Malabar is an area inIndonesia inJava. It is in the province ofWest Java, in theBandung Regency, south of the city ofBandung nearMount Malabar (Gunung Malabar), astratovolcano. It was formerly well known as a hill station near to the town ofPangalengan for recreation during the Dutch period in Indonesia. Some of the tea estates in the area provide good facilities for tourists to stay overnight, walk through tracks in the tea plantations, and bath in nearby hot springs.[1] One of the main tea estates in the area, the Malabar Tea Estate, was for many years (1886–1928) managed byK.A.R. Bosscha who was active in the development of the region.
In the era just before the beginning ofWorld War I, twospark wireless stations were established in theDutch East Indies for naval communications. This was in the days before internationally recognizedcallsigns were in general usage and one of these stations, located atSabang, was on the air inMorse Code under the irregular callsignSAB.
Immediately after the end of the war, there were four such stations in theDutch East Indies, and these were all designated withcallsigns in the new PK series:PKA Sabang,PKB Weltevreden, PKC Sitoebondo, andPKD Koepang'. Soon afterwards, theDutch government inBatavia announced that a hugearc transmitter station, usingTelefunken arc equipment, was under installation at Malabar, nearBandoeng. This massive 3.5megawatt station was established for communication with the home office in theNetherlands.
The date for the official opening of this station was set at May 5, 1923. However, a tropical lightning strike destroyed some of the equipment and the opening was postponed until repairs were completed. By this time, however, arc transmitters were becoming obsolete, and valve orvacuum tube transmitters were soon afterwards installed at this same location on the island of Java.
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