Technical Digests: Harbor Craft Ship-to-Shore Radio Telephone Service in Puget Sound Area

processing are carried on comprises a major part of the short-haul shipping in the Puget Sound area. Large lumber and pulp mills have been permanently established at locations where deep sea shipping and rail facilities are readily available. Logs in the form of large booms are towed to the mills from the sources of supply which extend throughout the area drained by the Puget Sound. The average haul of each boom is about 75 miles and consumes several days. Because of the relatively long time a tug is isolated in each operation, some economical means of dispatching and directing the activities of the tow boats from the land headquarters is desirable. In the case of fishing, there is an even greater need than in the case of log towing for close contact between fishing boat and cannery in order that both the fishing and cannery activities may be coordinated so as to prevent waste of fish during large runs. From the above, it is clear that some means of communication between harbor craft and land stations would be useful. A preliminary view of the problem indicated that low-powered radio telephone channels from each of these boats to a single land station and thence by wire lines to any telephone, would be the most economical and practical means from the standpoint of the ship owners. Furthermore, the government regulations covering the issuance of operators' licenses for radio telephone transmitters of 50 watts or less power are such that the average member of a ship's crew can qualify after a few hours' instruction, thus making it unnecessary for vessels employing this equipment to carry a special radio operator.