7HB Harry Banks A rough transcript of the tape we made Talk about tape recorders Had extract from Merc on opening of Hobart radio cutting gave it to ? merc report on Hobart radio one of which was erection of new mast What are you going to do with this? Pop Medhurst foundation member wia Pop's first contact with priest on King island British Navy didn't want communication outside their control Devonport station Harry had friend on ki bernie hurst, now dead, studied father shaw I talk far too much Coherer I used magnetic detector and crystal I had a magnetic detector at Richmond think it thrown away when went to war. It came off a a Union Co ship its small wireless installation - had a magnetic detector and a Telmar? spark coil I was given the detector from Union Co offices. I wanted it for the spring in it. RCA made a different type of magnetic detector same principle RCC Radio Communications ? I was on one ship with their very good equipment Otikiea a tanker Receiver very elaborate occupy whole of this table all wave + aerial tuning device for all freq and beat osc was a diode valve how does it work? My first ship at sea was the Wahini lost during war about 4-5000 tons 2 funnels Wahini & Maori to & fro Wellington Lyttleton both accidents replaced by Marinoa laid up for 6 years I was on last trip to Lyttleton - saved morse key - bottom droppped out of her Cook strait Mararoa had fixed spark outside the wireless room freq was extremely low main rx was crysal set this was 1928 a passenger boat 1929 standby magnetic detector due to age only ran for 2 hrs When joined OTC in 1958 VIL on Flinders Is was still operating King Is was VIK Bernie Hurst transferred from King to Flinders the eqpt had been spark but was replaced with small valve transmitter Got first ticket in 1928 worked for Post Office shunted up to Wellington Radio they had a valve transmitter there but their main transmitter was a 2 1/2 KW Telefunken When valve transmitter chucked it in one day I was there on my own only 17 The time signal had to go out I put time signal out on the spark What a bloody row there was it blocked out everything 2PA Wellington was in its infancy then. Later increased the power of valve tranmitter to 50 W seemed an enormous rise The final transmitter here VIH was 500W on 500M In medium wave necessary to have extremely good earth - one of bset places in Aus is Ralphs bay OTC had option to transfer VIH there Supposed to be over 7 miles of copper wire at VIH still there where road was put round they severed lot of earth mat it was heavy Saw list of eqpt supplied with original station it ran into tons dont know how it was laid I said original mast was 21" square and 185' high made out of oregon all bolted together Winch base still in ground about where the emergency aerial was put lhs as come in gate Paul Newcomb??? Last time winch used when came to work at 7am could see womens pants flapping at top of aerial about 1960 Sent message to Sydney instructed to dispose of them Got Bosuns chair out went up about 3/4 way up mast had rust holes through it I came dowm Not a lattice mast an iron mast established Rang friend came up with shotgun and took 5 shots to dispose of them top of mast was rotten bend in top of mast strained by guy wires Bill Watson was officer in charge notified Sydney engineers came down they looked with binoculars Bill Watson was transferred to Rockhampton meanwhile They replaced mast and transmitters about 1970 I retired in 1976 new stuff was elaborate all transistorised Had synthesised oscillator I put it to good use had sked with bloke in America for your info only put main transmitter Most valve equpt was closely monitored Bloke named Brown was RI in Sydney Union Co didnt have office in Sydney Crosby Walch good bloke had rig for 2 months condenser .002 intermittent Got first ticket in 1928 had been tgst in PO had no trouble with morse and got a first class ticket then they reclassified all first class tickets and made them second unless you requalified that was in 1930 they took me to 2YA principal station in Wellington to revalidate finding faults and all the rest of it I'd never seen a broadcast station before Hope was enggr in charge of 7HO at Findlays Domain article by Tom Moffat John Britmead? came well after me new one was going up there were two aerials responded to all freqs one on each transmitter this was emergency one this one was american amateurs no aerial tuning ring did the same this was a wire device No toilet