Communications Intercept: The Early Years (Part 2 of 5)

Intercepts and Cryptology World War One in the Beginning…

The United States was just getting its feet wet in Intercept during World War I. Up to this time radio equipment was elementary with spark and crystal detectors. Even though Lee deForest had invented the audion tube in 1906 to detect and amplify radio waves, the long range radio reception of radio waves did not become practicable until after 1913 when Edward H. Armstrong patented a circuit for the regenerative receiver.

As with anything else, the facts of true beginnings depend on memory and conjecture. When it comes to the beginnings of Intercept on the East Coast of the United States, we must depend on careful comparisons of several versions of each separate incident.

Otter Cliffs, Maine

The U.S. Navy’s radio station at Otter Cliffs, Maine, did an admirable job at what was a relatively new concept – Intercept.