This excerpt from "Alert,Beyond the Inuit Lands", describes the station's communications systems in the mid 1990's era.
"Alert has two major internal communication systems - radio and telephone. The first system includes radios in all vehicles and the hand-held radios assigned to certain personnel or checked out on a temporary basis from Operations. Operations maintains a 24 hour radio watch under the direction of the Duty Shift Supervisor. Each radio has two channels, one for airfield communication including aircraft emergencies and Station fire emergencies (Channnel 1) and another for daily radio communication for vehicle and personnel communications (Channel 2). All vehicles monitor Channel 2 and are required to notify Operations prior to any movement off the Station or onto the airfield. Personnel or visitors leaving the Station boundaries on foot for excursions or work are also required to report their movements by radio, especially in winter conditions.Each of Alert's vehicles has an assigned call sign, often associated with the duty of the major driver or the function of the vehicle. Thus "Fire Fox" and "Fire Queen" are the station fire trucks, "Pack Rat" is the Supply Officer's Crew Cab truck, and "Blue Light" is the Traffic Tech's truck. Authorized call signs for personnel using hand-held radios may be the same as their vehicle call signs or ones reflecting their job or their position's authorized nickname. Thus "Oscar" is the authorized call sign for the SWO's (Station Warrant Officer's) crew cab and also for the SWO using a hand-held radio, OSCAR meaning "on site controller," one of the SWO's jobs on plane day. Visiting scientists assigned radios become "Wolfman" or "Birdman" as appropriate.
During aircraft operations, the use of Channel 1 is limited to those vehicles with specific airfield duties, to avoid distracting the Met Tech and Fire Chief, who must monitor all airfield ground traffic as well as the aircraft.
The other major station communications system is the telephone. The original system consisted of a switchboard room in Building 35. When a request was put forward in 1964 to modernnize the Alert second-hand telephone system, which at that point was not only obsolete but also unreliable and difficult to maintain, the request was turned down. "I am reluctant to agree with this expense to modernize telephone communication in Alert." The estimated cost for the new automatic exchange system was $30,400. The requirement could not be easily dismissed so an automatic telephone exchange was fmally installed in 1971, along with the refurnish of the old switchboard room. This facility provided telephone communications to all major areas of the station and included locals for the airstrip, transmitter site and the DOE weather office".
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| #1 - Circa 1966: First available in 1957, the Nodwell 110 was named for its load capacity because it was designed to handle 11,000 pounds. Of all the vehicles at Alert, this was the most preferred one because of its comfortable ride. The vehicle could be optioned with a passenger compartment or left as a flatbed as shown in the photo. These vehicles were powered with a Detroit 4-53 diesel engine. The Nodwell was honoured on a Canadian postage stamp in 1962. (Photo by Gord Walker) |
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| #2 - Circa 1966: (L) Penguin tracked vehicle. The ride was bone jarring and very uncomfortable. (R) Bombardier B12 in summer rig. (Photo by Gord Walker) |
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| Mid 1960's: A Penguin vehicle fording a stream. (Photo by Gord Walker) |
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| #3 - Circa 1966: Bombardier B-12 in winter rig. Between 1945
and 1951,
L’Auto-Neige Bombardier sold 2,596 of these vehicles. The Department of Public Works owned the majority of the B-12's up north and they were painted yellow. (Photo by Gord Walker) |
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| #4 - Circa 1966: The Penguin Mk 3 which first saw service with the Canadian Army in 1949. It consisted of an aluminum frame and outer skin with a plywood liner for the walls and floor. The hull is constructed from sections of armour plate welded into one unit thus giving the vehicle exceptional strength. Normal seating was 5 people including the driver. Total weight including passengers was 10,000 pounds. (Photo by Gord Walker) |
PENGUIN 3 SPECIFICATIONS
Maximum speed 25 mph
Fuel consumption 1 to 4 mpg
Fording depth 50 inches
Maximum gradability 60%
Ground pressure 1.75 psi
Engine
Cadillac
Type
90° V-8
Displacement 346 cu-in
Brake horse power (with standard accessories)110 at
3400 rpm
Governed speed 3800 to 4000 rpm
Clutch
Fluid coupling
Transmission Hydra-matic;
speeeds -4 forward, 1 reverse
Universal joints Cross and Trunnion
Driving axle Controlled
differential
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| Penguin Mk 3 vehicle. (Image courtesy Canadian Army. Submitted by Ray White) |
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| Mid 1960's: Penguin (L) and the Mark 3 (R) tracked vehicles at the base of Mount Pullen. The personnel are having a coffee break. (Photo by Gord Walker) |
