History of wireless telegraphy and broadcasting in Australia/Topical/Biographies/Walter Moss Sweeney

Transcriptions

1910s

1912

WIRELESS SIGNALS. FROM THE PERSIAN GULF TO MELBOURNE, 6249 MILES. Mr. E. T. Fisk, resident engineer in Sydney of the Marconi International Marine Communication Company, Limited, writes:— "Mr. W. M. Sweeney, officer in charge of the Marconi installation on board R.M.S. Mantua, reports having received signals over a record distance on the 8th inst. The Mantua was outside Port Phillip Heads, near Melbourne, when Mr. Sweeney, who was tuning for various stations, was surprised to hear signals of a peculiar note, which he immediately recognised as the distinctive timbre of the station at Jask, in the Persian Gulf. This tone is easily recognised by all wireless operators who have communicated with Jask at any time. Although the signals were so distinctive in that respect, the operator could not himself believe that they came from so great a distance until finally the station gave the signal 'JKR,' which is the official call signal for Jask. Jask is situated at the entrance to the Persian Gulf, in lat. 25.38 N., long. 57.45 E., and the distance from there to the Mantua's position, outside Melbourne, was calculated by the Mantua's navigating officer to be 6248 nautical miles. This is considered to be a record distance for the reception of signals. On her last voyage from Bombay to London the Mantua's operator exchanged signals with Marseilles when the ship was near Aden, the distance then covered being 2800 miles. While these exceptional long-distance communications are of great interest to the general public, as well as to those having a scientific or practical interest in wireless telegraphy, the continued publication of such records is liable to cause misconception on the part of the former. The normal working range of a wireless station on board a merchant ship is from 200 to 300 miles. This range, however, is frequently exceeded during the hours of darkness, and communications are obtained over surprising distances. The Mantua is equipped with a Marconi 1½-kilowatt installation, standard ship type, in which the Marconi magnetic detector, which on several occasions has proved its great reliability and efficiency, is employed. The station at Jask was erected for the Government two or three years ago, and works under Marconi patents."

THROUGH SPACE. A WIRELESS MESSAGE WHICH CAME TO THE MANTUA. OVER SIX THOUSAND MILES AWAY. "Buzz. Buz—z—z—z." Through the atmosphere surrounding Port Phillip Heads came to the wireless operator of the R.M.S. Mantua a sound like a subdued noise of a steam saw. Operator Sweeney fixed the receiving gear to his head in a laconic sort of way and waited casually for eventualities. The ethergraphlc force was more distinct now, and the operator had allowed the cigarette to fall from his lips. His features bore the tense expression of a man whose naturally exuberant feelings were in the leash of a professional calmness. "Holy smoke," said he to himself. "Where is this message coming from?" Sitting up alertly in his chair he placed his elbows on the table and listened hard. "Buzz. Buz—z—z—z." The Mantua's operator was speaking so hard that the air seemed to be filled with question marks. "Seems to me," said he, "that chap is speaking to naval ships. By gum, I believe that message is being delivered from the Persian Gulf. It is Jask note, or alright. Let's wait till he gives the signal." "Buzz. Buz—z—z—z." It was a weak, falling sound this time, and at its expiration, Mr. Sweeney unhooked the receivers and commenced writing furiously on a pad. "J.K.R.," he muttered excitedly, "J.K.R. Yes, that message has come all the way from the Persian Gulf." Mr. W. N. Sweeney related these facts to a "Daily News" representative on board the R.M.S. Mantua today. "It was a wonderful thing," said he, "We were just outside Port Phillip Heads when, in tuning for various stations I was surprised to hear signals of a peculiar note, which I immediately recognised as the distinctive timbre of a station at Jask in the Persian Gulf. How did I recognise this? Well, it comes as easily to wireless operators as it would be for you to recognise the accent of a man you know well. Every station has different notes, and even if two stations were built alike you would, with practice and experience, distinguish their respective notes. The Jask note is what we call a high or singing note, and is easily recognised by all wireless operators who have communicated with that station. Although the signals I received were so distinctive in that respect, I could not at first believe they came from such a distance, until finally the station gave a signal, J.K.R., which is the official signal call for Jask." That was a remarkable occurrence. What is the distance of the message? "The distance from the Persian Gulf to the Mantua's position outside Melbourne was calculated by the navigating officer of this mail boat to be 6,249 nautical miles. Our position was latitude 38 deg. S., longitude 145 deg. E. This is considered to be the record for the reception of signals. Mind you, we might call this a freak, and it might never happen again. How do I account for it? Well, I can only answer that by saying it was a freak. Mind you, we get some remarkable distance results in the Southern Hemisphere. All northern climates, such as San Francisco, Japan, and the North Pacific, are good for long-distance sending. The Atlantic is no good. You don't get very many great distances there. I don't know what is the reason for this. I suppose it has something to do with the clearness of atmosphere at night." Did you hear the message clearly? "Yes. I could hear it as distinctly as if he were only 'sending' 100 miles away. The operator at Jask was signalling to the naval ships." Mr. Sweeney has put up other records besides this. On the last trip of the Mantua from Bombay to England signals were exchanged, with Cullercoates (England), 700 miles away, and night signals were exchanged with Marseilles at a distance of 2,800 miles. Both of these are considered to be records. Mr. Sweeney told our representative that this was his last trip on the Mantua, He had already accepted an offer from the Commonwealth Wireless Department, and probably would return to a position in Melbourne. The Mantua is equipped with a Marconi 1½-Kilowatt installation, standard ship type, in which the Marconi magnetic detector, which on several occasions has proved its great ability and efficiency, is employed. The station at Jask was erected for the Government some three years ago, and works under Marconi patent.

