History of wireless telegraphy and broadcasting in Australia/Topical/Biographies/Donald Brader Knock

Donald Brader "Don" Knock (1898-1966), generally known as "Don B. Knock", was a prominent amateur radio operator and journalist in the early 1920s in England (callsign G6XG) and from the mid 1920s through 1950s in Australia (callsign VK2NO). He was born in 1898 in Manchester, England. Wireless experimentation commenced as early as 1911 in Colchester, England. World War One military service was with the Royal Naval Air Service from 1916. A varied professional career in England included an appointment with the British Broadcasting Company. Knock (callsign G6XG) was the first English amateur to exchange messages with the U.S.A. using low power on shortwave. He emigrated to Australia in 1926, taking an appointment with Amplion Co., then technical editor with "Radio in Australia and New Zealand". In 1930 he established a network of pioneering radiocommunications facilities around the Wyndham Meatworks for the Western Australian government. During that time his station (callsign VK6NK) took the leading role in the rescue of the downed fliers Smith and Shiers in the Kimberley district. Returning to New South Wales he partnered with Marcus Oliver is establishing the commercial radio station 2MO Gunnedah. Returning to Sydney he became technical editor for "Radio Monthly". In 1933 was appointed to the "Bulletin" as editor of their "Australian Radio News" supplement and radio editor for the "Bulletin". He was a regular contributor and later technical editor in the late 1940s for the Australasian Radio World. In the late 1920s and 1930s, Knock was prominent in development of 10 metre and later 5 metre radiocommunications in the Sydney area. Following commencement of World War 2 he again volunteered for military service, concluding as Major, A.I.F. (Army Inspection). When released from the military in 1945, he took an appointment as engineer with the Philips organisation and continued with that firm until retirement. He passed in Sydney in 1966.

England

Early life and family

Donald was born 10 October 1898 in Manchester, only child to parents Charles Brader Knock (born 1872, Colchester; died 1936, Birkdale, Lancashire) and Winifred Annie Knock nee Hawkins (born 1866, Chacewater, Cornwall; died 1934, Southport, Lancashire). Brader was a family name, his paternal grandmother being Maria Knock nee Brader. His father was a commercial traveller in the publishing industry and the family moved around regularly but within Lancashire. The wireless novelty never failed to produce new developments in the early 20th century and was a constant subject of articles in the press of the day. Even before his teenage years, Don was experimenting with wireless technology and his autobiography refers to this commencing from age 11 years. Despite the early interest in radio and his clear aptitude for this field, his father considered the industry to be a passing fancy and pushed his son into an apprenticeship in mechanical engineering at a local steel works. Tasks there included fitting work on steam engines and motor lorries. Following the passing of his mother in 1934, his father remarried Edith Winifred Pentney the same year. When his father passed in 1936, the family estate went to his second wife.

World War One

Knock was not yet 18 and in a protected job, but receiving a white feather, mis-stated his age and enlisted as a mechanic in the Royal Naval Air Service in 1916. Training was completed at Cranwell aerodrome. Initial posting was as armourer mechanic at Eastchurch (Isle of Sheppey). Duties consisted mostly of working with high explosive bombs for aerial despatch. Additional training was undertaken at the Senior Gunnery School at Whale Island, Portsmouth. First active service posting was Mudros, Lemnos. Subsequently Knock was posted to Stavros, a small harbour on the Macedonian coast. Returning to Mudros, he supported the bombing of Constantinople. Final posting was to Petrovsk where his squadron was involved in the bombing operations against Bolshevik forces in Astrakhan and elsewhere, before withdrawing in August 1919.

Post WW1

At the insistence of his father, following the conclusion of the war, Knock took a position as an improver-apprentice with a major Liverpool shipyard. This was not to his liking and in 1921 he was successful in his application for (marine engineer) with P. & O. Co. on the SS Naldera (lately a transport ship to repatriate Australian troops). His time with P. & O. included a voyage to Sydney in 1922 and while at anchor there he was thrilled to tune in Charles Dansie Maclurcan's regular Sunday broadcasts (callsign 2CM). Back in England he took a sales representative position with a North England motor manufacturer. Finally he was offered his first position in the wireless industry, a sales engineering position with Sterling Co. (later Marconiphone). Ever a roving spirit, he then worked as a receiver service engineer for Burndept at a time when the broadcast industry was exploding in England. A final English appointment was with the British Broadcasting Company as a maintenance engineer at their Leeds-Bradford relay for Yorkshire. This position lasted for a year and was terminated by Knock's emigration to Australia.

