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"Wavescan" is a weekly program for long distance radio hobbyists produced by Dr. Adrian M. Peterson, Coordinator of International Relations for Adventist World Radio. AWR carries the program over many of its stations (including shortwave). Adrian Peterson is a highly regarded DXer and radio historian, and often includes features on radio history in his program. We are reproducing those features below, with Dr. Peterson's permission and assistance.
Wavescan 348, August 26, 2001
Hawaii Radio Centenary
One hundred years of radio history! This is a very important anniversary. And yet the radio world seems to have passed over this event with nary a whisper. Yes, it is just 100 years ago that the first wireless stations were erected in the Hawaiian Islands for inter-island communication. This is the story.
Now it should be remembered that the first wireless station in the world was erected by Marconi at the South Foreland Lighthouse on the Island of Wight off the south coast of England in the year 1899. This new, though quite primitive, Morse Code station was established for the purpose of maintaining communication with France.
Just two years later, we transfer our attention to the exotic Hawaiian Islands out in the central Pacific.
Early in the year 1901, the Marconi company in the United States erected five wireless stations on five different islands in the Hawaiian group for the purpose of establishing inter-island communication. This network of spark gap Morse Code stations was officially inaugurated on March 1, 1901, and at that time they were operated by the Mutual Telephone company.
These five wireless stations on five different islands were the first network of wireless stations anywhere in the world, a real "world first" for the Hawaiian Islands. This remarkable achievement is recognized in several publications, such as the "World Book of Firsts".
The five islands in the Hawaiian group that were inter-connected with this network of wireless stations were Oahu, Maui, Kaui, Hawaii and Molokai.
When international callsigns were regularized by the Berlin Treaty, these stations were allocated a progressive sequence of callsigns: KHK, KHL, KHM, KHN, and KHO.
More than a dozen years later, another spark wireless station was constructed on the island of Oahu, at Kahuku on the north coast, for communication with the American mainland. This Honolulu station was allocated the callsign KIE.
The official inauguration ceremonies for this large new station was held on September 24, 1914, in both Honolulu and in Bolinas, north of San Francisco in California. The Hawaiian station was officially opened by the governor of Hawaii when he pressed a silver key at the ceremonial table in Honolulu.
Messages were exchanged with the dignitaries on both sides of the ocean, and the first message sent from California to Hawaii was from President Woodrow Wilson in Washington, D.C. The wireless pioneer himself, Marconi, sent a telegram with a message of good will over this new wireless system.
The technical description of this new international wireless station In Hawaii states that it was the largest wireless station in the world, with a tall antenna system stretching for more than a mile. This station operated on longwave channels.
Since that time, wireless has become radio, longwave has been changed into shortwave, the Marconi company of America has become RCA, the Radio Corporation of America, and Hawaii has featured prominently in shortwave broadcasting.
The RCA station at Kahuku was in use before the Pacific War for the broadcast of radio programming back to the American mainland, and also for coverage in the Pacific. The Voice of America operated a two-transmitter facility for a quarter of a century on the island of Oahu for coverage to the Pacific under the callsign KRHO. World Harvest Radio established their own Gospel shortwave station, KWHR, on the island of Hawaii for coverage into Asia.
We here at AWR salute the Hawaiian Islands on the occasion of the significant 100th anniversary of the introduction of wireless into their exotic Pacific islands.