# Map of radiotelegraph operating areas



## phdad (Sep 5, 2019)

Does anyone have a map, circa 1960, of the worldwide radiotelegraph areas with coastal stations assigned to each area?


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## Larry Bennett (Aug 28, 2005)

Got this one from 1953 which shows the long distance 'Area Scheme' as used at GKA until the early 1970s if that is what you wanted?

Larry +


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## phdad (Sep 5, 2019)

Yes, thank you. Now I just need to determine who the coast stations in each region were.


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## sparks69 (Dec 18, 2005)

That map brings back memories !!
Thanks


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## trotterdotpom (Apr 29, 2005)

phdad may not be aware that this map shows the Area Scheme operated by the UK mainly for British ships. The ships received traffic from the UK sent to the area which they were in. Ships had to keep Portishead informed when they shifted to a new area. Ships could also send traffic to the UK via the local area transmitting and receiving stations and the supplementary stations. Traffic to and from the UK was charged at the local rate. I think a lot of the stations were manned by the Royal Navy. The Area Scheme enabled British ships to operate with pipsqueak 100w transmitters for many years. Hope that all makes sense.

John T


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## R651400 (Jun 18, 2005)

Area Scheme station list.


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## martin winn (Oct 10, 2007)

When I first went to sea,1966, the area scheme was as the map,except for area III, which was controlled from Mauritius (as #6 shows). Ceylon ceased to be a station that we could use. The commercial station, Colombo was I think 4PB. The missing Area IV, which is shown as area IC, was originally controlled from Barbados. I could be mistaken on that.


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## Ron Stringer (Mar 15, 2005)

Martin Winn. In 1960-'66 both parts of Area II were under Capetown/ZSL, manned by UK Royal Navy personnel. Area Ic was operated by Portishead Radio - Barbados/VPO was then a commercial station operated by Cable & Wireless.

phdad. The coast station names are given on the chart, together with their various functionality.


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## Finbar O'Connor (Sep 26, 2008)

*Map of Coast Radio Stations and areas*

Hello Jim,

The book you need is one issued by the ITU. Mine is dated November 1975 10th edition MAP OF COAST STATIONS. This will be long out of print or of use these days as the vast majority of stations have closed. I have taken a picture of a double spread of the area covering the north coast of Africa, the Meddy and the bottom half of Europe. There is a vast range of both Coast radio stations and Port stations.
The USA and Canada bristles with all manner of coast stations , port operation stations, on the coast and inland waterways.

Just found the following which you could chase up

C I.T.U. 1976 ISBN 92-71-00036-6

The picture I took for you is probably too large to send here.

Regards
Finbar O'Connor EJM (Retired) EI0CF GI4DPE


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## phdad (Sep 5, 2019)

Finbar:
Thank you. I actually have a copy of the book and will look in it for the map.

Jim


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## Finbar O'Connor (Sep 26, 2008)

*Map of Coast Radio stations and areas*

Hello Jim,

Thank you for confirming you have the book that I have and referred to. It is a great volume to take down from the shelf and use it to cast ones mind back to the glory days of, mainly, MF WT wireless communications for ships.

Kind regards
Finbar EJM ( retired ) EI0CF GI4DPE


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## smit-lloyd 1 (Aug 30, 2011)

Jim

You are probably ahead of me on this but there is a lot of info on www.coastalradio.org.uk 

Regards, Neil


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## phdad (Sep 5, 2019)

Thanks Neil. I think that I might have seen this site once before, but looked again and will definitely spend more time here now.


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## djringjr (Feb 11, 2008)

Finbar,

I believe the book you reference is a book of maps sold by ITU which showed all the coastal radio stations. I tried to get that on every ship I was ever on, they'd never send it to me.

If you scan some of the interesting areas, send them to me by email and I will post them to the Internet Archive where I have many resources of interest to former R/O's. http://tinyurl.com/djringjr/

73
David Ring
N1EA




Finbar O'Connor said:


> Hello Jim,
> 
> The book you need is one issued by the ITU. Mine is dated November 1975 10th edition MAP OF COAST STATIONS.
> 
> ...


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## searover (Sep 8, 2007)

Months of GKs, Zs, Vs and Cs then GLD - GNI - GNF. Memories. We're nearly home.


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## duncs (Sep 8, 2008)

Just as a matter of interest, Finbar/EJM. I've probably spoken to you on the key. 'Claymore' and 'Iona'.


