Wireless Giant of the Pacific Written and Compiled by Eric P. Dollard Published by A&P Electronic Media Liberty Lake, Washington 2 Cover Layout: Book Layout Aaron Murakami Peter Lindemann A&P Electronic Media Liberty Lake, Washington Front Cover 3D Graphic: Aaron Murakami Interior Images by: Various Sources Copyright © 2013 Eric P. Dollard (Author, copyright for content) Copyright © 2013 A&P Electronic Media (Publisher, copyright for layout) All Rights Reserved, Worldwide. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in an electronic retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means, without the prior, written permission of the copyright holders or the publisher. Unauthorized copying of this digital file is a criminal offense and prohibited by International Law. Digital Edition Published by: A&P Electronic Media PO Box 713 Liberty Lake, WA 99019 http://emediapress.com/ Book Version 1.00 - Release Date: September, 2013 First Edition: First Printing: September, 2013 Digital Format: PDF File 50,000 Authorized Downloads 3 Editor's Note and Disclaimer The author of this work is 100% responsible for its content. Most of the material presented here has been used as "camera ready" images as they were submitted by the author. When retyped, they have only been edited to the extent considered necessary for clarity. Therefore, the material is not entirely formatted as a new publication. It is presented as a collection of historic documents punctuated by the author's commentary, as well as the reproduction of a huge collection of the author's original, mathematical and technical analysis, as it was originally written in his research notebooks. The views and opinions expressed in this book are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, or legal position of the editor or publisher. Some of the material presented here is controversial, and suggests misconduct by certain parties against the author and the historic site at Bolinas, California. We believe that the material that supports each party's position is of sufficient clarity for the reader to make up their own mind concerning their veracity. Our interest in publishing this material is related specifically to the historic relevance of the technical information and its relationship to the history of wireless communications technology and the development of commercial and military radio in its first 50 years. We also recognize that large corporations are in the business of "making money" and that in that pursuit, the technologies utilized can change in value over time. These fluctuations of "perceived value" by the various parties, concerning the site at Bolinas, California, are certainly well documented in this material. The author's technical evaluation of how these early "wireless" transmitters worked and upon whose patents they were based is a unique historic perspective that deserves publication. This has been our sole interest in being involved with the project. If there is sufficient interest, a fully formatted presentation of this material could be developed at some point in the future. A&P Electronic Media 4 Dedication: This book is dedicated to the remarkable crew of the Bolinas Radio Transmission Facility; Chief Engineer: Manager: Technician/Machinist: Chief Rigger: Frank Spicer Gus Kouats Ivan Neilson Jim Bourne These individuals created the legend of KET-KPH at Bolinas, California. Also to be noted are the efforts of District VicePresident Jim Hepburn, who facilitated the transfer of out-dated equipment to scientific endeavors, leading to the writing of this manuscript. Eric P. Dollard 5 Preface 6 7 Table of Contents Dedication . . . . . . . . Page 5 Preface . . . . . . . . . Page 6 Table of Contents . . . . . . . . Page 8 Introduction. . . . . . . . . Page 10 PART ONE Page 13 The History of Electric Wireless and its Relation to the Bolinas, California Transmission Facility Chapter One . . . . . . . . Page 13 The Bolinas Site Chapter Two . . . . . . . . Page 50 Marconi and His Wireless Chapter Three . . . . . . . . Page 90 The Radio Corporation of America Chapter Four . . . . . . . . Page 131 Dr. Alexanderson Chapter Five . . . . . . . . Page 152 The San Francisco Bay Area Chapter Six . . . . . . . . Page 167 Nikola Tesla Chapter Seven . . . . . . . . Page 186 The Commonweal Question 8 PART TWO Page 222 Physical and Historical Reconstruction of the Electrostatic Wireless Section 1) Section 2) Section 3) Section 4) Section 5) Section 6) Section 7) Section 8) Section 9) Section 10) Section 11) Section 12) Section 13) Section 14) Section 15) Historical Sequence . . . . . . The Initial Layout . . . . . . Marconi Aerial Dimensions . . . Aerial Electric Dimensions . . . The Alexanderson Layout . . Additional Structures . . . . . Ground Structure Details . . . First Section Compensator . . . Second Section Compensator . . End or Third Section Compensator Compensator Detail Input Section . Third Phase Development . . . Fourth Phase Development . . . Location of Artifacts . . . . . Photos, Illustrations, and Articles . Page 223 Page 224 Page 226 Page 227 Page 229 Page 230 Page 231 Page 232 Page 233 Page 234 Page 235 Page 236 Page 237 Page 237 Page 238 PART THREE Page 290 Alexanderson Aerial Electric Dimensions Section 1) Section 2) Section 3) Aerial Electric Constants . . . . Page 291 Supporting Illustrations . . . . Page 295 Experimental Scale Model . . . Page 306 Appendix I Appendix II Appendix III APPENDICES Page 309 Experimental Networks . . . Page 310 Complex Electric Theory . . . Page 321 Historic Patents . . . . . . Page 340 9 Introduction 10 11 12 PART ONE The History of Electric Wireless and its relation to the Bolinas, California Transmission Facility Chapter One The Bolinas Site Author Commentary: pages 14 - 16 Historic Documents: pages 17 - 49 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 Chapter Two Marconi and His Wireless Author Commentary: pages 51 - 56 Historic Documents: pages 57 - 89 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 Chapter Three The Radio Corporation of America Author Commentary: pages 91 - 103 Historic Documents: pages 104 - 130 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100