Amateur Radio, 1924-1926

Three years of war service had left Knock with a tidy sum for his efforts and much of this was now invested in amateur radio equipment, once the wartime ban on amateur operations was lifted by the PMG. He was a foundation member of the Southport (Lancashire) Wireless Experimental Society and increased his knowledge and skills through time spent with other members. Initial receiving equipment included a war-surplus C MK III trench amplifier and loose coupler tuner with galena detector. He received a transmitting licence in 1924 and was allocated callsign G6XG. The first transmitting system was spark-based operating around 200 metres into a multi-wire cage "T" aerial. Receiver was now three coil with "swinging coil" reaction. Eventually complaints of interference by nearby broadcast listeners led to a shutdown order on G6XG by the PMG and necessarily further upgrade to a continuous wave transmission unit coupled with a Reinartz receiver. Around this time the possibility of two-way communication at medium power (about 250 watts) on shortwave (85/100 metres) between North America and Europe was proven by a contact between USA (callsign U1MO) and France (callsign F8AB). Several English amateurs then quickly duplicated the feat, but Knock's G6XG was the first to do so using low power (about 5 watts), in contacting U1BHM. He is known to have also operated from the facilities of Bloxsom (callsign G5LS) and Roper (callsign G2RK). Knock was also one of a very few to hear Ernest Thomas Fisk from his experimental station at Vaucluse, Sydney contacting Marconi on his yacht "Elettra". In respect of broadcast reception, Knock successfully tuned in the Melba broadcast from Chelmsford, the tests from the liner "Victorian" crossing the Atlantic and the BBC predecessor station 2MT Writtle by Eckersley.

Australia

Amplion Co.

On an impulse, Knock booked a passage to Australia and arrived in Sydney in mid-1926. He was soon appointed Chief Engineer to the Sydney branch of the Amplion Co. "Don" quickly became prominent within the Sydney amateur community and beyond. He joined the N.S.W. branch of the Wireless Institute of Australia. He was temporarily exempted from passing the Amateur Operator's Certificate of Proficiency examination on the basis of his prior English experience and licence. The callsign A2NO was allocated and became VK2NO following implementation of the 1927 Washington Conference recommendations. A friendship formed with Harry Turner, brother of well-known early amateur broadcaster Haswell Turner (callsign A2TM). Knock pioneered use of the Zepp antenna in Australia and was prominent in the development of radiocommunication on 20 metres. Harry Kauper (callsign A5BG) was the first to implement transmitter crystal control, but Knock followed suit soon after, being the first in N.S.W.

Wireless Weekly

From about 1927, Knock had started writing brief articles for various technical radio publications based in Sydney, mainly "Wireless Weekly" and the now commonly owned "Radio in Australia and New Zealand." The articles at first mostly described his amateur radio activities, but developed into full receiver construction articles. A detailed article describing construction of his "Go-Getter" receiver was very popular and led to a full-time appointment with "Radio in Australia and New Zealand." Subsequent publication of the "All-Empire" receiver proved equally popular and was both the first metal chassis receiver published in Australia and the first to utilise to advantage the new screen-grid valve as a T.R.F. amplifier for high frequencies. The "All-Empire" immediately proved its worth in monitoring the record breaking flight of the "Southern Cross" (callsign KHAB) by Sir Charles Kingsford Smith from Oakland, California to Australia. Knock was at the forefront developing amateur use of the 10 metre band, but long distance radiocommunications awaited increasing sunspots from 1929, when communication was progressively extended from New Zealand, Hawaii and finally the Americas.

Wyndham Meatworks

The Western Australian government had funded the establishment of a meatworks at Wyndham in 1907 with freezer and canning works as well as full port facilities. Its operation was a significant part of the WA economy and was crucial to the viability of stations and communities across a wide region. In 1930, Knock was engaged to establish a network of radiocommunications stations to service the operation. The network included the meatworks itself (callsign VIX operating on 55 metres, 100 watts), lower power fixed stations at surrounding cattle stations and drafting stations, a maritime launch station servicing the coastal regions (callsign VJQX) and a portable station (callsign VK6JU) for inland testing. Knock himself took out a wireless experimenter's licence for Wyndham (callsign VK6NK). The base station was initially plagued with problems from both natural radio noise (frequent and strong nearby lightning activity) and man-made noise (several nearby electrical motors and appliances). The former was ongoing, the latter moderated by noise-reducing antennas and feeders.

Smith and Shiers Rescue

During Knock's time at Wyndham, in April 1934, he played a leading co-ordination role in the rescue of the the fliers Dave Smith and Wally Shiers in the downed Ryan monoplane "City of Sydney." Knock had been advised that the fliers were departing Mascot aerodrome, Sydney on a flight via Wyndham to England and that the plane carried radio equipment (callsign VMZAB). Signals were received from the fliers stating that the plane had departed Newcastle Waters, Northern Territory with destination Wyndham. Two hours after departure, signals initially faded out in a manner indicative of a landed plane. An hour later SOS signals were deciphered that the plane's engine was damaged and they were forced down in the vicinity of Rosewood. Knock used his amateur equipment to relay the news via Bathurst amateur Trevor Evans (callsign VK2NS) to the authorities in Sydney. Veteran amateur Jack Pike (callsign VK2JP) handled a great volume of traffic with Knock as part of the exercise. The first search party failed to find the plane, but a second, some days later led by Sgt. King, of the W.A. police, with bushman Bill Flinders, of Wyndham located the plane and both fliers, hungry but safe and well. A few weeks later, Smith and Shiers continued their journey towards England, but crashed in Thailand with injuries confined to the plane itself.

