CHAPTER Il, SECTION 6
the ships and Building 204 on Nan and Building

INTERFERENCE DETECTION SERVICE.

488 on Elmer. Also, a two-channel cyphony link
to the BOXER was maintained using additional
AN/TRC-24 equipment. The Bikini shore station used three element high gain, corner reflec-

Since a considerable portion of the scientific
diagnostic data was obtained by Sandia through
the use of microwave telemetry, it was of prime

beamed

ference by radars and other radio signals. At
Elmer a Military-furnished interference measur-

tors located on the 300-foot tower at Nan and
on

the evacuation

rendezvous area.

Coverage was excellent to the maximum 45 miles
required. By the use of station patch panels,
ship’s circuits were patched through the interatoll tropo system to Eniwetok during the

evacuation periods. At Elmer a similar installation was made, excluding the cyphony circuit.

Corner reflectors located on the 125-foot tower

provided full coverage to the lagoon and the
WAHOO operational areas. Charts 2-23 and 2-24

show predicted field strength contours of this
system

for

the

ship-to-shore

service

at

the

Eniwetok and Bikini Atolls respectively. Again,

the contours are based upon the expected field
strength at the horizon in the direction of maximum antenna gain. The equipment used proved

to be very reliable in operation.

HIGH FREQUENCY CIRCUITS.
During the Weather and Rad-safety Station

construction effort contact was maintained with
construction parties and the supply ships by the
use of a high frequency net. Daily voice contact

importance to protect these channels from inter-

ing and locating set was installed in the REDWING Station 1518 tower. This installation

protected Sandia circuits on the adjacent 300foot observation tower. A similar installation
was made at Building 204 on Nan which was
later transferred to Johnston Island. Portable
equipment covering 0 to 300 megacycles was
operated at both atolls to locate radio interference to any radio facility reporting difficulties.
The interference detection team identified the
offending signal, pinpointed its location, and

advised JTF-7 of regulatory action. Considerable

difficulty was experienced at first in bringing

the older type Military-furnished equipment up
to satisfactory operating standards. Thé equip-

ment used for the microwave protection during
HARDTACK lacked the sensitivity and opera- .
ting efficiency of later model equipment.
TELEPHONE.

as Nauru. This circuit continued to be used to
contact the ALOTO after her arrival. Vertical
radiators and ET-10 transmitters were added at

During the interim period and build-up
phase for Operation HARDTACK, the same
telephone equipment that had been in use during
the two previous Operations remained in service.
A three-position manual PBX anda single tollboard were in use at Elmer. This equipment was
obsolete and in poor condition. For the operational phase of HARDTACK, a dial exchange

TELEVISION STATION.

increased traffic load. It is felt that more room
for the telephone operators, including a relief

WXLE-TV, an Armed Forces Television
Station, was operated and maintained by H&N

of morale among the operators.

was maintained with all stations ranging as far

Elmer and Nan. In addition to providing communications to the ship, the HF channels were
used for unattended monitorservice of the Bikini
radio installation during the interim period.

personnel. The facility consisted of a combined
studio and transmitter station in Building 488
on Elmer and a laboratory in Building 330,

where film was stored and processed for showing
and shipment. The station operated from 1730
to 2255 hours daily and from 1330 to 2255 hours
on Sundays and holidays. Coverage of the FredElmer-David area was excellent, with very good

voice and video quality. Television sets were
supplied to recreation halls and day rooms. Program material consisted of taped commercial
network shows and sports events. During the
interim

period,

local productions

included a

weekly Chaplain’s Hour and an_ occasional
Hawaiian musical group. During the operational
period, local features were limited to a daily
news summary and a five-minute stock market

report each evening. With the arrival of a TG
7.3 trailer packaged TV installation at Nan,

WXLE-TV was given permission by AFRTS to
loan the regular film shipments to the Bikini
facility.

Page 312

was installed at Elmer to serve the anticipated
operator’s lounge, would have resulted in a more
efficient telephone program and a greater degree

At Janet a one-position manual PBX was

placed in service coincidental with the opening
of the camp. A similar installation was made at

Yvonne for that camp. Components of the 700-

line dial exchange for Elmer and the three 70-

line dial sub-exchanges for the off-islands began
arriving in late November. The Elmer dial exchange was installed in the newly constructed

Building 224, and was cut over to dial operation
on 1 February 1958. Yvonne was converted to

dial operation on 24 February 1958, and Janet
became the final link in an integrated dial
system for Eniwetok on 6 April 1958. There
were 30 inter-office dial trunks between the

main exchange on Elmer and the Military-operated dial exchange on Fred. Also, 10 automatic
dial trunks and 6 operator-controlled ring-down
trunks functioned through the inter-atoll Tropo-

spheric System to Nan. Initially, there were 8
inter-office trunks between the Elmer exchange
and both Janet and Yvonne. It became necessary

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