THE WONDERS OF WIRELESS. REMARKABLE DISTANCE RECORD. When the operator in charge of the Marconi station at Jask, in the Persian Gulf, was clicking out a message to some warships in the Gulf recently to the accompaniment of his powerful induction coil, he little dreamed that his conversation would be overheard by the operator on the P. and O. liner Mantua, which was then off the Port of Melbourne, a distance of 6,249 nautical miles away. At the time the message was received the Mantua was just outside Port Phillip Heads. The operator (Mr. Sweeney) was in the act of tuning for the various stations when he detected a strange note, at least one that, although familiar to his ear, was strange in these latitudes. No two stations are alike in tone, and operators quickly become used to the notes of the various stations, and are able to recognise them immediately by reason of their peculiar timbre. The Jask note is what has been called by the operators as a high or singing note. Mr. Sweeney could scarcely believe the evidence of his senses, and it was not until the station gave its official call signal — J.K.R. — that he was convinced that he had been listening to the operator at far away Jask. "This," said Mr. Sweeney yesterday, "is considered to be a record for the receiving of signals, but," he added, "the same result might not be again achieved for some time." He could only account for it by some exceptional condition of the ether at the time. It was a remarkable fact, he observed that the best distance results had been obtained in the Southern Hemisphere. The Atlantic for some reason was not conducive to long-distance signalling. He had overheard the Jask operator as clearly as if he had only been 100 miles away. On his return to Australia Mr. Sweeney will take up a position with the Commonwealth Wireless Department. The Mantua is equipped with a Marconi 1½ kilowatt installation, standard ship type, in which the Marconi magnetic detector, which on several occasions has proved its great ability, is employed. The station at Jask was erected for the Government some three years ago, and works under the Marconi patent.

The Wonders of Wireless. Record is rapidly succeeding record in the feats of wireless telegraphy. During the past few days accounts have been published of events which a few years ago would have literally astounded the world, but which now are accepted as mere matters of prosaic fact succeeding in natural order to past achievements in the same field. The Aberdeen liner Miltiades, on her last voyage to Australia from London via Capetown, was in continuous wireless communication either with land stations or other vessels. Not a day passed without her receiving and despatching messages through the ether. The fact illustrates first how general have become wireless installations, and secondly, how efficient these installations have been made. When we were told, as we were last week, that a liner in mid-ocean — 1,200 miles out from Capetown — received from the land station at Durban the result of the test cricket match at Adelaide, we realise how much nearer this new factor of communication has brought us to the annihilation alike of time and space. But a still more marvellous testimony of the capacity of wireless is reported by the Marconi operator on board the R.M.S. Mantua, which, when off Port Melbourne a few days ago, was able to capture a message from the wireless station at Jask, in the Persian Gulf, a distance of 6,249 nautical miles. It is interesting to learn that the best long distance results have been obtained in the Southern Hemisphere, interesting because the fact tends to enhance the value of Australasian installations, whether on land or on ships. If at this date it were necessary to emphasise the utilitarian value of wireless telegraphy, the telegram published elsewhere from Vancouver would be all-sufficient for the purpose. A Norwegian steamer of three thousand odd tons bound from Galveston to Hamburg caught fire and became a doomed ship. Happily, she was installed with wireless, which was resorted to to proclaim across the ocean her impending fate. The news was intercepted by a British steamer, which, forthwith, proceeded to the rescue. By this means the crew of the burning ship were saved from a horrible death. But these tales of the sea — tales of rescue by the instrumentality of wireless — are now becoming almost common-places, and more than warrant the almost universal adoption of legal provisions making the installation of wireless compulsory on all ships. Australia, for one reason and another, has lagged in the race. This week, however, has seen the first government station opened in Melbourne, and stations are approaching completion in other parts of the Commonwealth, including Western Australia. When the works are completed at Applecross the arrival of mail boats from Colombo and elsewhere will be advised practically to the minute, steamers will be spoken from Port Adelaide to Broome, and any craft in distress, in the Indian or Southern Ocean, if it is itself equipped with wireless will be enabled to secure help from Fremantle, always providing, of course, that it is within speaking distance, and the exigencies of the situation admit.

