17
DiscoverMaineMagazine.com
transmissions were still instituted from the standpoint that brute force was the best method to utilize. This, then, was the state of radio as the men assigned to Garrison Hill listened for transmissions. And not only was listening for transmissions a problem, so was sending, as it was possible for some brute force transmission to blanket Garrison Hill messages. The Garrison Hill radio utilized magnetic detectors and galena crystals which were standard for the time. Both were typical for the period in that they had very poor sensitivity or selectivity. If Garrison Hill had possessed a police scanner, the job would have been easy. All that an operator would have had to do would have been to listen until a message was picked up. Instead, he had to continually search the airwaves for transmissions. However, Garrison
Hill operators did have one factor in their favor. This was the Navy’s own research into wireless communication. When the United Sates entered the Great War the Navy had just begun establishing its own radio band widths and was experimenting with the use of tuned circuits so that it was possible to use a calibrated dial for sending and receiving. The equipment that Garrison Hill was supplied with had these innovations, plus something that was even more advanced. The circuits of the radio had the earliest wave traps to minimize interfering signals. Even with these sophisticated advances, however, it was necessary for operators to put in long tedious hours listening for the least little indication of a transmission and to calibrate and re-calibrate to eliminate interference. Garrison Hill was once regarded as
STAIRS WELDING R.L., INC. Roger Larson, Owner
Serving the Woods Industry with all types of Logging Trailers and Heavy Duty Cab Guards __________ Custom Metal Fabrication
315 North St., Houlton
1-800-427-9675
❦Other businesses from this area
are featured in the color section.
• New cars and trucks from Toyota & Ford • Quality used cars and trucks - all makes and models • Guaranteed in-house financing through Fresh Start Finance Co. • Full Service Tire & Auto Center • Modern Auto Body Repair Shop
“YOU DESERVE THE BEST!”
Hodgdon, Maine
www.YorksofHoulton.com
532-9253
Stardust Motel • Phones • Full Bath • Satellite TV • Air Conditioning • Refrigerator • Smoking Rooms Available • Ionic Breeze Air Purifiers
one of the best of all sites for a radio station in the eastern United States. This was due to the fact that there was little in the area to provide manmade electromagnetic interference. In addition, there were no natural obstructions due to the vast expanse of open forest land. Garrison Hill Radio Station’s heyday came in the early days of wireless transmission when atmospheric conditions to the southwest in the urban centers of Boston and New York often precluded clear reception. It was undoubtedly due to these factors, as well as the fact James Baylor had established a magnetic station over an old Hancock Barracks granite pier that led the Navy to establish a listening station on Garrison Hill.
Clean comfortable rooms
1-800-437-8406 • 532-6538
672 North Street, Houlton, Maine 04730 2 miles north of I-95 on US Route 1 Just off Interconnected Trail System (ITS ) #83. Easy access from the trail to the parking lot.
KERRY GOLDING CONSTRUCTION • Excavator • Bulldozer • Dump Truck Logging Roads / Low Bed Service Free Estimates • Fully Insured
538-9044 • Cell: 532-1695 Littleton, Maine