Peter Le Quesne ZL4TCC supplied the Dansk transmitter to Auckland Radio ZLD and Wellington Radio ZLW in the 1960s.
He wrote this article for the March 1966 issue of Radio Electronics and Communications magazine.
New Post Office Transmitters
Medium Frequency equipment by Dansk Radio
By P Le Quesne
Recently, two Medium Frequency radio telegraph transmitters — Dansk Radio type S 265-3F-4M — were delivered to the New Zealand Post Office for the replacement of transmitters at the Auckland and Wellington maritime coast stations ZLD and ZLW.
In addition, a similar transmitter has been delivered to the Post and Telegraph Department of the Government of Tonga, and one is on order for the Post and Telegraph Department of the Colony of Fiji.
All transmitters can be fully remote controlled over 600 ohm lines and at the remote control point modulation percentage, and aerial current can be measured.
A feature is that on stand-by the high tension supply is off, but on pressing the key the high tension comes on and automatically turns off two minutes after the last dot or dash.
The transmitter consists mainly of up to four identical transmitter panel units, (one for each unit), housed in a single cabinet rack containing the common modulator unit and power supplies. Each transmitter panel unit contains four stage crystals controlled by the transmitter. However, each transmitter panel is capable of switching eight channels in the frequency band 405-535 kc/s. For remote selection two transmitting units are used, hence one unit can be out of service and transmission on all frequencies can be still maintained by using manual switching.
In any particular case where only two transmitter panel are used there is still room for two more if desired.
The New Zealand Post Office expects to have both transmitters operational within two or three months, replacing equipment installed in 1940.
Dansk Radio Aktieselskab, Denmark, in conjunction with their New Zealand agents, Coastal Radio (NZ) Ltd held in Wellington on December 25, 1965, a cocktail party aboard the Danish Vessel MV Poona, which brought the telegraph transmitters to New Zealand from Denmark.
This is the first time that Danish telecommunications equipment has been used in New Zealand. However, as an historical point, in 1928, the Danish sea exploring vessel Dana was fitted with the first Dansk telegraphy transmitter. High Frequency on a vessel was very rare at that time. On the voyage to New Zealand through the Panama Canal, contact was kept with Denmark.
Whilst the ship was in Wellington during Christmas 1928, through special permission of the New Zealand Post Office, telegrams of Danish citizens in New Zealand were transmitted direct to Lynby Radio Denmark.
Considering in 1928, High Frequency Transmissions were only in their infancy, this was a remarkable achievement by Dansk Radio who now manufacture a full range of Communications and Direction Finding Equipment for ships of all classes.
The cocktail party was held in the presence of His Excellency, the Danish Ambassador, Dr Excel Serup and the Honourable Mr H. J. Scott, Post-Master General and Minister of Marine, and an impressive list of people in the communication world in New Zealand.