As foreshadowed by Balsillie, initial work soon commenced and the project supervisor W. M. Sweeney arrived in Geraldton at the end of September 1912 and quickly identified the Residency site on Francis street as being the most suitable:

Wireless Stations. SITE SELECTED AT GERALDTON. The Federal authorities are at present engaged upon a scheme for constructing a chain of wireless telegraphy stations all round the coast of the continent, the ultimate idea being to have one at practically every port. In connection with the development and carrying out of this scheme, Mr. W. M. Sweeney, the erectional engineer for Western Australia, has been in Geraldton during the past few days inspecting sites for a station and he informs us that he has selected the Residency site, as being the most suitable. The Geraldton station will link up with the stations that are to be constructed at Albany, Fremantle, Roebourne, and Wyndham these being the first instalment for W.A., though it is intended ultimately to have others at various points on the coast, so as to make the chain complete. The station at Geraldton will be both a receiving and transmitting station, and will be available for the reception of public messages. During the day time it will have a radius of about 300 miles, whilst at night, when the conditions are much more favourable, the distance will be increased to about 1000 miles, and under those circumstances it will be possible to get into communication with Adelaide. Mr. Sweeney also informed us that he is proceeding to Roebourne to fix up the site for a station there, and he hopes that by the time he returns it will be possible to make a commencement with the work of erecting the station here. Of course that will depend upon whether the requisite material can be obtained by that time, but it is intended to put the work in hand at the earliest possible moment. The tower will be about 150 feet high, and will constitute a landmark for many miles around. The cost of erecting and equipping the station will be approximately £2000. Since the time the Federal authorities decided upon encircling the continent with a chain of wireless stations, great progress has been made with the work, and at the present time there are five or six in course of construction, and it is intended to push on with the scheme as fast as possible. Probably two or three years will elapse before the scheme is completed in Western Australia. The people of Geraldton will welcome the intimation that our port is to be one of the first to be provided with a station, and when once the work of erection is commenced, it will not take long to complete, a matter of about three months being all that is required. No doubt with the extension of these necessary safeguards for the projection and assistance of shipping, steps will be taken to compel all ships, commencing with those carrying passengers, running on the coast to have the wireless apparatus fitted, for unless this is done, the usefulness of the wireless stations will be to a great extent discounted. Wireless telegraphy must within a short time be regarded as one of the first necessities of a ship's equipment, and it is satisfactory to note that the Federal authorities are alive to the importance of doing their share to provide means of communication between the shore and ships.

Construction of the station was proceeding apace towards the end of December 1912 with a team of eight carpenters constructing the 180 foot mast, 21 inches square comprised of Oregon planks steel bolted together:

