Here are two early handhorns used by lightkeepers up until the early 1950s
In the beginning was the Diaphone* . . .
|
F1 Diaphone sound from Lennard Island, BC c.1970 (sound file from Tony Holland) |
|
*Diaphone - A powerful type of foghorn invented in Canada which produced a loud "blast" followed by a "grunt". It used compressed air generated by a steam, gas or oil engine, usually housed in its own building. (definition from Nova Scotia Lighthouse Preservation Society [NSLPS].) More information here. |
 F-type Diaphone at Lennard Island Lighthouse, BC (interior view) |
 F-type Diaphone at Lennard Island Lighthouse, BC (exterior view - middle right) |
|
photos with permission of Chris Mills Pharos Communications
|
|
The single diaphone was now replaced with an electronic panel,
many 6V batteries and banks of Airchime* horns.
|
Air-powered Airchime sound from Pulteney Point, BC c.1980s (sound file from John Coldwell) |
| *Airchime - A less powerful type of foghorn invented in Canada which produced a "blast" followed by a "grunt". The Airchime used two horns of different frequencies and a "grunt timer" to switch the air from one to the other. It used compressed air generated by a diesel engine and compressor, or electronically from banks of batteries. (part definition from Chris Mills.) |
 Electronic Airchime horns at Boars Head Lighthouse, NS |
Air-powered Airchime KM135/110 horns at Lennard Island Lighthouse, BC (exterior view - middle top) |
|
photos with permission of Chris Mills Pharos Communications
|
|
The air compressors for the Airchime horns were a lot smaller than the ones used for the diaphones. Pictured below are the single-cylinder diesel-driven compressors and air receiver tanks from Triple Island Lighthouse, BC. Old F-horns were driven by two-cylinder compressors and required much larger air-receiver tanks.
Air-receiver tank at Triple Island |
Air-receiver tanks and compressors |
Air-receiver tank and compressor |
Close-up of Compressor |
The multiple airchimes were now replaced with an electronic panel,
many 6V batteries and a SINGLE Stone-Chance* horn.
|
Stone-Chance sound from Ivory Island, BC c.1980s (sound file from Chris Mills Pharos Communications) |
 Single bank of Stone-Chance horns at Green Island Lighthouse, BC |
|
|
photo with permission of Chris Mills Pharos Communications
|
|
The multiple Stone-Chance were also replaced with an electronic panel,
several 12V batteries and a SINGLE API CG 1000*.
|
API* CG 1000 sound from McInnes Island, BC c.1980s (sound file from John Coldwell) |
|
*API - The first horns of this electric type with limited range were manufactured by AGA (Sweden). This API horn was manufactured by Automatic Power Incorporated (API) now called Pharos Marine-Automatic Power |
 Single API horn at McInnes Island Lighthouse, BC |
|
|
photo taken by John Coldwell
|
|
The multiple Stone-Chance emitters were also replaced with an electronic panel,
several 12V batteries and a bank of high frequency emitters made by Tidelands*.
|
Tideland high frequency sound from Race Rocks, BC c.1990s (sound file not available yet) |
 Bank of Tideland high-frequency horns at Race Rocks, BC |
|
|
photo courtesy of Garry Fletcher racerocks.com Lester B. Pearson College
|
|
And then there were none!
|
The sound of GPS c.2002 (sound source courtesy of the Canadian Government) The Canadian Government declared that all boats are now equipped with the Global Positioning System (GPS) equipment, and so foghorns are no longer required. They will only be heard in memories. See Sherrill Kitson's article on the shutting down of the foghorns at Ivory Island |
Horn Sounds From Different Lightstations Across Canada
|
Electronic Airchimes from Boars Head, NS (sound file from Chris Mills Pharos Communications)) |
|
AGA Foghorn from Cross Island, NS (sound file from Chris Mills Pharos Communications)) |
|
400 watt Electronic Airchime from Grand Passage, NS (sound file from Chris Mills Pharos Communications)) |
|
Stone-Chance Foghorn from Kaiens Island, BC (sound file from John Coldwell) |
|
Stone-Chance Foghorn from Langara Point, BC (sound file from Chris Mills Pharos Communications)) |
|
Air-powered Airchime Foghorn from Lennard Island, BC (sound file from Tony Holland) |
|
Stone-Chance Foghorn from Peter Island, NS (sound file from Chris Mills Pharos Communications)) |
| John Coldwell (retired BC lighthouse keeper) Galvanistrasse 8 A-4040 Linz, Austria Tel: +43 (732) 750515  |
To see some of the lighthouses these foghorns were operating on visit the BC Lighthouse Website.
To see some water level photos of BC lighthouses, check out Ray Morgan's BC Marina website.