[ARC5] Radios and the Canal

[Robert Eleazer]

I thought the same thing as Mike at first.  Surely the coastwatchers would have been better off with something like the SCR-288 or even a land-based version of the SCR-274-N - rather than the behemoths they probably had.

But first, they originally were sited and equipped in peacetime and did not have to do a lot of running around, mobile style, even after the war started.

Second, they needed some real RF power!  Communications had to be as reliable as possible.  There were times in which vital messages were not received or had to be relayed through intermediate stations.

And by the way, they mention in the book that the "high moisture levels" in the South Pacific were an serious impediment to good communications.  Not sure what they men by that. Corrosion is an obvious problem, as are storms, but it's not clear to me why water in the air is a concern.

Wayne