Aerial tuning inductor from Rugby Radio Station

This aerial tuning inductor came from the very-low-frequency (16 kHz) transmitter (call sign 'GBR') installed at Rugby Radio Station. It was constructed in 1943 to the original 1926 design, and modified in 1966.

The Rugby tuning coil was used to tune the station's antennas to the right frequency. When it began service on 1 January 1926 the Rugby station was the most powerful in the world. In 1926 the Rugby tuning coil transmitted the 'British Official Wireless News Messages' to the empire and to ships on all the seas - the first time this would have been possible.

In 1928 it was used to send a message to Mars at the request of Dr Mansfield Robinson, a London lawyer who believed he had been in contact with the Red Planet. The Post Office accepted it as a commercial transaction - Dr Robinson was charged a shilling and sixpence per word, the same as a standard message.

The coil was also used to transmit secret information to ships and submarines during the Cold War. The coil was decommissioned in 2003.

Credit: Donated by BT Heritage and Archives
Object no: 2005-733