Focus on the Middle Americas - Puerto Rico on Shortwave: The Early Years

 In our program today, we pick up again the story of radio broadcasting on the American island of Puerto Rico, and on this occasion, it is the story of early shortwave radio on this Caribbean Island.  It is true, there never has been a regular shortwave radio broadcasting station on Puerto Rico, but nevertheless, shortwave radio has played its part on this island of tropical delights.
  Most of the professional shortwave events on Puerto Rico have centered around the activity of RCA, the Radio Corporation of America, or under its local name, the Puerto Rico Radio Corporation.  They established the first medium wave broadcasting station WKAQ in 1922, and soon afterwards, work began on establishing a shortwave communication station in the capital city area, San Juan.
  The first test transmissions went on the air in the middle of the year 1925, and these were described as “satisfactory”.  These transmitter tests were radiated under the callsign WGT, and they were noted in the United States on 13705 kHz and 13780 kHz.
  The major purpose for this new shortwave station was to communicate with the continental United States, and the mainland station in this procedure was station WNC, located at Hialeah in Florida.  It is apparent that the shortwave transmitters on Puerto Rico were all operating at a lower power rating, probably considerably less than 10 kW.
  During the pre-war years, RCA-RCPR in San Juan was logged on shortwave under a plethora of callsigns, and perhaps not all of the in-use calls were noted in the continental mainland.  Back in those days, it was the confusing practice to issue a callsign for each shortwave transmitter with also  additional callsigns for each shortwave channel is use.
  The first block of callsigns for San Juan was in the WG series, including for example: WGT WGU WGX and WGXX.  A second block of callsigns was utilized soon afterwards, and these were in the WC series, including: WCT WCU and WCV.  A third block of callsigns was noted in the WD series, such as for example WDF.
  There were many notable occasions when one of the RCA-RCPR shortwave transmitters was taken into use for the transfer of radio programming from Puerto Rico to the mainland for rebroadcast  via the mediumwave networks across the United States.  These shortwave program relays containing news, commentaries and island features were produced usually in the studios of the San Juan medium wave station WKAQ.
  There were numerous occasions also, when San Juan’s WKAQ received a relay of mainland programming for rebroadcast in Puerto Rico.  This was during the era of escalating tensions in continental and islandic Europe, immediately prior to the commencement of World War 2.
  The mainland programming was beamed to Puerto Rico from the two CBS 10 kW shortwave stations W2XE (Wayne New Jersey) and W3XAU (Philadelphia Pennsylvania).  After the official regularization of experimental American shortwave callsigns on September 1, 1939, these two stations continued  to provide a relay of programming for Puerto Rico under the new callsigns WCAB and WCBX.
  In addition to the two way shortwave services in Puerto Rico from RCA-RCPR WKAQ, there was also another similar though somewhat smaller shortwave service provided by another mediumwave station in San Juan.  The mediumwave station was the original WNEL, and the shortwave counterpart was allotted the callsign W4XP.
  Mediumwave WNEL was inaugurated in San Juan in 1934, some 14 years after the island’s first station WKAQ.  At the time of the inauguration of the original WNEL, it was announced that a shortwave outlet would soon be added with the callsign W4XP.
  Back then, a comparatively new series of consecutive callsigns was issued by the FCC in Washington DC in the W4X series.  A well known experimental callsign during that pre-war era was W4XB, which was the shortwave counterpart of the historic mediumwave WIOD on the Isle of Dreams in Miami Florida.
  Shortwave W4XP on Puerto Rico was described as a low power remote experimental transmitter which at times relayed the WNEL mediumwave programming in the 49 metre band for the benefit of country listeners on Puerto Rico.
  Mediumwave WNEL in Puerto Rico also received a relay of American radio programming by shortwave, and this was via the two NBC shortwave stations W3XL and W3XAL at Bound Brook, New Jersey.  At the time when the experimental callsigns of American shortwave stations was regularized on September 1, 1939, these two stations became WRCA and WNBI.
  In June 1944, station WNEL-W4XP was heard by the noted Rex Gillett in Adelaide South Australia with news and commentaries on 15130 kHz.  This program transfer to the American mainland had to be via one of the RCA-RCPR transmitters, not the little W4XP, which in any case was no longer in use.
  Another shortwave station of note in the pre-war era was the communication station operated by Pan American Airways.  This station was noted with the callsign WMDU and it was allocated seven shortwave channels for communication with company planes as well as with company land based stations at other locations.
  Now, as was stated above, there never has been a regular shortwave broadcasting station on the island of Puerto Rico.  However, and less well known, is the fact that there were indeed at least four major attempts to establish a shortwave broadcasting station on this strategically located island.  That’s our story on the next occasion when we focus on the radio scene in the Middle Americas.

