Dr. David S. Noble, now of Santa Barbara, California, a native of Black River Falls, is credited with designing the world’s first radio-operated freeway emergency call system according to the Santa Barbara paper of July 6, 1962. It is reported there the system will soon be in operation on the central portion of the Los Angeles freeway network “thanks to the efforts of Santa Barbara scientist (Dr. Noble) and Santa Barbara. The California Division of Highways awarded the $91,622.00 contract for the installation to the Hoffman Center. Eighty call boxes will be placed at quarter mile intervals on four major freeway links in Los Angeles.
The call boxes have no external wiring. Messages are sent to police headquarters by a radio signal and power is provided by silicon solar cells converting sunlight into electricity which charges batteries. Five minutes of sunlight recharges the energy used in one emergency call and the batteries have enough reserve capacity to function for as long as three months without any solar recharging.
Dr. Lloyd T. Devore, Director of the Science Center said, “We are very happy with this invention and Dr. Noble. Turnpikes across the nation are watching this development carefully. The system is also adaptable for fire and burglar alarms, locating power line outages, measuring snowfall, reservoir or river depths and checking fog horns or buoy lights on off-shore oil platforms. The final design incorporated suggestions made by California highway officials and includes a keylocked switchboard which allows the first officer on the scene to evaluate the emergency and send by radio for 14 different specialized services.”
Dr. Noble, a graduate of the Black River Falls High School with the Class of 1940 lives at 767 Calle Rey Mar in Carpinteria, Calif. He is the son of Mrs. Harriet Noble of Black River Falls.
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