The home station of Norway at sea

In 1960 the world’s most advanced short-wave radio station opened at Skjæveland, Sandnes. At this point Rogaland Radio took over as the national short-wave station after Bergen Radio. At its peak more than half a million telegrams were sent from here every year. The Telenor veteran, Egil Reimers remembers the work environment at the receiver station as particularly good.

Rogaland Radio’s transmitter station is a 600 sq. metre building in the Vigre forest, 20 kilometres away from the receiver station. The distance was meant to stop disturbances to the reception caused by its own transmitters. At the most 10-12 people worked at the transmitter station in looking after the 30 transmitters.

At 20 metres high, they are very visible in the flat Jæren landscape. At Skjæveland in Sandes 30 wooden masts stand in formation, equipped with directional antennas for short-wave reception. With these, Rogaland Radio could receive signals from vessels out on all the world’s oceans.

In the Vigre forest in the municipality of Hå, 10 mighty masts are placed in a triangular formation. The 50 metre steel towers were erected in 1959, and once carried an array of advanced directional antennas for short-wave transmission. Messages from Rogaland radio were sent via these to Norwegian ships all over the world.

The Norwegian fleet was probably at its all- time peak, when Rogaland Radio was established, begins Egil.
-We were still in possession of a fair few whale boiling facilities, which in one way was the oil industry of its time. They were stationed down in the Southern Ocean from September to April, often with 300-400 men connected to each boiling operation. There were about ten of these, and they had no other way of contacting their homes and owners than the short-wave, mainly sending telegrams. They would create so much traffic that an operator would sit through an entire shift receiving and sending telegrams from one boiling facility.
-Was Rogaland Radio meant to only keep in contact with Norwegian vessels?
-Well, it was established for the benefit of the Norwegian fleet, but like any western station Rogaland Radio would receive traffic from any ship that called up. Traffic from other Scandinavian countries increased especially when radio telephony got into full swing, with all those directional antennas. Little by little, other countries also started using Rogaland Radio for their communications because it delivered the best results.
-Was it because of the technology that the signals were so good?
-It was a mixture of good technology and great service from the personnel. Rogaland Radio had a flexible service desk, which efficiently moved the traffic through. They were very highly regarded by the ship’s telegraphists due to their extremely high competence level. Practically all of them had experienced life out at sea, so they were very service minded towards the seafarers.
-So they had been out to sea themselves?
-That was pretty much a prerequisite to get a job at Rogaland Radio. Almost all the personnel on the Service desk were former ship’s telegraphists, me included.
-So you knew the conditions the seamen lived under, and you spoke the “lingo?”
-Yes, and I suppose that’s the way Rogaland Radio became known for their good service. We had a deeper understanding of life at sea compared to those telegraphists who had maybe only seen a boat, but never been on one. We would practically get in the mind-sets of those who were out at sea, and those few of us, who hadn’t been sailors, were quickly permeated by the environment, or christened, so to speak.
He laughs quietly:
-For the telegraphers out at sea, Rogaland Radio was “next to God,” and many had an enormous respect.
Many of the ship’s telegraphers got summer employment at Rogaland Radio, including Egil. That happened in 1961. 25 years old he turned up outside the brand new radio building asking if he could take a look.
-I had no idea I would be offered a job that day, he smiles.
-But after I had been taken on a tour, the manager on duty came over and asked me if I would consider a position as a summer substitute. And so I got a job, completely by coincidence and to my great surprise. I have to admit that when I sat down that first day, I felt like a beginner, even if I did have some years of experience. It was exciting with all that new and fantastic equipment they had. Everything was so great, it was a pleasure.

All the receivers had choices of directional antennas to achieve the best possible signal. The location in the flat geography of Jæren was also a factor in optimizing the conditions. The intention was to place the transmitter station at Flesland, but then the Parliament decided to use that plot for an airport. After thorough research it was decided to establish the new transmitter station for the short-wave service at Vigre in the municipality of Hå. Due to the powerful transmitters, the receiving station had to be placed at least 20 kilometres away, and in 1960, the new receiver station at Skjæveland in Sandnes was opened.
-It’s not strange that you felt a bit awed on your first work day at Skjæveland. Pictures in the Norwegian Telecom Museum’s archive show an enormous hall, with lots of service desks lined up.
-The peculiar thing about the great receiver hall for Morse telegraphy, was that it was completely silent, tells Egil.
-All you’d hear was the sound of the conveyor belts transporting telegrams from distribution and out to our positions. Everyone sat there with their headphones on, tapping away at a type writer. Morse code came with a limit of 100 signs per minute, so it wasn’t exactly speed typing either, he says and laughs softly:
-Around Christmas time, journalists from Stavanger Aftenblad and other newspapers would come to visit. They had been told that the place was “boiling” with activity.
-Due to all the seamen coming home for Christmas?
Yes, up to 1975 the Christmas traffic was enormous. In the daytime no chair would ever get cold, and you would have to have personnel ready to step in when someone went to lunch. When the journalists entered the telegraphy hall, however, people just sat there and looked into space, while the typewriters went click click clack. It didn’t seem particularly “boiling,” he smiles.
-Of course there were the odd outbursts. Not all the telegraphists at sea were equally easy to operate against. Some had to give air to their feelings afterwards, he laughs.

Speaking of oil, the fact that the oil business took off in Stavanger in 1966 led to increased traffic for Rogaland Radio?
-Yes the oil industry generated a lot of traffic, and it led to an enormous rush, both concerning technical- and service issues. Especially during the first ten year period, up to approx. 1975, when Eik earth station was established, and the first oil companies received satellite communication.
- At Rogaland Radio it was Morse telegraphy which was the most sought after service?
- In the beginning, absolutely. There were 25 service desks for Morse telegraphy and 4 dedicated to short-wave telephony. Additionally, there was one for coastal radio. This tells you something about the priorities, he says.
-And you had something called a “teleprinter.” Could you explain a bit more about that?

He hesitates for a moment. To explain old telecom technology to today’s mobile phone generation requires a considered approach. Egil begins:
-The telegrams coming in from the ships would be received as Morse signals, which the operator in turn wrote down sign by sign on a telegram form. This form would then be sent over to the teleprinter department, also called the telex department. From there the message went out to the addressee’s nearest telegraph station. If, for instance, the addressee was situated in Rogaland, the message would first be sent to Stavanger before being called over to one of the telephone stations out in the villages. Here the telegram would be written down by hand and delivered to the correct recipient. Seafarers often came from Norway’s rural districts, innermost in the fjords and out on the islands, so they weren’t the easiest places to get to.

As early as in 1964, Rogaland Radio started sending and receiving telegrams directly to and from the big ship owners, tells Egil.
-Teleprinters are set up in a network in the same way as telephones. This meant that you could call up a telex subscriber and communicate directly, without going through a tele operator.