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He used a spark gap attached to an induction coil and a separate spark gap on a receiving antenna. Heinrich Hertz proved the existence of radio waves in the late 1880s. They range from the length of a football to larger than our planet. Radio waves have the longest wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum. To discover more visit 1932, Karl Jansky at Bell Labs revealed that stars and other objects in space radiated radio waves. Image credits: Science Museum / Universal Design Studio An artist’s impression of the Information Age gallery. The coil was donated to the Science Museum by BT Heritage and Archives soon after the decommissioning of Rugby Radio Station. From 25 October, you can see the Rugby Tuning Coil displayed in public for the first time at the centre of the Information Age gallery, as reflected in this artist’s impression. That is what all the local people in Rugby say, ‘Oh yeah, the thing we’re going to miss is not seeing the red lights saying – oh we’re nearly home now’”.

“They had been there for so long and the red lights (on top of the masts) had always been there whenever you came home. Former station manager Malcolm Hancock was invited to detonate the first explosion: A year later, the twelve 250m high masts that radiated out Rugby’s signals were demolished, marking the end of an era. On 31 March 2003, 77 years after it transmitted its first Morse message, Rugby Radio station ceased broadcasting its very low frequency signals around the world. I well remember moments of excitement on coming shallow to periscope depth after many hours down deep, watching the depth gauge creep slowly past 150 feet, 125, feet, 100 feet and then 75 feet, faint at first, that most lovely sound started to fill my ears – God Bless Rugby, GBR’ At the start of our patrol I used to think Goodbye BeRyl (my wife) …simply to hear Rugby’s call sign meant to me all those I loved back in the UK were still safe. ‘GBR meant a lot to us and we used the letters GBR in many ways. The dots and dashes would then be decoded and the messages delivered: His role was to write down in pencil the dots and dashes coming through at the incredible speed of 30 words a minute, a rate that was undecipherable to the untrained ear.

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Godfery Dykes, one of many submarine communication operators, sat in a claustrophobic communications cabin, hunched over the radio, headphones on, sick bucket between his legs, receiving the Morse code signals. By kind permission of the Telegraph Museum Porthcurno. Image credits: Cable & Wireless Communications 2014. It transmitted wireless telegraph messages from the British Foreign Office, standard time signals from Greenwich, news bulletins, personal telegrams and Christmas greetings.Īlthough first hailed as a matter of national pride, in later years Rugby Radio Station was a hidden secret that played an important role in the Cold War, as its very low frequency signals could be picked up by submarines. Once the world’s most powerful radio transmitter, its very low frequency waves could follow the curvature of the Earth to travel very long distances, enabling one-way communication to Britain’s Empire. Rugby Radio Station began transmitting very low frequency signals on 1 January 1926 using the call sign GBR. The enormous Rugby Tuning Coil being installed inside the Information Age gallery. It was part of a huge system that linked the transmitter to the aerial masts, enabling messages to be sent and telegrams to be transmitted. During its long life, Rugby Radio held a huge personal resonance for many individuals, connecting people to each other, to the world and to home.

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Measuring 6 metres high and resembling a series of giant spiders’ webs, this monumental coil is a powerful reminder of the invisible infrastructure which supports our desire to communicate.īased at Rugby Radio Station, where it was housed in a huge cathedral-like room, the coil played a vital role in tuning a huge radio transmitter that sent out very low frequency signals.

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