Geraldton's Wireless Station. WORK PROCEEDING APACE. The paddock at the rear of the Residency is a busy place at the present time as workman are engaged carrying out the work which will constitute Geraldton as one of the links of the chain of wireless stations, which will ultimately encircle the coast of Australia. What the value of such a line of communications will be to the people of Australia it it impossible to estimate. Wireless telegraphy has demonstrated its usefulness time after time, and is now regarded as an absolute and imperative necessity in connection with shipping, and in the course of time it will be possible, when all the wireless stations are built, and all the vessels plying on the coast are fitted with apparatus, to keep in constant touch with them, and acquaint them with possible and probable variations in weather conditions. To Geraldton falls the distinction of having the first of the stations, which the Commonwealth authorities are erecting in Western Australia, for the station at Applecross was erected by a private company before being taken over. Of course the Geraldton station will not be as powerful as the one at Applecross, but it will be capable of doing all that will be required of it, and will be, as stated before, one of the links in a chain of stations, from which news will be passed on. Its effective radius will vary according to conditions. In the day time it will be able to receive and transmit messages to a distance of about 250 miles, whilst in the night time, when the wireless apparatus always works better, its radius will be greatly increased. But to revert to the work of construction which is being carried out under the supervision of Mr. Sweeney the official, who selected the site several weeks ago, and who has also decided upon other sites further up the coast. There are eight carpenters engaged, and at present they are working upon the mast, which will be about 180 feet high, and which will be the outstanding feature of the station, and which will be a prominent landmark for miles around. This will be 21 inches square, and it is constructed of planks bolted together. The core of the mast is first made, and then other planks are bolted on until the mast is made up to the required size, 21 inches square. This will rest on a concrete foundation eight feet deep, and the task of hoisting this into its position will be a very interesting spectacle, The weight of the mast will be somewhere between 25 and 30 tons, and its gradual elevation to an upright position on the concrete foundation will be an object lesson of what can be accomplished by scientific methods. The mast will be kept in position by eight anchors, two on each side, these anchors, which are very weighty, being concreted in holes eight feet deep. On the top of the mast will be the all important apparatus, known as the umbrella shaped aerial, the four branches of which will be fastened down to the four corners of the field, and connected with the receiving and transmitting house, in which will be all the delicate machinery. The house is being erected by the P.W.D., and not until this is finished can the machinery be installed. This concluding part of the work will occupy about three weeks, and Mr. Sweeney expects that the station will be ready for use in about three months from the date of the commencement of the work. The station will cost altogether about £2000, and it is satisfactory to know that all the appliances required are being manufactured in the Commonwealth.

A further interview with Sweeney was published in the Geraldton Express a few days later which provided further detail of the overall construction and layout of the station. It noted that Sweeney was being assisted on site in wireless matters by Mr. Cox and that the mechanical aspects of the construction were being oversighted by Mr. R. D. Munson of the Public Works Department:

The Geraldton Wireless Station. The work of erecting the buildings required for the Geraldton wireless station is proceeding apace, and preparations are being made for raising the mighty mast which will form the most conspicuous and distinctive feature of the new installation. The mast compared with which "The tallest pine, Hewn on Norwegian hills, to be the mast. Of some great ammiral, wore but a wand," is to be 180 feet in height, and will consist of huge oregon planks, 40 feet in length, bolted together on the "Staggering" principle, so that no two joints in the skyscraper will come together. The mast will spring from a concrete base 8ft. square which will be 8ft in the ground and 4ft above the ground. The mast will be stayed by a legion of wire guys radiating from the mast at intervals of 52ft. There will be al-together twelve of these guy ropes which will run from the mast into the ground where they will be attached to large anchors sunk to a depth of 7ft. The mast will be raised during the next two or three weeks and the performance will be worth watching. The mast, of course, has to be raised in one piece. To raise a mast 180ft. in length and weighing 20 tons looks like a difficult piece of work, but the officers in charge appear to have no apprehension of anything untoward occurring. Incidentally and as in some measure justifying the confidence of the officers it may be mentioned that the component parts of this colossal spire will be bolted together with over three thousand bolts and screws. On the top of the mast it may also be noted there will be yards 20ft. in length supporting and being supported by an installation of aerial wires for the receipt and transmission of wireless messages. The buildings to be erected are neither large nor pretentious, They consist of two small brick structures, each containing three rooms. One of these is the transmitting house, consisting of the motor room, the high-tension, or transmitting room, and the operating room. The other, or power house, com-prises a battery room, the engine room, and a room for the use of the operators. The main feature of interest in these buildings is supplied by the transmitting room, from which radiates a multitude of copper wires, which look like streamers from a giant may pole. There are seven miles of these wires which are all connected with the mast, and which all run to earth where they are taken to water level to form the earth circuit. These houses are now being constructed by the Public Works Department of this State, and as soon as they are finished everything will be in readiness for the installation of the machinery and plant. A few weeks will then see the completion of the work. This is the first wireless station to be constructed departmentally in W.A. and the officers in charge fully expect that it will be finished in record time. The work is proceeding under the supervision of Mr Sweeney, Commonwealth Wireless Engineer for this State, Mr. Cox, who is assisting Mr Sweeney, and Mr R D Munson, whose special duty it is to see that the mast is well and truly raised.

