Knut Haugland SK at 92
On Jan 13, 10:50�am, "Michael J. Coslo" wrote:
A battery using salt water as an electrolyte. One version is a
"Volta's pile".
They usually had discs of copper and zinc separated by paper soaked in
electrolyte. 1 volt per cell in that construction. I don't know the
current per cell.
Typical laboratory use had stacks in a glass tube, but that wouldn't
be strong enough for use on the ocean.
I remember now. Yes, it would probably take a raft-sized set of cells
to run the radio!
From what I've read, they considered all the available technologies
but settled on plain carbon-zinc primary "dry" batteries as the best
compromise of size, weight, dependability and power output. (A carbon-
zinc #6 dry cell is about 50 AH, which is a lot more than most other
battery technologies of that time could provide). In the event, the
batteries turned out to be a considerable problem due to highhumidity.
Most of their operation was on 20 meters. They had provision for 40,
20, 10 and even 6 meters, but 20 proved to be the most reliable for the
distances covered and available antennas. With just 6 or 7 watts of CW
they were able to contact Oslo and wish the King a happy birthday. At
the time, they were just about at the Antipodes.
73 de Jim N2EY
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