Revision Date : July 10/2017 Table of Contents
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Revision Date : July 10/2017 Table of Contents 1.1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................... 3 1.2 MAIN W/T OFFICE EQUIPMENT - WWII ERA ................................................................. 4 1.3 MAIN WIRELESS OFFICE EQUIPMENT DESCRIPTIONS .............................................. 6 1.4 MAIN WIRELESS OFFICE - RADIO MANIFEST IN JANUARY 1944 ............................ 12 1.5 THE HEADACHE FUNCTION............................................................................................. 14 1.6 TRAINING RCN TELEGRAPHISTS ................................................................................... 15 1.7 PROJECT ACCUMULATOR ................................................................................................ 17 1.8 DUTIES OF A TELEGRAPHIST .......................................................................................... 19 1.9 HAIDA'S RADIO EQUIPMENT - Mid 1940's ...................................................................... 20 1.10 MAIN WIRELESS OFFICE - 1946 PHOTOS .................................................................... 28 1.11 RADIO 1 EQUIPMENT - 1950’s........................................................................................ 32 1.12 RADIO 1 EQUIPMENT MANIFEST - September 1955 ................................................... 34 1.13 RADIO 1 – 1957 ................................................................................................................... 39 1.14 RADIO 1 EQUIPMENT - 1962 .......................................................................................... 40 1.15 RADIO 1- DESCRIPTION OF EQUIPMENT - 1962 ......................................................... 42 1.16 RADIO 1 - OTHER EQUIPMENT (Typewriters, Clocks, Keys etc) .................................. 59 1.17 MESSAGE CENTRE ........................................................................................................... 67 1.18 DESCRIPTION OF MESSAGE CENTRE EQUIPMENT - 1962 ....................................... 76 1.19 MESSAGE CENTRE TRAFFIC VOLUMES ..................................................................... 93 1.20 CODING OFFICE DESCRIPTION ..................................................................................... 93 1.21 CODING OFFICE EQUIPMENT DESCRIPTION – 1950’s .............................................. 94 1.22 CODING OFFICE - DESCRIPTION OF EQUIPMENT - 1962 ........................................ 99 1.23 DISPOSAL OF CLASSIFIED WASTE ............................................................................. 102 1.24 RECOVERING LOST ENCYPHERED CHARACTERS ................................................. 103 2.0 RADIO ROOM 2 DESCRIPTION ....................................................................................... 104 2.1 RADIO 2 HISTORY............................................................................................................ 104 2.2 RADIO 2 - FEBRUARY 26, 1946 PHOTOS ....................................................................... 109 2.3 RADIO 2 EQUIPMENT DESCRIPTION – 1962 ................................................................ 112 3.0 RADIO ROOM 3 .................................................................................................................. 120 3.1 RADIO 3 HISTORY............................................................................................................. 121 3.2 RADIO 3 EQUIPMENT MANIFEST - September 1955 .................................................... 122 4.0 RADIO 4 DESCRIPTION .................................................................................................... 127 2 4.1 RADIO 4 HISTORY............................................................................................................. 128 4.2 RADIO 4 DESCRIPTION OF EQUIPMENT - 1962 ......................................................... 131 4.3 RADIO 4 PERSONNEL ....................................................................................................... 138 4.4 MISCELLANEOUS EQUIPMENT - September 1955 ....................................................... 140 5.0 ELECTRONIC NAVIGATION ........................................................................................... 140 5,1 GEE ....................................................................................................................................... 140 5.2 LORAN ................................................................................................................................. 141 5.3 DECCA NAVIGATOR ........................................................................................................ 142 6.0 ELECTRONICS MAINTENANCE ROOM ........................................................................ 144 6.1 PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEMS .......................................................................................... 146 6.2 BRCN 5422 ........................................................................................................................... 147 6.3 CANAVMOD ....................................................................................................................... 148 6.4 ‘AN' Army-Navy Equipment Code Designators .................................................................. 148 7.0 BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................................. 150 8.0 ABOUT THE AUTHOR ...................................................................................................... 150 9.0 REVISIONS .......................................................................................................................... 151 RADIO SYSTEMS ABOARD HMCS HAIDA By Jerry Proc 1.1 INTRODUCTION When HAIDA paid off, there were four radio rooms aboard the ship. Only Radio 1 and 2 were fitted-on-build and were initially called the Main W/T Office and the Second Wireless Office (aka WT/#2). The renaming to Radio 1 and 2 came at a later date. Radio 3 and 4 were added post war so their designations conformed to the more modern format. For Radio 1 and 2, the equipment which was fitted can be quantified into three general but distinct periods – WWII, Korean War era and post-Korea which equates mostly to 1962, the year before HAIDA was paid off. This section of the HAIDA Resource Manual will provide a detailed look at HAIDA’s radios spanning from 1943 to 1963. 3 This cutaway shows the location of HAIDA’s four radio rooms circa 1963. 1.2 MAIN W/T OFFICE EQUIPMENT - WWII ERA What is known today as Radio 1 was originally called the "Main Wireless Office" during the WWII era and likely post war as well. The drawing below reflects the equipment fitting. Equipment descriptions and a manifest follow. The equipment manifest of January 1944 is deemed to be more accurate than the drawing. 4 This is the layout of the Main Wireless Office at the time of HAIDA's commissioning. Port side is the top of the drawing and the right side is forward. According to Harold Dixon, a Telegraphist and part of the commissioning crew, "there was no Coding Machine aboard the ship. All Coding and Decoding was done by hand". (Via HMCS HAIDA Library) Jack Raine of Vancouver, British Columbia is at the controls in this self-portrait taken in HAIDA's Main Wireless Office in 1943. This starboard view looking aft shows the general arrangement on this side of the office. (Photo by Harold Dixon. From the collection of the late Jack Raine) 5 Jack also provides some operational information from 1943. "In the C/D (code/decode) area, there was a black box (not shown) located under the bookcase. It was used by the POTEL for filing of confidential documents and reference material. The POTEL reported to the Signal Officer and was briefed regarding the level of secrecy prior to each operation. Telegraphists were given information only on a 'need-to-know' basis - information such as names of ships, radio call signs and frequencies. Whenever the ship was in harbour for more than 48 hours, we were required to make test calls to shore stations using one or more of the ship to shore bands. These calls were made using the 4TA or the TBL transmitters". Looking aft in 1944. By comparison to the 1946 photo of the same perspective, it is evident that the style of the chairs changed. At the left, the white objects surrounded by a frame are radio state boards (From the collection of the late David Fairbarns). 1.3 MAIN WIRELESS OFFICE EQUIPMENT DESCRIPTIONS The equipment described below correlates with the January 1944 equipment manifest list in section 1.4. The list was found in Library and Archives Canada. The equipment is depicted in no particular order. 6 B28 Receiver (Admiralty type CDF) This was a dual range, superheterodyne receiver which was developed from the Marconi CR100/4 series of receivers of 1940 and modified in 1941. The low frequency band coverage was 60 to 420 KHz while medium/high frequency coverage was 500 KHz to 30 Mc. One notable feature of this receiver allowed the IF passband to be varied from 6000 cycles to 100 cycles. Power input - 200/250 VAC, 50 Hz @ 85 watts or batteries. Weight - 82 pounds. Dimensions - 16 x 16.5 x 12.5 inches 60 SERIES TRANSMITTER This was a three tube, low power transmitting system, first designed in 1938 and incorporates the type 4TA frequency multiplier unit/transmitter. It was a widely fitted transmitter in RN ships and was a good performer on HF using crystal control. Using VFO, it had poor