The replica of the radio shack that was located in Switzerland can be seen in Figure 1, although not a perfect replica, it resembles the size, construction to some extent and layout of the original shack. The original alpine hut was located on the alpine pasture (Maiensäss) below the tree line. It consisted of a small wooden house and the remnants of a stable. It stood on an incline, so had packing space underneath for wood whereas the replica is built on a horizontal cutout in shale. Refurbishment started September 2018. The old and dilapidated small wood burning stove was removed as well as the chimney pipe. I could not salvage the stove, it was in a very bad state. I might add another small wood burning stove, as the original Maiensäss hut had a small stove, but I have no information on what this stove looked like. The radio shack is built of pine logs and the roof is made of concrete tiles. Its layout is pretty simple, a plan view can be found on the next page.

There is a generator room with a double door entrance facing south, occupied by a British Lister Tr3 10 kVa (8kW) diesel generator (see Figure 2). This generator is functional, but requires complete restoration. Currently the engine leaks diesel. There is a brick firewall between the radio room and the power room. To be added is a 2 HP (1.5 kW) Lister DK8 paraffin engine, built in 1952, which will be used when power consumption is low and it would be more fuel efficient to use the smaller generator. I might throw out the Lister (done October 2019) and use the room as a small workshop. It is a reliable engine, and fires up each and every time I crank the engine, but it is very noisy being adjacent to the radio room. The Luven station had a generator initially located close to the radio room, but this was moved to a small shed, probably due to the noise as well.

The radio room has its own entrance (facing north) and also has provision for making coffee and light meals, behind this room is a shower, toilet and washbasin facility. The remnants of the ceiling and the old stove can be seen in Figure 1, in front of the entrance to the radio room. Entrance to the generator room is separate, at the rear of the shack.

Provision for sleeping accommodation was marginal, as the operators had alternative accommodation in the town of Luven, but there was a folding camping cot originally that could be set up if someone wanted to take a rest, which did happen during long radio monitoring sessions that required more than one radio operator present. The original station in Switzerland was taken apart in the late 1970's, its original wooden structure was quite deteriorated at that stage. The roof had been a major problem for years and was patched all over. All proof of its existence was removed, however some of the radio equipment found its way to South Africa.

During December 2018 we replaced the old ceiling which was falling apart. This also provided the opportunity to inspect the roof rafters and carry/tie beams, which were found to be in excellent condition. I cleaned up the area around the shack and cut the grass. We had to chase a snake away which had decided to occupy long grass and plants at the front door. The short grass will deter snakes as they do not like to be exposed while on the move, as they could fall prey to the Jackal Buzzard (Jakkalsvoël) or Verreaux's Eagle (Witkruisarend) which frequent the location of the radio shack. This radio shack is located in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa at an altitude of 1350 m, so not quite in Switzerland, but it is planned that the reproduction of the station will be as true and accurate as I can manage. The hut in Switzerland was located at a similar height.

The original Maiensäss hut was located in the municipality of Luvis (district of Surselva in the canton of Graubünden), whose name was changed to Luven in 1943. The Maiensäss hut had a view towards the Alp da Riein, and was surrounded to some extent by spruce trees, and probably had been built in the 1800's. I only have sketches to work from, and then of course memory based on what I was told in the 1970's and the odd note or two (actually a box full of notes, reports, photos etc.)

Further updates will be added on the Refurbishment page.