A NAVY RADIO STATION HIDDEN IN AN EXTINCT VOLCANO? UNBELIEVABLE!
The teen age sailor who gave me my first ride down this road had only one goal in mind: To scare me witless! . . . . He suceeded!
After driving through what appeared to be rice patties and jungle we passed several houses, a few small stores and a gas station converted to a bar. The driver/tour guide announced, "This is Kaneohe and the bar is Honey's bar. We all hang out there."
We turned left again and headed up a narrow road toward towering cliffs. The driver negotiated several nasty twists and blind corners and finally approached a Marine guard post.Photo provided by Annette Lancaster
We turned left again and headed up a narrow road toward towering cliffs. The driver negotiated several nasty twists and blind corners and finally approached a Marine guard post.
GoogleEarth photo
The Marine guard waved us by as he saw us approaching. The Jeep climbed the grade toward what appeared to be a barracks. I noticed a surprising number of telephone type poles spaced at regular intervals throughout the broad valley: more than I had ever seen while serving at several transmitter stations throughout the South Pacific. I presumed they supported antenna wires. Later that day a radioman shocked me by stating the poles merely supported ground wires for the antenna system that extended up to 2300 feet above our heads. That was the first of several shocks in store for me that afternoon.
Radioman 2/c Stankowitz volunteered to show me around the transmitter building. I quickly agreed. I felt confident I could, with my thorough background in navy transmitters, quickly resolve any problems. We walked up the hill toward an immense bomb proof building.
My self confidence began to fade when I spotted a tremendous round hole in one wall. Three separate groups of multiple strand wire secured around a series of six inch circular metal spacers exited the building and spread out toward the valley and up into the mist overhead. The size of the insulators and huge corona shields indicated that tremendous power at extremely high voltage traveled through that system.
We entered a cavernous room filled with a wide variety of motor-generator sets. The building interior reminded me of a hydro electric power plant. I glanced around seeking conventional radio equipment but saw none. So - I had to ask, "Where are the transmitters?"
Stankiewicz, obviously pleased by my confusion, pointed to the gigantic motor and generator that filled one end of the building and announced, "That's it!"
![Ernst Alexanderson testing his alternator, c. 1916I had never heard of an Alexanderson Low Frequency Alternator. It looked like a motor-generator on steroids. These amazing devices came into use prior to World War One. This monster sent radio signals to submarines throughout the South Pacific even when the subs were submerged. Its signal reached Bombay India and Long Island New York. At this point I doubted if I could ever make a technical contribution a this station. The photos continue click . . [ NEXT ]](http://www.haikuvalley.com/History/DAVES-INTRODUCTION-TO-HAIKU/009/337560880_9pyj2-S-2.jpg "Ernst Alexanderson testing his alternator, c. 1916I had never heard of an Alexanderson Low Frequency Alternator. It looked like a motor-generator on steroids. These amazing devices came into use prior to World War One. This monster sent radio signals to submarines throughout the South Pacific even when the subs were submerged. Its signal reached Bombay India and Long Island New York. At this point I doubted if I could ever make a technical contribution a this station. The photos continue click . . [ NEXT ]")
I had never heard of an Alexanderson Low Frequency Alternator. It looked like a motor-generator on steroids. These amazing devices came into use prior to World War One. This monster sent radio signals to submarines throughout the South Pacific even when the subs were submerged. Its signal reached Bombay India and Long Island New York. At this point I doubted if I could ever make a technical contribution a this station.
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