The main mast was raised to the perpendicular on 18 January 1913. The activity in the heart of the town was a visual spectacle that was not equalled for many years and a number of townsfolk turned out to observe (as reported by the Geraldton Guardian):

Erected. MAST AT WIRELESS STATION HOISTED INTO POSITION. Geraldton has now another landmark, and one considerably taller than its two lighthouses. Today this huge 180 feet mast at the wireless station, in the paddock at the rear of the residency, was safely hoisted into position, and from now henceforth it will be one of the most conspicuous features of the landscape for miles around. The delicate operation of getting the huge mast, which is 21 inches square, and which weighs over 20 tons, was watched with the greatest interest by large numbers of people throughout the day, and though the first thought that would probably strike the casual observer was that an extraordinary long time was being taken over the job, a few moments consideration would make him realise that this was an instance of the truth of the old saying "more haste, less speed," and that in this case "slow and sure" must be the maxim to observe. A brief description, divested of all technicalities, of the operation, the first of its kind in Western Australia, may be of interest, and from this it will be seen that Mr. Sweeney, the official in charge of the undertaking had left nothing to chance, and had carefully thought out every detail, so that there might be no hitch in the work. First of all a jury mast, in itself no small thing, for it was 75 feet high, was erected on Friday by means of a derrick, and this was bolted at right angles to the foot of the main mast, which was lying prone. Then half a dozen wire ropes, each capable of standing a strain of seven tons, were attached from the top of the jury mast to the mainmast at distances of 30 feet, in order that the strain might be equally distributed. The hoisting was done by means of a heavy winch and tackle placed at the side of the field, the pulley, connected with the top of the jury mast, being attached to an anchor eight feet deep in the ground. To the uninitiated there seemed to be a multiplicity of ropes, but that was where the beauty and the simplicity of the work came in, and everything was so arranged that every portion of the tackle would perform its appointed work. The ropes and tackles were fixed by a sailor gang of eight men, under Foreman-rigger Munson, and for this kind of work there are no men to approach sailors, as there must be no possibility of knots becoming unfastened, or tackle giving way. They carried out their work thoroughly. Altogether there were 23 men engaged on the job. On Friday evening the tackle was given a trial spin so to speak, and everything was found to work satisfactorily. The actual work of hoisting was commenced at eight o'clock this morning, and though, if one watched the mast closely one could hardly distinguish any movement, yet if attention was taken from it for a quarter of an hour and then directed to it again, the progress made by the huge mast to its upright position could be noted. It was a case of a long pull and a steady pull, and at eleven o'clock the mast has been raised to an angle of 45 degrees. The first lift was equal to a strain of 90 tons, but as the mast gradually rose the weight on the winch gradually decreased. When it reached a certain degree the weight of the jury mast came into play, and eventually was sufficient in itself. In order however, that the upward progress of the mast might not be too quick, there were six guy ropes fixed at the back, and these were utilised in order to steady it and to prevent it going up with a jerk.The foot of the mast rests between two blocks of concrete, but these only form two sides of the solid cement block, in which the foot of the mast will be embedded. In connection with this, special precautions will be taken to prevent the mast being attacked by white ants. The work was completed at 4 p.m., and Mr. Sweeney and his men were congratulated upon the complete success, which had attended, the operation. Deducting the lunch interval of 1½ hours, the mast was hoisted into position in exactly 6½ hours, and as the usual time for such a job is eight hours, they have established a record which no doubt other parties engaged in similar work in Australia will strive to emulate. With the mast in position and firmly secured the other work will be proceeded with, but the installation cannot be completed until the buildings being erected by the P.W.D. are finished.

The report of the activity by the Guardian Express emphasised the nautical flavour added by the eight man sailor gang doing the hard lifting with a liberal spread of maritime dialect as the work progressed: "Brace up the top guy"; Ay! Ay! Sir!; "Ho! Ho! Boy!"; "Make fast"; and finally the mast was "Four square to all the winds that blow.":