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## Devans47 (Apr 24, 2013)

sparks69 said:


> That map brings back memories !!
> Thanks


I was thinking the same thing when I saw this area map.


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## Troppo (Feb 18, 2010)

searover said:


> Months of GKs, Zs, Vs and Cs then GLD - GNI - GNF. Memories. We're nearly home.


Yep....when I could hear VIS in daylight....


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## Devans47 (Apr 24, 2013)

smit-lloyd 1 said:


> Jim
> 
> You are probably ahead of me on this but there is a lot of info on www.coastalradio.org.uk
> 
> Regards, Neil


Reading the call signs and frequencies on the www.coastalradio.org.uk site just threw me back about 50 odd years, thank you many good memories.


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## searover (Sep 8, 2007)

Troppo said:


> Yep....when I could hear VIS in daylight....


Entering Port Chalmers NZ, I couldn't raise Wellington just up the coast - GKA offered to forward my TR from exactly the other side of the world. Often not easy raising either Sydney (VIX) or Vancouver (CKN) when roaming the Pacific. Yet AM signals could reach the full length of the ocean at night.


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## Troppo (Feb 18, 2010)

searover said:


> Entering Port Chalmers NZ, I couldn't raise Wellington just up the coast - GKA offered to forward my TR from exactly the other side of the world. Often not easy raising either Sydney (VIX) or Vancouver (CKN) when roaming the Pacific. Yet AM signals could reach the full length of the ocean at night.


VIX was the navy station in Canberra.

VIS was the commercial station in Sydney.


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## R651400 (Jun 18, 2005)

Interesting point VIX QTH Canberra as #6 Area Scheme broadcast list shows VIX as Sydney. 
Recall circa '57 VIX as HF Area broadcast and VIS Area HF ship/shore tfc with VHM Coonawarra (NT) Area Supplementary RX Station.
Other (Oz) Area call signs from memory were VKN and maybe VKM. 
Colombo GZC Area broadcast GGZP tfc as were Singapore GYS broadcast GYL tfc and Capetown ZSL broadcast ZSC tfc.
At this time I understand all were within either RN or Commonwealth naval bases.


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## Finbar O'Connor (Sep 26, 2008)

*Map of Radio Stations*

Hello David,

I will take some pictures of various pages of the I.T.U book and send them to you, just confirm your actual e-mail address, direct. The detail is so interesting. Small Pacific islands, West Africa, The Black Sea, this collection of maps and a good imagination and memory is all one needs to whizz back in time.

My e-mail now is [email protected] Like most things nowadays, my usual e-mail has become problematic, oh well.....

Kind regards
Finbar EJM ( retired ) EI0CF GI4DPE


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## Finbar O'Connor (Sep 26, 2008)

*Map of Radio stations and Western Isles Ferry*

Hello Duncs,

Oh yes I certainly do remember working those ferries , from EJM, all those years ago. I can remember receiving TR's particularly, just before the vessels arrived at Ullapool. We both, ship and coast radio station need to complete the qso before the ships signal was masked by the large mountain before the ship arrived at Ullapool.

The name Maskil has just popped into my head, one of the R/O's, who came to visit the station on two occasions whilst on holiday in Ireland. I hope I have got that right.

GNOT is one callsign that has also come to mind .

Kind regard
Finbar ex EJM


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## duncs (Sep 8, 2008)

Hi Finbar, I was only relieving on them, through MIMCO, though I'm from Castlebay, Barra. I didn't know the regular ROs.

GNOT I think was the 'Iona', The 'Claymore', I think was GYAE.

Rgds
Duncs


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## Elaine FAHY (Nov 4, 2014)

Happy birthday to you


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## Finbar O'Connor (Sep 26, 2008)

*Map and Western Ferries*

Hello Duncs,

Ok on you being on relief duty on the ferries. Those transmitters you copied from Malin Head, still live on, by way of parts from the scrapped rigs. They were built like tanks, the Pi Tank coil arrangement used a bunch of encapsulated ferrite rods for fine tuning, wonderful for my experiments on both 136 khz and 472 khz, mainly running WSPR transmissions. I did build a Valve Linear Amp from more parts but have retired that set up and now concentrate on FET technology for Power amps. Like I expect many other marine radio rigs, both at sea and ashore, most "stuff" was tipped in a skip.

There was NO Way I was going to allow that and took what I could manage to haul home and fill the shed at the back of the house. Management were just glad to get rid of it.