2MO Gunnedah

Marcus Oliver had been a licensed wireless experimenter (callsign A2MO, later VK2MO) since the mid 1920s and regularly broadcast entertainment to the town of Gunnedah and surrounds. In 1931 he was granted a commercial broadcasting licence for Gunnedah, but it was the height of the depression and he lacked the funds to establish a higher power facility to give effect to the licence. Oliver joined in a partnership with Knock who relocated to Gunnedah and commissioned a suitable transmitter mostly from his own equipment. The partnership lasted about one year, but the business was not able to support both Oliver and Knock, and Don sold his share back to Oliver and returned to Sydney.

Family

Upon his return from Gunnedah, Donald Brader Knock married Laura Eileen Knock née Vince in Sydney. The couple had one child, a son, Rodney. Don's wanderlust finally abated and he lived the remainder of his life in Sydney.

The Sun

Commencing in July 1931, Knock provided a regular weekly column of radio related news for the Tuesday edition of Sydney's "The Sun" newspaper. He offered commentary on radio propagation, prospects for television, news of long distance broadcast reception, reports on local amateur radio activities. Knock also responded to correspondence from readers with insights into likely receiver problems and suggestions for construction. The column was short-lived however, with his final byline being October 1931. Knock had severed his relationship with "The Sun" in order to take on the role of technical editor of a new publication "Radio Monthly".

Radio Monthly

The first issue of the new magazine "Radio Monthly" appeared dated mid-December 1931. It was published by Federal Publications of Sydney and Knock was the editor. However in mid 1932 Knock resigned his position in order to take up a new appointment as editor of Australian Radio News published by "The Bulletin".

5 Metre Experiments

Knock was prominent in development of 5 metre radiocommunications in the Sydney area. Preliminary tests were undertaken by him at his home location of low height, but range was limited to only a few kilometres. A station was then set up on top of "The Bulletin" offices in George Street, Sydney. A Pickard antenna was utilised and range increased dramatically with limit being Sydney Colville's station at Mascot airport. Tests also included communication with planes in flight. At the 1934 Radio and Electrical Exhibition Knock arranged a popular demonstration of 5 metre duplex working between the stands of his "Australian Radio News" and Ever Ready Battery Co.'s. Directional aerials on 5 metres were also pioneered by Knock and fellow amateur operators Harry Chinner (Callsign VK2CG) and Will Dukes (Callsign VK2WD), extending range to Hazelbrook, Blue Mountains in early 1935.

The Bulletin

Back To Radio Journalism. In 1933, the writer returned to the sphere of radio journalism by an appointment as Technical Editor of "Australian Radio News," then published by "The Bulletin," and during the period until this weekly was absorbed in "The Bulletin," a considerable amount of 5-metre investigational work was done.

Australasian Radio World

Australasian Radio World was a monthly magazine catering to amateurs, radio constructors and shortwave broadcast listeners which commenced in 1936 with editor Alfred Earl "Earl" Read, an expatriate New Zealander. Kock was a regular contributor to the magazine with technical articles and a 9 instalment autobiography in 1937. The magazine was sold to Allan Galbraith "Braith" Hull in 1940 and Knock's relationship continued strong, for a period he was technical editor.

World War Two

Throughout the 1930s Knock participated in the NSW Citizen's militia in the Signals Corp with rank of lieutenant. Upon the commencement of WW2 he volunteered for service and joined the A.I.F. concluding as Major in Army Inspection. As military action wound down he was placed on the reserve of officers in April 1945.

Philips

Knock joined the Philips organisation in June, 1945, and was engaged under Chief Engineer S. O. Jones on special developmental work. In the late 1940s and early 1950s he regularly contributed articles for "Philips Technical Communication." At the end of his professional career, Knock was also engaged in a civilian capacity by the Department of Navy on radiocommunications work.

Later Life

In the mid 1950s, Knock disposed of all of his amateur radio equipment and relinquished his long-held callsign VK2NO. In the early 1960s Knock became ill and after a number of years of poor health, passed on 31 October 1966. The W.I.A. was well represented at his funeral on 3 November 1966 at St. Mary's Church of England, Waverley.

Legacy

In practical terms Donald Brader Knock is best remembered for his early 5 metre directional antenna and his contribution to range extension on the 5 metre band. But his real legacy was the education and encouragement of innumerable amateur radio operators and radio constructors through his published articles on radio construction and commentary on the radio hobby.

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