The Wireless Station. ERECTION OF THE MAST. The installation of wireless at Geraldton was advanced a considerable stage on Saturday when the mighty mast, 180 feet in length and weighing 21 tons, was raised from the prone to the perpendicular. The mast has been lying already for raising for some time but the jury mast and tackle needed for the work did not arrive from Melbourne until the Minderoo brought it along last week. Preparations were at once made for getting the jury mast and the rest of the necessary equipment into working order. This was completed on Friday, and on Saturday morning at 8 o'clock the work of lifting the mast into position began. There were over a score of men engaged on the job, the most active and indispensable of these being a sailor gang of eight men. When work began on Saturday morning a small crowd of curious onlookers saw as the most conspicuous feature of the equipment a big jury mast bolted to the bottom of the main mast and standing erect. The jury mast was connected with the main mast by a number of stout wire cables at intervals of 33 feet. From the jury mast there led backwards stout tackle connected with a pully below the jury mast and proceeding thence to a winch manned by six men just inside the fence at Francis Street. Guy ropes extended to each side braced to prevent the mast swaying sideways. The whole thing was perfectly simple. Just the fulcrum provided by the jury mast and the needful arrangement of ropes and blocks and pullies. Nothing could be simpler. And yet there may be people who would fail to carry out the job so coolly and successfully as it was carried out on Saturday by Mr. R. D. Munson. Mr. Munson didn't suffer from any nervous strain while the work was proceeding. There was no indication that he was troubled by any apprehensions of failure. No thought of the possibility of the gigantic mast breaking away from its shackles and crashing down on spectators or adjacent houses crossed his mind, though faint premonitions of the possibility of such a thing no doubt quickened the pulse of many of the onlookers. Mr. Munson just smoked the pipe of perfect calm and went on methodically with his work. There was no fuss, no unnecessary ordering about. "Brace up the top guy." Ay! Ay! Sir! Then the sailor gang pulled for a few minutes on the guy, each successive tug following the regular repetition of the rhythmic injunction "Ho! Ho! Boy!" of the leader. Then the sharp rifle shot of an order "Make fast," a few dexterous twists, and the order was obeyed. The men on the winch — there were six of them at first — had no easy task when the "bosun's" whistle sounded the order to begin the lift. The six men turned the handles slowly, the winch-bole began to wind in the rope, and the 180 feet stem began to rise. The men turned the winch laborously, and inch after painful inch was gained and kept. After a few minutes turning the whistle sounded again and the men on the winch rested their muscles while a new adjustment of the balancing guys was made. The work went on with stately deliberation hour after hour until at noon the mighty spar hung half way between the horizontal and the vertical. The heaviest part of the work was now over, for the weight of the great jury mast, hanging at an angle of 15 degr. was now helping to draw the main mast erect. So slow was the lift that it was only by seeing the lifting rope moving through the blocks and pulleys that one was enabled to realise that the mast was rising. The initial strain on the winch was equal to a dead lift of 90 tons, but as the main mast rose and the jury mast fell the strain gradually lessened until nearing the end the smaller spar was doing most of the lifting. As this went on the number of the men on the winch were reduced from six to four, and finally to two who had little more to do than gather in the slowly coming slack. Resuming at two o'clock, after the midday interval, the work of lifting went on steadily, a thought more quickly than before, and at 4 o'clock the mast only wanted a breadth and a half more to attain the vertical. Work latterly had been proceeding with greater caution and every inch was jealously safeguarded. The guy ropes at the rear were now clinging determinedly to the mast, checking its ascent so that there would be no sudden jolting or jerking at the ens. By this time baulks of timber had been built up under the jury mast so that when the last few feet remained to be won the downward tug of its almost prostrate bulk sufficed to keep the big mast in position. Then the winch was once more got to work and inch by inch the mast rose to the vertical. Anxious eyes were watching at all points to note when the spar was exactly vertical, and the tackle was braced up all round in response to calls from this and that quarter. Finally the word "right" was given from all quarters, the last "Make fast" was called and obeyed, and the huge mast stood upright, "Four square to all the winds that blow."

The demands on Sweeney's time and resources did not abate but rather increased as the Government relented to local representations and prioritised the Wyndham station for completion also. Sweeney had to juggle available staff and problems with availability of the necessary oregon timbers began to emerge:

Wyndham Wireless Station. In consequence of the representations made to the Federal authorities by the residents of Wyndham with regard to the necessity for establishing a wireless station there with as little delay as possible, it has been arranged that as Mr. Sweeney, the official in charge of the construction work of the State, cannot get away from Geraldton at present, that Mr. Cox, who is starting the station at Esperance, shall be relieved by a man from Melbourne, in order that he may proceed to Wyndham to select a site. Some difficulty is being experienced in obtaining the necessary timber for the construction of the masts, but Mr. Sweeney hopes that the stations at Roebourne, Wyndham, and Broome will be put in hand at no very distant date.

By mid-February 1913 the mast and buildings were complete. While the transmitting apparatus was not operational, the receivers were installed and reception was obtained from the Perth coastal station and two ships in Fremantle port:

Geraldton Wireless Station. Though the apparatus for sending messages has not yet been installed at the Geraldton wireless telegraph station, the receiving apparatus is in wording order, and last night messages were received from Applecross, and the mail steamers Otranto and Morea, at Fremantle. Mr. Sweeney, the engineer-in-charge, leaves for Perth on Friday night to consult with his chief in regard to the Wyndham station.

