Another Aerial Tuner Perspective
This is a second perspective on this device. Radio on a scale most people will never have come across. It measures 10m by 10m by 6m.
This is a variable-inductance coil used for tuning the aerial of the very-low-frequency (VLF) 16-kHz transmitter installed at Rugby Radio Station and operational from 1943 to 1966, together with separate transformer and variometer with supporting framework.
The framework is made of Sitka spruce, with fixings consisting of wooden dowelling and nylon nuts and bolts. Wedges used to keep the coil in place are made of wood, whilst tap point connections and cable terminals are made of metal. The support tubing or casing of the coil sidings are made of synthetic-resin-bonded paper, whilst the inner coil, a Litz wire cable, is made of enamelled copper wire.
The Rugby Tuning Coil was used to tune antenna at the station to the right frequency. When it began service on 1 January 1926, the Rugby station was the most powerful in the world. It transmitted official wireless news messages to the Empire and ships at sea worldwide - a first.
In 1928 the station was used to send a message to Mars - yes, the planet - at the request of a Dr Mansfield Robinson, a London lawyer, who believed he had been in contact with Mars. The Post Office, which operated the station, accepted the message as a commercial transaction and charged him 1s 6d per word, the same as the standard message rate. Sounds like he got a good deal! I suspect AT&T long-distance would have been a bit more expensive...LOL
The coil was also used during the Cold War as the station transmitted classified material to/from ships and submarines during the Cold War. I believe it was a key part of the nuclear firing chain for British SSBNs.
The coil was decommissioned in 2003 and now is the centrepiece in the Information Age Hall on the second floor of the Science Museum in South Kensington.
Another Aerial Tuner Perspective
This is a second perspective on this device. Radio on a scale most people will never have come across. It measures 10m by 10m by 6m.
This is a variable-inductance coil used for tuning the aerial of the very-low-frequency (VLF) 16-kHz transmitter installed at Rugby Radio Station and operational from 1943 to 1966, together with separate transformer and variometer with supporting framework.
The framework is made of Sitka spruce, with fixings consisting of wooden dowelling and nylon nuts and bolts. Wedges used to keep the coil in place are made of wood, whilst tap point connections and cable terminals are made of metal. The support tubing or casing of the coil sidings are made of synthetic-resin-bonded paper, whilst the inner coil, a Litz wire cable, is made of enamelled copper wire.
The Rugby Tuning Coil was used to tune antenna at the station to the right frequency. When it began service on 1 January 1926, the Rugby station was the most powerful in the world. It transmitted official wireless news messages to the Empire and ships at sea worldwide - a first.
In 1928 the station was used to send a message to Mars - yes, the planet - at the request of a Dr Mansfield Robinson, a London lawyer, who believed he had been in contact with Mars. The Post Office, which operated the station, accepted the message as a commercial transaction and charged him 1s 6d per word, the same as the standard message rate. Sounds like he got a good deal! I suspect AT&T long-distance would have been a bit more expensive...LOL
The coil was also used during the Cold War as the station transmitted classified material to/from ships and submarines during the Cold War. I believe it was a key part of the nuclear firing chain for British SSBNs.
The coil was decommissioned in 2003 and now is the centrepiece in the Information Age Hall on the second floor of the Science Museum in South Kensington.