(AWR-Wavescan/NWS 416)

A Voice Across the Atlantic - RCA & AT &T Rocky Point

Some time back, you will remember, we presented the story here in Wavescan, of the great wireless station that was located at Rocky Point on Long Island, New York. At the time, it surely was the world’s largest wireless station, and if it had been built to its intended potential, then it would have become a a majestic electronic wonder. This radio station was also in use at times for the relay of programming on behalf of the Voice of America.
It is not so well known however, that RCA Rocky Point was also in co-operation with another wireless organization, AT&T, for communication across the Atlantic. This is what happened.
Back during the year 1922, AT&T began experimenting with an attempt to bridge the Atlantic Ocean with a wireless signal. These experiments were underway at the early AT&T facility located at Deal Beach in New Jersey and the test communications were conducted on longwave channels. These wireless tests with a comparatively low powered transmitter were quite successful and it was demonstrated that a reliable communication service could be established between the United States and England.
The project was then moved from the AT&T facility at Deal Beach New Jersey to RCA Rocky Point on Long Island. AT&T rented from RCA the space for the longwave transmitter and the associated antenna systems. A huge 200 kW Alexanderson alternator was installed at Rocky Point and test transmissions in Morse Code commenced in March 1926.
A little less than a year later, on January 27, 1927, the new trans-Atlantic communication service was opened from Rocky Point under the callsign WNL using the longwave channels 56.5 & 58.5 kHz. The receiver station in Great Britain was located at Cupar in Scotland, and the return service to North America was rendered by transmitter GBR, the huge Post office station located at Rugby.
Surprisingly, this longwave communication service between the United States and England was in use for nearly half a century and it was not closed down until the year 1970.
The receiver station for AT&T Rocky Point was located at Houlton in Maine, quite close to the Canadian border in New Brunswick, and in more recent time this location was in use by AT&T as a Telstar satellite receiver station.
Thus, the American terminal for the first trans-Atlantic communication service was indeed located at Rocky Point Long Island, but it was an AT&T unit located in an RCA facility.
(AWR Wavescan/ NWS95 via Adrian Peterson)