Sad to say I never did manage to get hold of an Oceanspan transmitter. Shame.

Thanks for stirring the memories, yes I think you are correct with GYAE callsign, sounds right.

Kind regards
Finbar EJM retired EI0CF GI4DPE


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## phdad (Sep 5, 2019)

Quick question, how did you get your country’s flag to show up on your posting id?

Jim - K2PHD


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## Jumbuk34 (Mar 27, 2019)

What happened to Area IV?


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## Varley (Oct 1, 2006)

Area IV - a good question.


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## Baulkham Hills (Jul 11, 2008)

The area system was great, unfortunately I was on a transpacific run Panama to NZ a few weeks after it finished, the om was used to receiving and sending traffic very quickly with the area system. With an Oceanspan it was quite difficult to clear traffic to GKA, try explaining that to the OM ("the last sparky had no trouble") . Luckily it was not a very high traffic ship. The radio room equipment was designed around the area system, and when it finished in my opinion the equipment was not up to it. I think the om complained to MIMCO about this and they sent me a "please explain". By this time MIMCO was far in the rear mirror and I filed it in the correct place. (rubbish bin)


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## pippin (May 13, 2008)

Just to clear up the difference between *VIS* & *VIX *- here are my recollections.

Sydney Radio *VIS* was the commercial CRS with its own Rx & Tx sites outside, err, Sydney NSW.
It accepted TFC to/from Commonwealth and Foreign Flag ships.

Every four hours, from 0000Z, 0400Z etc for the two hours of the H8 watches *VIS* "borrowed" the RANs Tx-s at Belconnen ACT, using the C/S *VIX*.
This was for TFC lists and bcst of the actual QTCs to Commonwealth ships only.
*VIS* also keyed *VIX* during those two-hour slots to send CQ Wx, Nav Wngs & etc at 0130Z, 0530Z etc.

I remember VIX sending coded RAN TFC during the other two-hour slots 0200Z.

Can any Aussie confirm my thoughts?

I was on DORCASIA/GSZE on the Aus coast when the Area Scheme finally folded. Luckily I had a CRUSADER 1kW Tx!!


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## Troppo (Feb 18, 2010)

pippin said:


> Just to clear up the difference between *VIS* & *VIX *- here are my recollections.
> 
> Sydney Radio *VIS* was the commercial CRS with its own Rx & Tx sites outside, err, Sydney NSW.
> It accepted TFC to/from Commonwealth and Foreign Flag ships.
> ...


Yes - that's correct.


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## Troppo (Feb 18, 2010)

Re VIX. When it closed, the callsign was taken over by the Rescue Coordination Centre in Canberra.

VIX was used to send the last ever CW QTC to and from the Oz Coast Radio network - to VIM in Melbourne.


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## david.hopcroft (Jun 29, 2005)

Dr Jim

I have the ITU Map of Coast Stations December 1960. It is an awkward size. The best I can do is something like this of the US Eastern Seaboard. I only have a standard A4 copier/printer.

David
+


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## phdad (Sep 5, 2019)

Larry Bennett said:


> Got this one from 1953 which shows the long distance 'Area Scheme' as used at GKA until the early 1970s if that is what you wanted?
> 
> Larry +


ha


Larry Bennett said:


> Got this one from 1953 which shows the long distance 'Area Scheme' as used at GKA until the early 1970s if that is what you wanted?
> 
> Larry +


yes it is what I was looking for. Thanks


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## Larry Bennett (Aug 28, 2005)

Jumbuk34 said:


> What happened to Area IV?


Just been speaking to one of my old GKA colleagues on the subject - he thinks Area IV was originally the area around the Falkland Islands using Port Stanley as the Area station. He doesn't recall when area IV was dropped, but this may explain why that area became Area IIA with Cape Town becoming the Area station.

May need further investigation with regard to dates etc.

Larry +


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## pippin (May 13, 2008)

I would concur Larry - and I think the Falklands Area IV also covered Area 5A which was taken over by ZL-land.

I have been reading up a bit on Falklands wireless stns. 
Marconi set up a W/T land station in 1911 which passed TFC to/from Uruguay.
A German Naval force headed by Admiral von Spee arrived off Stanley on December 8th 1914 with the intention of destroying the Royal Navy wireless relay station. They were defeated and most ships were sunk.
My 1925 year book indicates VPC was a British Admiralty stn that wkd on 600m/500kc/s.
So, even in WW1 the Falklands were an important Naval comms facility.


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