When Long Distance Telephone was Shortwave Radio

AWA Communication Technologies Museum
AWA Communication Technologies Museum
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Published 2022-03-30
For information on the complete MUSA system see:
ia802603.us.archive.org/26/items/bstj19-2-306/bstj…

Cooling Radio Station was at the UK end of a point-to-point, shortwave signal beamed from Lawrenceville, New Jersey. The site of the station was carefully selected as the antenna, MUSA (Multiple Unit Steerable Antenna), upon which it depended to receive the incoming transmission, had to be: directly aligned with Lawrenceville NJ, USA; two miles long; comprised of an array of 16 individual rhombic antenna; and have an area of three miles in front of the MUSA that would be free from radio interference. The 16 rhombic antenna were strung between 60ft high telegraph poles; each side was 315ft long with internal angles of 140 degrees. The signal from each antenna was sent to the station via a core coaxial cable sheathed in a watertight copper tube and buried in a central trench.

This vital communications link, between the US and British governments at the very highest level, operated from 1942 until the early 1960s. Although a transatlantic telegraph cable had been in use since 1866, there was no telephone cable until 90 years later, in 1956. An initial shortwave system was set up in 1929, but was of poor quality. The Post Office set up and ran Cooling Radio Station solely for the reception side of two way, shortwave, voice channels with the United States. Land was purchased in 1938 and the building was completed in 1939. The receiver used 1,079 valves and was considered to be the most complex radio built. It was connected to the adjacent MUSA (Multiple Unit Steerable Antenna) and could receive 4 incoming radio telephone channels. It was officially in use on the 1st July 1942. This may well have been because German intelligence services were able to break the scrambler / encryption device available in 1939. By 1943, Bell Laboratories in the US had developed SIGSALY, a far more secure scrambler system. (This system was so well screened and secure that German records captured at the end of WW2 showed that they were not aware that transmissions were person to person, direct voice contact.) SIGSALY was installed in the basement of Selfridges department store in Oxford Street with extensions to 10 Downing Street, the Cabinet War Rooms and the US Embassy amongst others. The US transmitter was located at Lawrenceville, New Jersey, while UK transmissions were made from Rugby to the US receiver at Manahawkin, New Jersey.

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All Comments (21)
  • @CharlesHarpolek4vud
    I had two 500 foot rolls of #18 copper clad steel wire which I put into a rhombic shape over the family farm during fallow time, winter. The feed point was fed with transmitting grade thermoplastic twin lead of the shape that was like used for TV antennas. The wire inside on either side was 16 or 18 AWD. One side of that feed line went to the right side of the rhombic and the other to the other side. That was at 50 feet at the feed point and then the wire slope downward to 30 foot standing water pipes on the corners and then on up to about 70 feet at the far end in a big tree, not terminated. It was pointed at the southern part of Africa and Asia the other way. My SX99 exploded with signals from Africa and I had a regular sked with a lady in South Africa which work almost like a telephone. I drove it with a Johnson Viking Valient, 250+w. My rhombic delivered huge crashes from lightning that you could not see, and deafening blasts from that you could see. I disconnected the kW twin lead outside my window and tossed the end out into the grassy yard. After a thunderstorm at some distance, even, there would be a burn spot in the grass around the end of that twin lead lying out there. The rhombic was a magnificent receive antenna, but had to come down when the land under it was due plowing and planting. I may still have some of the copper clad steel wire in my junk box.
  • @dougtaylor7724
    Every step done by hand. Today people would say this could not be done without heavy equipment. Funny thing is, those guys would have made a dollar a day maybe?
  • @mackfisher4487
    Bell System and Western Electric certainly were cutting edge. The history calls carried by the transatlantic radio system is incredible. Roosevelt Churchill phone conversations with the aid of simple scramblers, yet I've heard stories the Germans actually intercepted those calls from Norway. The first transatlantic telephone cable with the sub miniature tube repeaters incredible.
  • @jeffreyyoung4104
    The problem with signal fading was the reason for the Hallicrafters dual diversity radio, model DD1. It used two antennas, two receivers and a section that used the stronger audio signal, so you did not hear much, if any fading. If you have time, look up dual diversity radios, it was a fascinating effort to eliminate the problem.
  • @starhawking
    Gotta love the random windows alert sound that butts in around 9:22
  • @gustavgnoettgen
    Radio has something magical to it. Tubes and antennas feel like alchemy. Totems and wands, crystal balls, voices from far away summoned like spirits. Wizards doing wizard stuff.
  • @flash001USA
    Love videos like this! It's beyond amazing to see just how far communications of yesterday have progressed up to today!
  • @timothystockman7533
    Lawrenceville NJ was informally called "The pole farm". The site, razed a while ago, was on Cold Soil Road just north of Lawrenceville.
  • @eddyaudio
    A excellent Film but like everyone I would like to see the Whole Film,
  • @peterrussell830
    A great historical video. Used to work with PO radio stations in the 60s.
  • @Number4lead
    Its amazing the effort and calculations used in combatting the fading problem.
  • @RadioHamGuy
    Thank you very much, very interesting and I have not seen this before!
  • @ATOMSHAMRADIO
    This was a great film loved it. Interesting how they did things back then very cool now how times changed
  • @tpcdude
    Why is it that a British accent always makes it true...