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Society of Wireless Pioneers - California Historical Radio Society The World Wireless Beacon A Quarterly Newsletter of the Society of Wireless Pioneers. Inc., 14 6 Coleen Street, Livermore, CA 9 4 5 5 0 - USA '*''Vol. 4 No. 1 March 1 992 The Life and Times of Your Founder By William A. Breniman I appreciate this opportunity freedom, the only caveat being to once again address my ------------------- that it was my ONLY source of friends of many years. I wish I spending money. I did all the could answer the many calls work, planting, weeding, irrigat­ and letters I have received, but ing, harvesting and selling my I regret to say the years of garden vegetables of all kinds. I writing and publishing have did very well in my truck garden taken their toll, as my eyesight, and even ventured into other hearing and finger dexterity in fields such as being a youthful typing make it difficult to work entrepreneur in the fur business with speed at over 90. Many with much success. have asked about my The sinking of the TITANIC experiences and association had a profound impact on my with early day wireless, so I will young life. I decided someday to try to type up this short summ- become a "Marconi-man" and ary. I still enjoy hearing from sail the seven seas. I had ear­ my old friends and enjoy their ned enough money to buy some letters - so please keep them equipment from a New York mail coming even if I am unable to order house at 233 Fulton respond in kind. Street. (Later in life I was to meet I guess I have been gifted the owner, Syd Gernsback, and with a life of action and have his brother Hugo.) been fortunate to be in the (Continued, Page 2) "right place at the right time" and endowed with good becoming casualities along the way. health, knowledge and drive to con­ We in the Society of Wireless tribute in carrying the flag, especially Pioneers have vowed to remember in the field of WIRELESS. It was Jack them. Phillips, Chief Operator aboard the TITANIC, and Harold Cottam, wire­ During my early years, my family less operator on the rescue ship SS lived on a small farm just outside the CARPATHIA who first sparked my small northern Colorado town of Fort imagination and interest in this mode Collins. I was very fortunate in having of communicatiion with the first SOS a very wonderful Mother and Dad call on that night in April, 1912. They who gave us great encouragement in began a heritage of which all wire­ preparing for the future. For exam­ less/radio perators can be very ple, they gave me the responsibility proud. There are many "heroes of of farming two acres of land at the the key" who have followed them, age of 12. I was given carte blanche The World Wireless Beacon -2- March 1992 LIFE AND TIMES - From Page 1 ship on the Pacific. their sets; hence I was a good, reliable source for this very vital The receiving set I bought was a My first commercial job was aboard element. My retail trade grew so complete unit, advertised to have a an old Pacific Mail boat, 88 large I decided to enter the whole­ range of 2,000 miles or more. I also GEORGE W. ELDER/WAT. Equip­ sale field, which I did at 922 S. bought an early day model of the ment was "Halcon", for Haller-Cun­ Flower Street. I sold my retail store Omnigraph, a code-sending machine ningham. I was elated to have a job to one of my employees who had which would send at a rate of 5 to 25 on short notice. George Haller, Chief connections in the movie field. The words per minute, depending on how Operator and part owner, gave me name of my wholesale business was fast the crank was turned. Both items $50 per month, a very good salary the Radio Wholesale Electric Co. I cost less than $40, which in those for those days. Regretfully, I knew soon outgrew my Flower Street store, days was a 'bundle' of money. little about the ship. I found out after so I built a building at 1111 Wall sailing that the ship's generator did Along came World War I. A very Street. An old friend of mine, R.8. not provide enough current to run my persuasive U.S. Navy recruiter gave Yale, later took over this business set without dimming the lights on the us a talk at our high school which when I established a chain of three whole ship. The Chief Engineer pul­ ignited my latent patriotism to the retail stores, one each in Glendale, led the switch on the wireless room flash point. The Navy had me Long Beach and Hollywood. The and the only time I could get 'juice' "hooked"! latter was named after my first store, to run the set was to request it Radio Concert Equipment Co. of A couple of months later, after a through the Captain. Secondly, the Hollywood. I had quite a good lengthy talk with my parents who shaft on the motor-generator did not following with movie folks and sold thought I was too young, I joined the work. I had quite a job fixing it as I their first sets to people like William Navy. I was promptly assigned to had little experience with motors. To S. Hart, Harold Lloyd, Douglas Fair­ send code to my classmates at the top the experience off, when I retur­ banks and several others. Bremerton, Washington/NPC signal ned to San Francisco and went for school. In addition to the American my pay, I found that Mr. Haller had During my sojourn in L.A., I also Morse and International Codes which died. I did eventually get my pay, established the Los Angeles Radio I knew, I also was to teach sema­ but I also learned a good lesson the Institute on South Hope Street in the phore and 'wig-wag' to recruits hard way. I was a 'one-tripper' on Schools/College building. I leased assigned to the "Dickens" school. WAT, but I was still resolved to see some RMCA and Federal equipment the world. A shipboard R/0 at that and place settings for 80 operator­ I enjoyed my Navy days during time could almost pick the country or training positions. George Knudson, WW-1: Active duty at two land route he wanted, even if the pay an old friend who had sailed on the stations, NPC and NAT, plus seago­ wasn't all that great. S.S. ROSE CITY, came to work for ing duty on the USS GWIN/NACX, me as Supervisor. I recall one of the supply ship USS W. HOSOKIE/WFEI During the years from 1920 to 1929, men who came to us on a weekly and sub-chaser, NOCV. The GWIN with some interludes, I sailed on basis was Jennings 8. Dow who was was a 4-stacker in the war zone and many ships: freighters, tankers, conducting experiments for the U.S. on transport duty most of the time. barges and passenger liners. These Navy on the ultra-high frequencies. Old-timers will know these 'tin-cans' berths included ships of Standard were no place to be in rough Oil, the U.S. Shipping Board, Mat­ As a supplement to my school, I weather. Anyway, shortly after we son, Grace Line, Pacific Mail, was also appointed by Fred returned to NAT, New Orleans, LA, Admiral Line and numerous steam Mangelsdorf (who had supervision of the Navy offered furlough subject to schooners of different house flags. the West Coast) as Director of Ship recall (which we knew would pro­ Owners Radio Supply Co. (SORS) for During my shoreside interludes, I bably never happen.) I chose fur­ Southern California. I was able to became very active as a youthful lough as I did not feel the Navy staff ships with Radio Officers from entrepreneur in the Los Angeles and offered much opportunity to "see the our school when needed. It worked San Francisco areas. In 1922 I world". Hence I went to San Fran­ out very well. opened the fourth retail radio store in cisco and entered the Marconi Wire­ downtown L.A. at 624 West 6th Another involvement I had during less School. I received a commercial Street under the name of Radio these years was a partnership with­ license from Major Dillon and began Concert Equipment Co. I had a Jay Petel'Q 1 who ran a radio otorG on a new life on commercial ships - good contract and source for South Main Street. We started a everything from oil barges (Standard vacuum tubes with the Atlantic company named the 'On Location Oil # 91) to passenger ships (the 88 Pacific Tube Co. Many dealers in Wireless Communications Co•. We City of Los Angeles/KOZC, at that all of California were bui!ding sets to built two transceivers at the time time the largest and heaviest traffic sell and needed tubes to complete (Continued, Page 3) The WorldWiroleu Beacon -3 - March 1992 BRENIMAN - From Page 2 required a radio installation aboard Division, Bureau of Lighthouses. This all ships prior to their departure. later became the Civil Aeronautics and offered the movie industry the Some of us thought later that most of Administration (CAA). I had qualified service of providing "on location" the metal on these ships was conver­ as an aircraft pilot in 1924 and did contact with their main office.

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