Welcome to the Jupiter Inlet District
Jupiter Inlet & the Loxahatchee River
History
Telecommunications Facilities Defend the Coast
In October 1905, construction of
the U.S. Navy’s Jupiter Wireless Telegraph Station was “nearly
complete.” Assigned call letters “RA,” the station soon joined the
Navy’s growing roster of wireless installations. (http://earlyradiohistory.us/navy1.htm)
The primary function of Navy wireless telegraph stations was
communication with warships at sea. The stations provided another
valuable service as well: transmission of accurate time signals, which
were of great assistance in the days of celestial navigation. Starting
in 1913, station RA also handled commercial radio traffic, both as a
public service and to provide Navy operators abundant practice
messages.
The Navy continued to operate radio communication and direction finding
stations at Jupiter Inlet during World War II. Wire antenna elements
are visible in the original of this photograph, made in the 1940s. More
recent installations at the inlet included the U.S. Air Force TEL-4
telemetry station (for communicating with missiles and spacecraft
launched from Cape Canaveral) and U.S. Coast Guard LORAN stations.