The World's Largest Wireless Station-RCA Long Island

The Long Island Relay Station for the Voice of America

Over the years, several wireless and radio stations have laid claim as the largest in the world, and at the time when the statement was made, the claim in many cases was indeed quite accurate.
However, close to 100 years ago, the most grandiose claims of largeness were made on behalf of the massive RCA wireless station located at Rocky Point on Long Island New York, and if the station had been completed in its original intent, those claims would surely have been correct. Even so, it was indeed developed into a very large station, though somewhat different from the original concept.
That is our story for today; RCA Radio Central at Rocky Point on Long Island New York, a huge communication station that was also in use for the relay of programing on behalf of the Voice of America.
Long Island is located off the edge of the eastern coast of the United States. It is 118 miles long, and 23 miles wide at its widest point. The island was inhabited by Indians of the Delaware and other sub tribes at the time when it was first discovered by European explorers.
It was the Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano who was the first European to site the island back in the year 1524. (We might add that he explored much of the east coast of North America during three consecutive voyages, but he did not fare well on his third and final voyage to the Americas. He was killed and eaten by Carib Indians on the island of Guadeloupe.)
The first European settlers came from Holland and England, and it was the Dutch who gave the name to the island, as Lange Eylandt, or Long Island, in their language. Today, much of Greater New York City is located on the western end of Long Island.
The first known mention of Rocky Point is found in official records for the year 1714; and 40 years later, the area was listed as Rocky Poynt Hollow, in the quaint old spelling of that era. In 1872, their first Post office was installed; and two years later, there was a small shop in Rocky Poynt Hollow, and a district school for the children living in the 20 dwellings in the nearby community.
It was in the year 1919 that RCA, the Radio Corporation of America, was formed as an amalgamation of half a dozen interested radio companies. As their first big venture, they set out to establish a new super sized international wireless station, and they procured a suitable property on the northern edge of Long Island for this purpose.
In July 1920, work began on Radio Central, the huge new wireless station at Rocky Point. The property measured 6,200 acres, some 10 square miles of slightly undulating territory. The original plans called for an ornate two storeyed central building to house the offices and the transmitters - the huge Alexanderson alternators.
A total of 12 antenna systems was planned and these would be arranged in a spoke pattern around the central building. The steel antenna towers were 410 ft high, and separated at 1260 ft, that is a ¼ mile apart, and each antenna would be 2½ miles long. Each antenna required 25 miles of high strung wire, and each antenna also required 225 miles of buried copper wire as the counterpoise earthing system. Initially just two of these massive antenna systems were erected.
It was in October 1921 that the first test broadcasts were radiated from the new RCA Rocky point with 200 kW on longwave 18.3 MHz under the callsign WQK. At the time, the station was described as the world’s largest and most powerful wireless station. And it was!
The station was officially inaugurated less than a month later, on November 5, when President Warren Harding pressed a button during a special opening ceremony at the White House. Electricity was applied to the new transmission system on Long Island, the alternators began turning, and the first official message was tapped out in Morse Code. It was a message of goodwill to the world from the 29th President of the United States.
Soon afterwards, a 2nd longwave transmitter was activated, a similar unit to the afore-mentioned WQK, and this unit operated on 17.15 kHz under the sister callsign WQL.
However, by this time, smaller electronic transmitters for use on shortwave were becoming available, and they were more efficient with a more reliable propagation coverage than the heavy longwave electrical transmitters. In addition, the new shortwave transmitters required less power to operate.
During the year 1928, RCA lodged a formal document with the Federal Radio Commission requesting approval to establish a total of 65 different shortwave communication stations across the United States. Many of these stations were eventually installed, though not all.
However, plans to install the additional 10 longwave transmitters at Rocky Point were abandoned, and instead, a multitude of shortwave transmitters rated at 10 & 20 kW were installed, together with a bevy of rhombic antennas directed towards Europe & South America. It is stated that RCA installed several dozen shortwave transmitters at Rocky Point during the 1930s, and in 1934, a total of 80 registered callsigns were in use. In November 1935, they activated a 200 kW shortwave transmitter.
During the 1930s, RCA Rocky Point was often noted on air with the broadcast of radio programming. Sometimes, it was a point to point relay for rebroadcast in another country in Europe or South America, and sometimes these broadcasts were an experimental relay for direct reception by shortwave listeners.
The direct broadcast of radio programming was usually made under the callsign W2XBJ, which could be allocated to any channel in use for this purpose. A lesser known experimental broadcast callsign that was in use at times was W2XCU.
The first known radio program broadcast from Radio Central took place in June 1932 under the callsign WAJ when a music program was relayed for rebroadcast in Germany. During the following year, a special broadcast was arranged from an Italian blimp flying over the United States and this program was relayed for rebroadcast in Italy.
At the time of the 1933 Century of Progress Exhibition in Chicago, Marconi himself arranged for Rocky Point to relay special programming from Chicago for rebroadcast in Italy. There were also many special broadcasts beamed to various other countries in Europe and also to South America during this same era.
During the early part of the 1940s, Radio Central received and transmitted special broadcasts to and from Europe & North Africa, and on occasions, with South America. Some of these special relays were on behalf of the Voice of America, usually the transmission of special voice reports, though occasionally for local rebroadcast elsewhere.
The RCA main receiving station was located 17 miles distant, at Riverhead, also on Long Island, and a back up receiving station was located at Belfast in Maine.
Interestingly, the World Radio Handbook for the year 1951, on page 79, shows two special relays from RCA Rocky Point. At the time, RCA was in use for the transmission of two different language programs on behalf of the Voice of America for local relay on mediumwave. One broadcast was beamed to Italy in Italian, and the other broadcast was beamed to Iran in Persian. The Persian language broadcast was actually beamed to Tangier in North Africa where it was picked up and rebroadcast onwards to Persia for local relay.
As time went by, and with the changing winds of circumstance, RCA Radio Central was no longer necessary. During the 1950s, some of the tall towers were brought down. During the mid 1960s, the station was finally closed. In 1972, a large slice of the property was given to the New York state authorities and it was developed as the Pine Barrens Wildlife Area. In 1978, the remainder of the Rocky Point transmitter property, as well as the Riverhead receiver property, were sold to the state for $1.
Thus, after some 45 years of on air usage, RCA Radio Central at Rocky Point, the magnificent huge radio station on Long Island, quietly disappeared, for ever. It was in use for international communication, and the transfer of radio programming for rebroadcast elsewhere, and at times for the relay of programming on behalf of the Voice of America. Very few QSLs were ever issued for the transmissions from RCA Radio Central Rocky Point, though we do know of a few that were issued during the 1960s & 1970s.
(AWR Wavescan/NWS91 via Adrian Peterson)