Alexander Day - a humble great inventor

Source: www.sciencephoto.com

Few people know about Ernst Alexandherson. The name of this very talented engineer is lost in the radiance of the names of his brilliant colleagues - Thomas Edison, Gulermo Marconi, Nikola Tesla, Alexander Popov ... However, Alexander has 345 patents for inventions related to electrical engineering and radio electronics, and he is rightfully considered one of the pioneers of broadcasting and television; He received his last patent when he was 89 years old! Unlike the famous inventors, whose names are on everyone’s lips, Alexander Alexander did not seek fame, did not participate in scandals and stories, but simply worked, inventing and creating devices that are very necessary and important for the emerging radio electronics.



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Ernst Frederick Werner Alexandererson was born in Sweden in 1878. In 1902, he emigrated to America, where he began working for General Electric. In 1904, at the age of 26, he created, probably, the most spectacular car in radio history, which was meant for serious work, not the fun of the most respectable public (this was thrown a pebble at Nikola’s front garden of “our whole” Tesla) ... This car is mechanical generator of radio frequency oscillations - called "alternator".


Source: www.tekniskamuseet.se

The Alexander’s alternator could generate a signal with a frequency of up to 100 kilohertz. It is clear that it is impossible to spin the rotor of the car to such a speed. The alternator shaft rotated at a speed of the order of several thousand revolutions per minute, but thanks to the special configuration of the coils at the generator output, the desired high frequency was obtained. The design of the alternator was very successful. They were used on radio stations up to the 60s of the last century, that is, even when lamp generators were already in use and were being used. The disadvantages of these machines were large size and weight, and because of this they could not be installed on ships.
It is the alternators of Alexander Alexander allowed to carry out the first in the world voice broadcast on December 24, 1906 from the US Atlantic coast. Actually, it was for this purpose that it was created: without having a generator of continuous RF oscillations, it is impossible to transmit a voice over the radio.


Source: wikipedia.org

Technical progress is inexorable. With the advent of more advanced generators, alternators were sent to landfill (and maybe melted down). And today in the world there is only one working alternator. It is installed in the building of the Grimeton radio station, which is located near the Swedish city of Varberg. This radio station can be called a memorial: it was founded by Ernst Aleksanderson himself in 1922, being by that time the chief engineer of the Radio Corporation of America (RCA). In his honor, all radio equipment is maintained in working condition.


Source: alexander.n.se


Source: flickr.com

The day of July 2 is considered the day of Alexander. Every year, on the Sunday closest to this date, the alternator is launched, and, just as many years ago, the SAQ radio station calls and holiday greetings are broadcast on the frequency 17.2 kilohertz by the Morse code. What could be a better recognition of the merit of an engineer than the equipment that he still has created?




Source: alexander.n.se

This year the Grimeton radio station will air on June 29th. The transmitter will turn on at 8:30 UTC, and the transmission will begin at 9:00 UTC. The ceremony will be repeated at 11:30 UTC.
Unfortunately, without proper preparation, it is impossible to listen to the broadcast live. A super-long-wave antenna and a receiver are needed, and there is no guarantee that at decent distances from the radio station, for example, in Moscow, something will be caught at all. But the very possibility to hear the voice of the equipment, which has already become a thing of the past, makes this day, probably, the most touching technical holiday.
Ernest Alexanderson died in 1975. For his merits, he was awarded medals of Honor and the Edison Institute of Radio Engineers (now IEEE), and after his death the name of Alexander Alexander was included in the books of the National Inventors Hall of Fame (NIHF) and the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA). Grimeton radio station entered the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.


Source: ieeexplore.ieee.org

In conclusion, two videos: the Alexander Alexander alternator at work and the reception of a signal from the Grimeton radio station.