There had been little progress when two months later in mid-April 1913 it was advised that the promised transmitter still had not been despatched from the Shaw Wireless Works and was still "undergoing testing" in Sydney:

A Voice from the Deep.— On Wednesday night the Geraldton wireless station received messages from the White Star liner Suevic, then on her way from Fremantle to South Africa. At the time the message was despatched the Suevic was 1100 miles distant from Geraldton. The station is not yet in a position to transmit messages, owing to the non-arrival of the engine from Sydney. Some time ago Mr. Sweeney received a telegram stating that the engine had actually been despatched from Sydney. After waiting for some weeks he despatched a telegram concerning the delay, and received word back that the engine was undergoing further tests. It will probably be a month at least before the engine arrives. Reverting to the receipt of messages it is possibly not generally known that Mr. Sweeney holds the world's record for long range wireless interchange of messages. He established this record when wireless operator on the Mantua. While at Aden, on one voyage he exchanged messages with Marseilles, a distance of 2,800 miles. On another occasion while the Mantua was outside Port Phillip Heads Mr. Sweeney picked up a signal despatched from Jask, a station on the Persian Gulf 6,249 miles from the Mantua at the time the call was heard. This is, however, only a "freak" record and not a practicable working feat, according to Mr. Sweeney.

With little more to do pending the arrival of the transmitting apparatus, Sweeney returned to Perth on 4 April 1913:

Mr. Sweeney, who has been in Geraldton for some time in charge of the work proceeding at the wireless station is leaving by to-night's train for Perth, he intends returning shortly to see the final touches put to the station.

On 10 May 1913 it was reported that the transmitter had tested successfully on site and official commencement was imminent:

The Wireless Station. During the past week Mr. Sweeney and his staff have been busy installing the transmitting machinery at the Geraldton wireless station, and the capabilities of the machinery have been tested during the last day or so. It is expected that the station will be available for public use during the next few days.

Two days after commencement of the station, it was operating commercially, albeit with an underwhelming volume of traffic. Local A. H. du Boulay had the honour of lodging the first commercial radiogram and was rewarded two hours later with a reply from the RMS Malwa. An increase in business volume was foreshadowed following enactment of the Navigation Act. It was noted that VIN appeared to be able to receive ships south of VIP somewhat better than VIP itself:

