Engine house under construction at Awanui wireless station, c1912. Photo: A Northwood, Awanui Scrapbook, Te Ahu Museum
The 75hp Gardner petrol-kerosene engine that drove the 30kW alternator. It was started using compressed air and ran on petrol until warmed up, then switched over to kerosene. Courtesy: Te Ahu Museum. Click to enlarge.
Power required for the 30kW spark gap transmitter was provided by a 75hp English Gardner petrol-kerosene engine driving a 30kW alternator via a belt.
30kW 500Hz alternator at Awanui Radio VLA.
It is interesting that a British engine was used in a radio station built by the German company Telefunken as a “turn-key” operation. This may well have been a “political” decision.
Bill Walker, in a 1962 radio interview, speaks of going off to war in 1916 and having to teach a local boy how to run the engine until a man (B Winstanley) arrived from Auckland.
He also mentions that, due to the poor transport in the area, fuel for the engine was obtained in small cans – which must have been a real inconvenience.
Engine room at Awanui Radio showing the 75hp Gardner engine. This photo may have been taken some time after the station opened, as there is a large crack in the wall (visible at top right of photo). Click to enlarge.
Example of a Gardner petrol-kerosene engine from the 1920s:
