Stavanger Radio at Ullandhaug, transmitter station for fixed radio communication
The transmitter station for Stavanger Radio – called the America telegraph- was situated in the granite house which today is used by NRK Rogaland. The hexagonal house next to it wa ...
The transmitter station for Stavanger Radio – called the America telegraph- was situated in the granite house which today is used by NRK Rogaland. The hexagonal house next to it was a transformer house. It was in service from 1919 to 1932 when it was superseded by Jeløy transmitter station.
From 1936 to 1982 the station was used for the Stavanger medium-wave broadcaster. In 1987 the transmitter building was decorated to be re-purposed as TV-studios for NRK Rogaland.
The architect behind the facility was Ole Sverre, known for designing, among other things, the Agricultural College at Ås, Holmenkollen Turisthotell and the rebuild of the Grand Hotel in Oslo.
On the 12 July 1913, the newspaper, Stavanger Aftenblad contained the following review of the facility:
“At Udlandshaug the transmitter station is to be constructed out of bricks and mortar. It will be a great, large building which will rise terrace-like in 1,2 and 3 storeys. The interior will mainly consist of one large room which will run through all three storeys, but on the first floor under the second and third storey section, there are smaller chambers, like a dark room and others for technical use. The great hall does thus not extend over just one floor, but in terraces, connected by staircases and with a projecting balcony providing a view over it all. The architect has shaped the house as a shell covering the form required by Marconi’s machines.”
The transmitter at Ullandhaug was one of the noisiest work places in the country. The farmers of the area didn’t just complain about the noise pollution, they also threatened to go to court due to an alleged drop in property prices. The noise was caused by the spark that carried the Morse signal, the large flywheels and the compressed-air nozzles. While at work, the technicians would use English artillery ear defenders, and it is said that the ground shook when transmissions were taking place.
The spark signal went out via a directional antenna at 1070 metres. The antenna was constructed out of 24 bronze wires. It was directed towards North-America (Boston) and was held up by ten 122 metre masts. Every mast was in turn stabilised by six guys and weighed 62 metric tons. It is still possible to see the remains of some of the masts’ fundaments and the guy fastenings along the trekking routes towards Auglendshøgda.
It was the traffic to America that dominated the transmissions, thereof the name, Amerikatelegrafen. While Ullandhaug sent telegrams to America, the returning traffic reached the receiver station at Nærland (see F-05), which required less space than the transmitter. Between the two there was a normal telegraph line.
The building of Amerikatelegrafen was largely spurred on by the great Norwegian emigration to America. Already in 1914, everything was ready to receive the technical equipment from England, but the First World War put a regrettable stop to the project. The equipment never arrived in Norway, but ended up in Egypt instead.
It wasn’t till five years later that the traffic could be started, luckily with a far superior transmitter than the one which was originally intended for Ullandhaug. The traffic was eventually reaching numbers of 100.000 telegrams per year sent from Ullandhaug. Amerikatelegrafen became particularly important for news coverage. During the World Championships in boxing in 1921, Stavanger Radio was able to relay the result by telephone to the newspapers only 15 minutes after the fight had finished. This was a new record at the time.
Even so, the technology was soon to be out of date. Demands for modernisation were put forward just a few years after the opening, and in the summer of 1925, a new receiver was built at Fornebu. The transmitter at Ullandhaug was partly superseded by Jeløy from 1930, but it wasn’t till the 1 July 1932 that the spark transmitter at Ullandhaug, popularly called the Fright of the Ether Sea, was taken out of service.
About the object
about
Senderstasjonen for Stavanger radio –kalt Amerikatelegrafen – holdt til i det store granitthuset som i dag brukes av NRK Rogaland. Det sekskantede huset ved siden av var transformatorhus. Den var i drift fra 1919 til 1932 da den ble avløst av Jeløy senderstasjon.
Fra 1936 til 1982 ble stasjonen brukt til Stavanger mellombølgekr...
Senderstasjonen for Stavanger radio –kalt Amerikatelegrafen – holdt til i det store granitthuset som i dag brukes av NRK Rogaland. Det sekskantede huset ved siden av var transformatorhus. Den var i drift fra 1919 til 1932 da den ble avløst av Jeløy senderstasjon.
Fra 1936 til 1982 ble stasjonen brukt til Stavanger mellombølgekringkaster. I 1987 ble senderhuset innredet til TV-studio for NRK Rogaland.
Arkitekt for anlegget var Ole Sverre, kjent for blant annet Landbrukshøgskolen på Ås, Holmenkollen Turisthotell og ombyggingen av Grand Hotell i Oslo.
12. juli 1913 hadde Stavanger Aftenblad følgende omtale av foretagendet:
12. juli 1913 hadde stavanger Aftenblad følgende omtale av foretagendet: "Paa Udlandhaug skal avsender-stationen bygges i mur. Den vil bli en vældig, lang bygning som hæver sig terrasseformig i 1,2 og 3 etager. Det indre blir i hovedsagen ett stort rum, som gaar gjennem alle tre etager. Men i første etage under to-og treetageshøiden er der mindre værelser, som mørkekamre og andre rum til teknisk bruk. Den store sal ligger altsaa ikke paa ett gulv, men liksom i avsatser, forbundet med trapper og med utsigt over det hele fra en fremspringende balkon. Huset er av arkitekten formet bare som et skall over den form, som planen for Marconis maskiner kræver."
Senderen på Ullandhaug har vært en av de mest støyende arbeidsplassene i landet. Fra bøndene i nabolaget kom det ikke bare klager på støyforurensningen, de truet også med rettssak etter påstått verditap på eiendommene. Støyen skyldtes gnisten som bar morsesignalene over de svære svinghjulene og trykkluftdysene. På jobb brukte teknikerne engelsk artillerihørselsvern, og det berettes at hele grunnen skalv når sendingene pågikk.
Senderstasjonen var i drift fra 1919 til 1932, da den ble avløst av Jeløy senderstasjon. Fra 1936 til 1982 ble stasjonen brukt til Stavanger mellombølgekringkaster. I 1987 ble senderhuset innredet til TV-studio for NRK Rogaland.
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