51   This list of Vancouver (VAI) station staff accompanied the 1964 Christmas card. The staff numbers reflect the importance of the station for marine coastal and deep sea traffic. Operation of course was 24 hours a day. Transmitters and receivers were in separate buildings--receiver site was at the west end of the main YVR runway and the transmitters were located on Garden City Way in Richmond.
52   Interior shot Dominion Government Radio Service R709 No.1 receiver. The four vacuum tubes have been removed from their sockets to make the interior more visible. Three different batteries were required to make this radio operate, and their connections are on the binding posts. An 'A' was for the tube filaments, a 'B' for the tube plates and a 'C' for the tube grid bias. Antenna and ground connections are the right hand binding posts.
53   Technician Sid Woods took these photos of Cape St. James in 1963. The Cape was located at the bottom end of the Queen CharlotteIslands (Haida Gwaii) and received the full rage of the winter storms.
54   Cape St.James.  The cape is a lightstation at the southern tip of Haida Gwaii.  It was a radar station during WW2 and had a contingent of armed forces to house.
December 1952 Cape Lazo operating position. I'll guess that the box with one meter next to the microphone is the remote control for the HF transmitter. To the right of the mike is a transmitter.
55   1952 December Comox (Cape Lazo) transmitters. These ones were located just behind the operating position. The transmitteron the left is, I think, a MEL multi-channel HF AM putting out a couple of hundred Watts. This transmitter would have the usual 2 mHz channels--2182, 1630, 2274, 2318, 2366, 2340 duplex etc. Somebody has extended the band change knob on the next transmitter, most likely, the MF CW transmitter--500 kHz and a working frequency.
December 1952. This plant supplied electrical power to Cape Lazo if the commercial power failed. If that happened the operator would enter this room and start the engine, then manually pull a handle on an electrical box to switch station from the commercial supply to this generator set.  There are a couple of curious items about this photo--where is the generator and why is the radiator against a wall? 
56   Off loading supplies from the landing craft on Spring Island. Spring Island, about half way up the west coast of Vancouver Island,was a LORAN-A station installed by the USCG during the war. LORAN-A was a hyperbolic radio navigation aid, transmitting pulses in the 1600-1800 kHz band.

Note the dual tires on front axle.
57   1966 photo of the LORAN-A transmitters at Spring Island. Main and Backup equipment.
58   Spring Island LORAN-A showing base of transmitting tower. Big cabinet housed the antenna tuning components.
59   Marconi Sequenced Radio Beacon. It was fitted at a lightstation and would operate on a fixed frequency between 200 to 400 kHz. It shared the same frequency with a couple of other beacons in the vicinity, with only one transmitting at any one time. Timing was accomplished by a small (pocket watch size) clockwork mechanism seen in the centre rack, top right on the surface of the dark round object.

   There are two beacons, a main and standby. There is a receiver fitted in each of the beacon racks so the lightkeeper can pick up a short wave time signal and ensure his clock is keeping correct time.

   In use each beacon station in the chain would transmit for one minute. Thus a savings in spectrum space was realized and also there was some convenience to a vessel navigator as he would only have to set his direction finder to one frequency and get two or three fixes quickly.
60   The previous photo's beacons are in the background. In the foreground are two motor generator sets supplying the electrical power for the station. Again, a main and standby generator set. Note the cleanliness of the station. Lightkeeper's took great pride in keeping a clean establishment.
61   This may be a 1930's era one transmitter. The log book has the call 6HM on the title. This device appears in Bowerman photo 291 where there is much more information on the builder.

 

 

Hammerer Photos 051 to 061