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5 -
stations
to receive programs on the far from sensitive receivers then available;
that conventional buried "earths" became practically insulated
in the dry, frozen ground, and next thing to useless; that frost
action heaved and twisted our pipe masts, which were merely set
on top of the ground, and the guy wires required frequent adjustment
to compensate for this movement.
Later
on we discovered that excessive frost action disturbed the bases
on which our Delco engine, and the Motor Generator Set were mounted.
To reduce this disturbance spring bases were designed on which the
heavy machines literally floated - a greater degree of steadiness
as well as much less vibration to the entire building was obtained
by this method.
That
first winter we also learned that heavy coatings of frost on aerial
wires caused reduced indicated transmitter output, but did not reduce
the received signal strength to any marked extent; that starting
the Delco in its unheated room was comparatively simple when we
preheated the crank case and cylinder head with a blow torch, had
the lube oil very hot, spark plug almost read hot, and primed with
hot gasoline before switching to its regular kerosene fuel, also
pre-heated. We also soon learned that the heavy clothing we'd been
issued with was ideal for outdoors wear but a bit too heavy for
our indoor life, and we soon modified out dress to suite the occasion.
That
first winter also proved to us that Dawson City was a very friendly
and comfortable place in which to live, and far more pleasant, attractive
and congenial than we ever expected; with practically every attraction
and convenience of a big town - except accessibility - plus a spirit
of genuine friendliness and camaraderie rarely experienced elsewhere
but in the North.
In
the summer of 121924 the N.W.T. & Y.R. S really got started.
By fall of that year we were relaying most of our traffic outside
via mayo, Simpson and Edmonton. Cpl may was transferred to Fort
Simpson that summer, and Cpl. Gordon Armstrong replaced him in June
of that year. That fall we dismantled our sectional pipe masts and
erected two substantial 100; lattice steel masts (known as Type
B). The material for these masts arrived on the last boat, Oct.
8th. Assembly and erection proved far from pleasant in below zero
temperatures which soon appeared. Station personnel of three did
the assembly work in between regular calls and office routine, while
local labour built and buried eight anchors and two mast bases.
This new aerial array, with a four wire flat top was finally completed
Nov. 11th 1924. Earlier that year, July 31asrt to be exact, we contacted
and thereafter maintained regular daily skeds with WUM, Circle City,
Alaska, U.S. Army Signals system.
The
summer of 1924 introduced us to continuous daylight and every known
variety of radio inductive interference, plus a tropical brand of
static. WE tried all sorts of filters and gadgets to reduce the
local racket and improve our reception, but more often than not
we were forded to operate at odd hours and time to take advantage
of infrequent quiet spells free from excessive noise.