at first council emptied once a week superintendent visiting a scorpion bit him then we got a septic tank Tom Moffat Prins Radio Wire broke when hauling up the ring came dowm hell of a mess cupboard fell and all my slides no provision to prevent birds getting into it whitewashed car toilet Doug Hobart Radio first info about possible closure 1969 Maritime troubles in South of Tas Melbourne doesnt receive them TC boat lost I was on holidays at Bluff, NZ I went to look at the radio station cos I had done one days job on it At that particuar time if a telegraphist in the PO if he was sick there was no sick leave. I went down there when I started Ararua from Bluff old T model ford mail coach bloke was back at work. I had come from Wellington, by boat to Lyttleton, by train through Dunedin down to Bluff and you went to Ararua by mail coach, an old T model Ford. The bloke should never have been at work, he died five days later but had to work as no money He was on 295 pounds a year about 6 per week had a wife and two or three children. I had to stay a day until the bus went back and had to work for that day 8 hours a weeks holiday maximum Then I had to come back to Wellington then I got put on transfer to Chatham Is I thought thats the end of it I've had enogh I went to Union Co second op on the Wahini so thats whenI went to sea 4 pounds a month, a pound a week a labourer got 18/2 per week normally they'd have to pay 12pounds per month but me being a junior there were no unions nothing at all in those times so they put me 4pounds a month I did 8 months on the Wahini I was transferred to the Marconi I got 6 pounds per month on the Marconi I relieved on two Marconi ships 6/ month Then sent on a ship on my own and came on the full rate I was on the mail boat on the Vancouver run and I was paid 12/month I was under age and the full rate was about 16/m Didn't save very much One disability - first day out on every ship I was on I got seasick - right up until the day I finished. Side 2 I had 2 weeks leave 2 yrs On the Loongana Melb - Dport I had to help a lady have a baby she called the baby HEW My wife died in 1980 met my present wife walking on the mountain Cuppa Went to Vladivostok once their tea was made with mud awful stuff poorest place I ever saw in my life about 1930 There were two English ships there and their radio operators were locked up but they didnt touch me. I gave the ships away in 1937 I was on the Paloona and I went to Richmond as council clerk. All the time I was away at sea I srudied differnt things - diesels, oils, water - correspondence courses. I had three children and wanted to go ashore I applied for the job and they gave it to another bloke but he died and i reapplied and they gave it to me. I stayed there till I went away to the war away 2 1/2 years came back not too good walking with sticks. I left there in 58, 21 years. In 1982 I wanted to go to NZ and I had to get a passport - They said you have to be a citizen. I said surely to God I must be, I've been a Justice of the Peace, a coroner, served with the Australian army... I had run? citizen ceremonies for about 400 people. Got a job with OTC with the old certificate I had While I was away in Malaya I had my radio certificate with me Japs got my coat when I got skittled. I went to Wellington from Richmond. I want to renew my certificate cos its lost. Years afterwards I received my lost certificate from the army via Japan. Showed certificates Got fed up with snap and snarl of people. Was talking to Bill Watson on 80 (I was using 20?) offered a job. Advert in a couple of days. I'd been out for over 20 years. Bill walked out and left me with it. Had a morse circuit to the CTO using sounder I'd not used that since 1927. Had to find everything myself. When you went to a new ship you had to find everything The receivers were AWA and OTC OTC good AWA wartime. Small ships 2182 6280 most work 500 small ships and outstations like Maria Is were telephony weather and telegrams Port Davey Bond bay (20 miles from Port Davey) 2 on coast Hunter and Three Hummock Island and about three Hydro stations all on 5355 6v batt originally pedal radio Mrs Hunt of Maria Is had formerly been the matron at New Norfolk infoirmary and they couldnt get a cook so she resigned as matron and took on the job of cook and stayed there as cook for many years and went to Maria when she retired. Just on Domain when I started installed receiving stations on top or Mt Rumney via telephone and FM