QST/April 1916/Letter to the Editor

by M. B. West

March 8, 1916. 

Editor QST,

 Hartford, Conn.

Dear Sir:

Since receiving the February number of QST I have been giving the layout of proposed trunk lines considerable thought. As you no doubt know the average amateur is inclined to give his range as considerably greater than he is able to work under adverse conditions. The layout as given has a number of gaps to be filled before it is practicable for any but the most favorable conditions and I am on the opinion that taking into consideration the most efficient stations available that it misses most of them or at least most of those that have been really handling the relay work.

Unless I am badly mistaken there is no station in Toledo, Ohio, that does any sustained long distance working at all and the same can be said of other cities through which these trunk lines are routed. As a usual thing I am sure it will be found that the stations in the larger cities are not able to do the work the stations situated in the smaller towns can do on account of the unfavorable atmospheric conditions due to smoke, etc. and I believe further investigation along these lines will bear me out.

In this vicinity we have four efficient amateur stations. 8NH at St. Marys, Ohio; 9PC at Fort Wayne, Indiana; 8YL and myself, 8AEZ, in Lima, Ohio, and I believe that between us we handle more than 75% of all through east and west messages, 8NH forwarding by far the greater portion. 8NH has so far this season handled 157 messages for points east and west and the rest of us a great many, but we have kept no record. As all of these stations have been mentioned in every number of QST so far, I don’t believe their efficiency or ability to handle the traffic will be questioned.

Now what I have to suggest is this. That one of us he appointed the official relay station for handling these messages and that the one appointed be given the privilege of using two wave lengths far enough apart so as not to interfere with the others when working long distance. With this arrangement if the operator of the relay station was not on duty when called one of the others would answer the call and take the message and we would clear them between us. This would give practically continuous service at this point and would greatly decrease the interference between us as we are all so close that when one is working the others must stand by. Owing to the congestion of messages at this point and the fact that we all have friends with whom we like to work occasionally, the messages are often delayed for weeks at a time when by using some system they might be handled more expeditiously.

As to the two wave lengths. Special stations should be required to use short waves when communicating with short wave stations and vice-versa and a great deal of unnecessary interference would be avoided if this were done. If the relay station were allowed two waves then in handling a bunch of messages to a special or long wave station the longer wave could be used and the other stations could go ahead and clear up the business on hand without interfering or interference. As it is, most of the business is handled on the shorter waves even for long distance and all the rest of us can do is to goto bed and wait for a night when the others are not on.

8NH would be the logical station for the appointment as she is able to spend more time at her set than most and also is a good operator and able to handle the business.

The most efficient station east of us with which we are able to work under adverse conditions is 8AAU at Jamestown, New York, and he is within easy working distance of New York City.

9FY at Duquoin, Illinois, is also one who handles a great deal of traffic for St. Louis and the West.

I am not taking into account the special stations who seem to handle very few of the through messages. If they would use the short wave when communicating with short wave stations they would be able to handle a larger share of the traffic.

Also, a regular schedule should be established for the stations that are expected to handle the longer relays, oven if only one night per week and if their work was limited to messages on the schedule nights, the accumulation of messages would be quickly cleared and other stations without messages would quickly learn what was going on and avoid interference on those nights.

The message proposition gets to be a nuisance when one has several messages that are delayed for weeks because no one is on duty to take them at those times that working is possible.

I know conditions on the wireless map are changing so rapidly that permanent arrangements can not be made and in making my suggestions only those stations which are likely to be permanent are mentioned. Also, inquiry should, be made in those cities where gaps in the routes exist and very likely some amateur will be found who possess all necessary qualifications except an efficient set, and this would be provided by nothing more expensive than a little expert advice.

Often the difference in efficiency of amateur sets makes it easier to work several hundred miles to an efficient set than one hundred miles or less to a less efficient one. It seems that the best work that could be done by the league would be to develop the efficiency of the stations at points necessary and for this a much more complete description of the apparatus used would be necessary. There would be no opposition to this from a great many amateurs that I know and I am sure that the officers of the league would have the hearty co-operation of the more advanced members in assisting in this work.

As to the trunk from New York to Chicago. I would suggest that it be through, say 2JD, 8AAU, 8NH and 9IK. Each of these stations can suggest intermediate stations and by arranging regular schedule for this route all the business that is now handled in seven evenings per week can be easily handled in one evening. For instance, 8ZD could fill the gap between 8AAU and 8NH and there is surely some amateur in Goshen, Indiana, or South Bend that has the means and ability to put his station in first class shape if he has the proper advice as to how to proceed. I do not mean that the above route is the only one or even perhaps the best one, but it is a feasible one, and if established it would not be necessary for us to hold a message for New York until such a night as it would be possible to work with 2JD direct. Also, Lima, Ohio, and vicinity is the logical division point for the route to St. Louis via Indianapolis and 9FY at Duquoin, Illinois. At present I know of no one in Indianapolis, Indiana, with station efficient enough to work with us regularly direct but we can usually work direct with 9FY except under very bad conditions.

In regard to the special stations. It seems to me that they should be the collecting and forwarding points for these messages; especially when appointed through the recommendation of the League. However, at least in this section they seem to be operated in about the same manner as the ordinary amateur station and for lack of a definite understanding and because of the fact that they are usually working on a longer wave and do not hear calls from short wave stations at any distance, they handle very little of the traffic.

My purpose in making these suggestions is primarily to start a discussion along these lines and to see if we can not get some concerted action in regard to establishing a really EFFICIENT relay system. Hoping that in at least some measure my suggestions may prove of value and assuring you of my interest in the work QST and the American Radio Relay League are doing, I remain,

Very respectfully,

M. B. WEST.