Geraldton's Wireless Station. BUSINESS COMMENCED. OPERATING AT LONG RANGE. To Geraldton has fallen the distinction of having the first wireless station actually erected by the Commonwealth in West Australia, for though the station at Applecross has been in operation some time, it was erected by contract before being taken over by the authorities. The tall towering mast in Gregory-street, the erection of which was watched with so much interest a few months ago has long been an object of interest, but it is really only a comparatively important, though necessary, part of the whole scheme, and the opening of the station has been held up owing to the delay in getting the transmitting machinery, which only arrived from the East about ten days ago. Since then Mr. Sweeney, under whose superintendence the station has been erected, and his staff, have had a busy few days in assembling the machinery. Everything, however, worked out most smoothly, and by Friday they were able to commence the testing work. This was attended by the most satisfactory results, an excellent tribute to the careful manner in which the operations had been conducted throughout. In fact everything was speedily in full working order, and by Monday the station was ready to embark upon public business. Perhaps had this been generally known there would have been keen competition for the honour of sending away the first message. As it was, however, Mr A. H. du Boulay who has probably seen as many changes in Geraldton, as anybody, secured the privilege of dispatching the first radio telegram, and of availing himself of the aid of this latest wonder of modern science, which has been harnessed to the service of mankind, and which has proved time after time of incalculable benefit and assistance. Mr. du Boulay handed in a message on Tuesday, for transmission to the Malwa, the mail boat, which is on her way to Colombo, and which at the time was fully two hundred miles away. Communication was established, and in about two hours time a reply was received. With the object of obtaining some information with regard to the station, a representative of this paper paid a visit to it yesterday morning, and was courteously received by Mr. Sweeney, and introduced to Mr. J. Lamb, who has come from the Applecross station, to be the chief operator at Geraldton. The two buildings, which are the homes of the machinery, are most unpretentious looking places from the outside, and though internally there has been no money wasted in decorative adornment, the casual visitor is impressed by the exceedingly business-like appearance they present. The building on the right-hand side is the power-house, and here is installed the 17½ horse power Gardner engine, with an 11 Kilowat generator, which drives a 5 Kilowat [sic] rotary converter, from which is obtained the current necessary for the wireless work. The chamber beyond the engine is the battery room. The building on the left-hand side is the one that will have the most interest for the ordinary individual, whose knowledge of electricity is of a neglible quantity, for the first room is the receiving and transmitting room, whilst in the two rooms beyond are different parts of the electrical apparatus, which though exceedingly interesting to the expert serve only to astound and astonish the novice. Mr. Sweeney conveyed a lot of scientific and technical information to our representative, but unfortunately his education in that direction had been sadly neglected, whilst the average reader will prefer to hear something of a general character about the station and its work, rather than a lengthy and technical description. With that object in view our representative questioned Mr. Sweeney and Mr. Lamb regarding the station generally, and they soon imparted abundant information of an interesting character, whilst the demonstrations he witnessed were exceedingly fascinating. Asked what was the range of the station, Mr. Sweeney said in the day-time they could operate up to a radius of 250 miles or a little more, whilst in the night time they could operate over a much wider area, 800 miles being a regular distance, whilst if all the conditions were favorable they might go as far as 2000 miles. In fact the other night Mr. Lamb picked up a signal from the Java station. As if in confirmation of the statement with regard to the day radius, Mr. Lamb at that moment received the signal from a German boat, the Colmar, which had been in touch with the station the previous night about 130 miles south of Perth, and which was proceeding towards Colombo. Getting the vessel's position it was ascertained that she was then about 45 miles or so west of Perth, and about 275 miles from Geraldton. Our representative had the pleasure of hearing the signal, the receiving apparatus, which the operator wears, being somewhat similar to that worn by telephone operators. It was quite distinct and it seemed wonderful that there were 275 miles of water between the sender and the receiver. Mr. Sweeney mentioned an interesting fact that Geraldton seemed able to pick up messages from south of Perth easier than the Applecross station, whilst it was easier to get in touch with vessels coming from the Leeuwin than it was with Applecross. This is one of the peculiarities of wireless, about which there are many theories, though it is an established fact that the aerial waves travel better over water than land. The station, it is expected, will be able to keep in touch with the Colmar for two or three days more, which will give opportunities for testing the radius. A demonstration of the tremendous amount of electrical energy used in sending a wireless message was given, and our representative was warned to take care that in his eagerness to see all that was to be seen he did not accidentally touch any part of the apparatus. There was no need for that, but he inquired what would happen if he did, and was given the cheerful in-formation that if he did his days for taking notes would come to an untimely end. When the engine got up its full power the buzzing was deafening, and after seeing the apparatus spark, our representative was more convinced than ever that it was no place for anyone but expert electricians. Returning to his comfortable seat in the operating room, our representative with his thirst for information still unquenched, proceeded to ask further questions. First of all he enquired what hours the station would be opened, and Mr. Sweeney replied from 7 a.m. until mid-night, to which Mr. Lamb added "Seven days a week." Mr. Sweeney said at present there were four operators, but when they were settled down to the ordinary routine, the staff would consist of three operators. "You are not going to open at night?" "Oh, no," said Mr. Sweeney, "the Applecross station is able to pick up messages practically all along the coast, whilst as most of the ships only carry one operator, they are usually off duty at night, and so there is not much doing." "What is the tariff for radio messages?" "Tenpence per word, in addition to the land charges. That is the charge for sending it from the post office to the wireless station. Of the tenpence the ship station gets 1d. and we get 9d." "Is there going to be any formal opening? "I don't think so. I have had a telegram from Mr. Whysal, the Deputy-Postmaster-General, stating that he will not be able to come up." And so you are going to get to work straight away and take business? "Yes. It is no use wasting time. Any business that is offering we will take. We want the work to roll up." Explaining how ships got into communication with one another, Mr. Sweeney said every line of vessels had their own call, which consisted of three letters. If the operator on any vessel knew the line to which the vessel, with which he wished to communicate belonged, he sent out the other vessels call letters three times, signing it with his own three times, but if he did not know to which line a vessel belonged, he sent out the call letters "C.Q.", signing his own, and any vessel within range picking the call up would answer. The distress signal was "S.O.S." The Geraldton station could pick up the signals from any system so long as they were on the wave length for which they were tuned. Our representative observed that so far there did not appear to be any rush of business, and Mr. Sweeney said that was so, but of course when the New Navigation Act came into force, and all the passenger boats carried wireless installations, there would be more business to do, and undoubtedly in the future practically all ships would adopt the wireless. Mr. Lamb said sometimes operators were asked how long it took to send a wireless message to ships at sea. Well, as the wireless was calculated to have the same speed as light, the problem did not take much calculation, the transmission, once the communication was picked up, being instantaneous. The station is equipped in every detail for the work it has to accomplish, and after spending an interesting hour our representative bade Mr. Sweeney and his staff good morning, and left profoundly impressed with the "wonders of wireless." K