable anxiety.
After three days of this kind of traveling, we arrived at Sydney. The trip was uncomfortable because of the cold and dampness due to fog, but the ship rode the seas nicely and took very little sea water on deck. Much to my surprise, the motion of the ship in moderate seas did not seem as bad as on a large vessel. There were a few mild cases of seasickness aboard the two boats but nearly everyone was able to stand his watches. I felt rather miserable most of the time and was a little ashamed to admit it because all on the Sachem who had not been to sea before failed to get the least bit sick.
The trip north to Battle Harbor, Labrador, was more comfortable and quite enjoyable. On the way up we stopped at Curling, Newfoundland, for a day. We remember this place because we all tried to figure out how the clocks should be>.set to conform with Newfoundland time. It is known as "John Anderson" time, and is described by Austin H. MacCormick, who made the trip with us to that point, as "sort of a double distilled daylight saving time."
Course of the
Sachem" and "Bowdoin
•2.
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Chicago
Mnnhottnn Drafting Co., N.Y
FROM MAINE TO GREENLAND The route of the two schooners, Sachem and Bowdoin, is traced on this map
We passed through fields of large icebergs during the twelve hours preceding our arrival at Battle Harbor on July 3rd. The entrance to the harbor was blocked in places with large 'bergs that had grounded. The weather was clear but cold. Our first glimpse of Labrador was a dismal sight — nothing but hills of solid rock with no trees or shrubbery.
A FEW DETAILS ABOUT THE RADIO
RADIO communication north of Sydney was easier because the rigging was dryer and the ship steadier. At Battle Harbor I made some modifications in the transmitter which helped to steady the wave and improve the signal strength. At another stop on the Labrador coast —
A "snap" taken Commodore Me
THREE MODERN MUSKETEERS in the North. From left to right we have: Egbert Sewall, engineer; tcalf; and Austin Cooley, radio operator, assistant to the engineer, camera man, night watchman, etc.
Indian Harbor — I had time to do considerable experimental work as we were ice-bound there for a week. A slight change in the receiver reduced the ratio of ship static to signal strength to such an extent that I was never seriously bothered again during the trip. The connecting together of many of the cables in the rigging and grounding them also helped considerably in reducing the leaks and electrolysis that had been so bothersome.
Difficulties of a swinging wave were fully anticipated before leaving Maine, so plans were made for a crystal control system. A very good crystal had been presented for the work by Mr. H.S.Shaw, of the General Radio Company. This crystal was ground to oscillate at 1359 kc. (220 meters). To operate on 8154 kc. (36.8 meters), it was necessary to multiply the frequency six times. The plans were to amplify the third harmonic of the crystal then double the frequency in the 250-watt power amplifier.
With only two stages of amplification between the crystal and the 250watt tube, I was not able to obtain sufficient power to properly control the last stage of amplification. Much time was spent during the entire trip trying to get this working properly but sufficient equipment and space were not available for an additional stage of amplification, which probably would have remedied the matter.
The space available between the two masts for the Conrad antenna was so limited that it was necessary to use considerable loading inductance to bring the natural period of this antenna up to 8154 kc. (36.8 meters). When using only 600 volts on the plate of the 250-watt oscillator tube instead of the rated 2000, it was possible to obtain a current of 2.5 amperes in the Conrad antenna. Every time the plate voltage was increased, the transmitter cabinet resembled a Fourth of July celebration. After considerable effort to operate this antenna properly with full power I compromised by tuning the antenna a little below the 36.8-meter point, and used its feeder as an antenna also. The results were quite satisfactory. This was done to avoid the risk of causing damage to some of the transmitting apparatus .
Regular communication with 2 gy was being maintained on a schedule of three nights a week. Generally we were so close to the Bowdoin that it was difficult for one to receive while the other was sending so we divided up the available time for communicating with the States in a way that was proportional to the amount and importance of messages to be handled.