link I lived at Penna and had to fix rcvrs when Melb called. OTC wanted better so Yellow? bluff about a mile from Dennes Point on Bruny. Power 240/13V or 26V at 2182 2201 4 6280 all telephone fishing freqs. Had trouble with rxs had to call out ferry boat drive from Dennes point walk in rain about 3 trips Many trips to Rumney boozing station everybody came to watch Most Bruny troubles were blown fuse cos of power fluctuations and lightning strikes cost $500 travel costs Rat ate rubber 500KHz at station. Had trouble with Hydro channels 512, a working freq, 468 working freq, 499 just on distress freq. Fred Harland worked for Hydro came up and did survey and eventually they changed freq. then trouble with city council we were breaking in on their cars - we found a faulty insulator up at our place was causing the trouble - that took a lot of finding We sent weather at certain times of the day 7.45 pm big weather on 500 and gale warnings etc at diff times during day Bill Watson went to Port Davey for three months holiday said will you go down and check the house. Hose and stove were left on Lent him a tent damaged by salt water came back in pieces 7 - 1, 2 - 8 In Wellington Radio 8 hour shift get there at 7.30 for 8.00 start had to sign over for the pencils 1/3 of a pencil Come in found up to 30 messages to send to CTO NZ PO were worse than AWA superintendent and two operators 3 at Awarua Went over in 1976 57 at Awarua 120 at Wellington 8 on duty at one time only one circuit 500 when I was there sent out press on 9pm 800M had 55M all ships at sea with short wave Rangitira Rangatiki Rangatike When I was on the mail boats I wanted to sit for an american ticket had to do a 24 hour shift on a coast station 57 families at the station 500 and 36 earphone KPH in both ears took an hour to get used to it exam 30 wpm for 10 min code and cipher 3 min each 25 and 20 paid fee $25 can't issue certificate as not american citizen Distress on american coast passenger boat 25KT I was on Mongalui on watch at 12 oclock SOS goniometer of DF swung fix call sign once and finish. about 80 miles from us. warship called wanted our course speed. rescued 140 people 2-300 lost 25kt in fog hit tanker offered citizenship given gold testimonial all lost when baggage stolen off train between dport and hobart Narcoota 3rd mate had been commander of subs resigned from union co went away with wouldnt bow to japanese cut his head off in front of passengers Chatam is 600 mi from wellington Amateur radio first in NZ electrician on border 6d on tram met him at union co sending morse too fast helped by operating only 14 yr old joined po 15 left wellington college to po got interested in operating picked up quickly put on circuit place in operating room within 6 months New Plymouth taken to amateur meeting they surprised at operating had to make all equipment incl batteries rewind headphones make transmitter and receiver 1 valve across room passed exam but only 15 had to get warranty from father went for commercial ticket Johnsons wireless school Taylor 40 pounds for lectures paid money he disappeared next day superintendent at AWA school po 23/9 per week sat commercial lic when 17 no lic cos not 18 went to lawyer cost 10/6 told PO they said WHAT and issued licence Amateur put tx together had lic for few years in nz got lic about 1950 in Richmond Using home made transmitter 2x210 in parallel 20 watts 80M couldnt get Hobart on 80M except Bill Watson he reading me on 80 when I on 20 Rx superhet no RF Disposals not used Only 20 when married Narcoota money 12/m 15 kakarangu married men got regular runs i was on go all time when i set up home in aus in 1929 still operating out of nz as far as union co concerned When I got ticket revalidated I got job on mail boat to Frisco when only 20 nobody else had bothered to go and get their ticket revalidated (4QG the brisbane hotel in sydney) Jumped from 15 to 26 pounds per month and published newspaper so worked out about 30/m some were smuggling Buy stamps po in sydney 1d ea worth 5c ea in frisco buy used stamps in us 5c/12 sell in aus nz 2 or 3d ea 200 - 300 20s nz=25s aus but heavy one fellow in drug business throat cut Prohibition had to empty a bath in america before use there was a funny smell they didn't ask me to stay there again Chimney still at VIH just after new aerials erected Showed photos of station Operating room on Macoora 3 operator ship rf det af regenerative Narcoota coils on one valve rx 1964 Wellington zoo elephant