# 500 Kc/s



## R651400 (Jun 18, 2005)

Now that 500 Kc/s is becoming closer to an international amateur heritage frequency some nostalgic and interesting recordings coming out of the woodwork. 
Spot the "deliberate" mistake on PCH's final msg...

http://www.qsl.net/pa3abk/coasten.htm


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## hawkey01 (Mar 15, 2006)

Malcolm,

got it immediately - certainly not 1988. 

Neville.


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## R651400 (Jun 18, 2005)

Well spotted Neville.
No mistaking the recording is authentic so that makes (at least) two transcription errors.
With your background it should be dead easy!! 
Malcolm


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## Troppo (Feb 18, 2010)

R651400 said:


> Now that 500 Kc/s is becoming closer to an international amateur heritage frequency



Ahhh, sorry to rain on your parade, but 5 ton won't be an amateur heritage freq.

It (495-505) will be used for a new high(er) speed NAVTEX service by IMO.


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## ian283 (Dec 6, 2008)

*photographs in the gallery*

Thank you everyone who has taken the time and trouble to put these photographs up for our pleasure.It is nice to see some of our old ships again after such a long time. Thank you,ian.


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## R651400 (Jun 18, 2005)

Troppo said:


> Ahhh, sorry to rain on your parade, but 5 ton won't be an amateur heritage freq.
> It (495-505) will be used for a new high(er) speed NAVTEX service by IMO.


Feel free to piddle in my pot de chambre but how about something more factually substantial?


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## teb (May 23, 2008)

Malcolm- Many thanks for that- have not touched a morse key for nigh on 60 years but found could still read same (well nearly all of it!!!) Regards Teb(Applause)


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## trotterdotpom (Apr 29, 2005)

I'm quietly confident that I could read it but all I get is an "error message".

Dit dah Dit dah Dit.

John T.


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## Troppo (Feb 18, 2010)

R651400 said:


> Feel free to piddle in my pot de chambre but how about something more factually substantial?



IMO has backed a proposal by the US (which is, in itself, an enhancement of an original French proposal) for a high speed QPSK-based data service using 495-505 kHz.

This will be further discussed at the forthcoming ITU SG5 meeting in Geneva in early November.

From there, it will almost certainly go to the next World Radio Conference as a concrete proposal.

As the IMO have backed it, there is a very good chance that Administrations will get behind it. So, it will, in all probability, get up.

There are a number of proposals to give amateurs a slot somewhere around 500 - it will probably be around 505-515 - between the new high speed NAVTEX service and the existing 518 NAVTEX channel.

At the moment, 500 has had its exclusive maritime status removed - there is a very good chance that this will be reinstated at the next WRC.


Rgds


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## trotterdotpom (Apr 29, 2005)

Nice to hear the Yanks and the Frogs are getting along for once.

John T.


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## hawkey01 (Mar 15, 2006)

Malcolm,

do you mean the BiBI fm PCH - never heard that in morse!

as he said -old stations never die they just fade away - just like RO's.


Neville.


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## R651400 (Jun 18, 2005)

Neville... if you don't get this one right it's the dungeons at Dunottar for you!


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## david.hopcroft (Jun 29, 2005)

This gives a bit of info.........

http://www.seefunker.de/homepage/memo.html

David
+


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## hawkey01 (Mar 15, 2006)

Malcolm,

OK I will come quietly - hope the dungeons will not be too cold and wet. I am afraid I cannot see what it is you are referring to. Read it over and over but nothing.

Neville


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## R651400 (Jun 18, 2005)

D'accord Neville. 
Looking at the transcription and listening to the replies to PCH I heard GKR but not a peep from GND. 
I agree that pleasantries such as bibi and cu were totally unheard in the days of "coast station is always the control station." 
Lamentably this even permeated thru to some of the martinet RO1's I came across in my time.


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## hawkey01 (Mar 15, 2006)

Malcolm,

Ah! I had not listen and read the msg together. Will have another listen.

Yes definitely no GCC - only GKR. Also PCH did say BiBi - never heard that before.

Neville


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## R651400 (Jun 18, 2005)

Neville.... GCC (with probably the best 500 kc/s note ever) is there as is DAN, GLD and GKR which is mistakenly down as in the transcription as GND.
There are others, one obviously a coast station and my bet GKZ who acknowledged without call sign.


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## hawkey01 (Mar 15, 2006)

Malcolm,

meant to say no GND, too much vino - again - will need to get back to UK soon to dry out! 

Neville


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## R651400 (Jun 18, 2005)

Ola Nev!!! Viva Espagne!!


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## Tai Pan (Mar 24, 2006)

R651400 said:


> Now that 500 Kc/s is becoming closer to an international amateur heritage frequency some nostalgic and interesting recordings coming out of the woodwork.
> Spot the "deliberate" mistake on PCH's final msg...
> 
> http://www.qsl.net/pa3abk/coasten.htm


Pity nobody answered with a spark tx, that would be the ultimate.


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## 5TT (May 3, 2008)

Yes Tai Pan, that would have been brilliant ... QRI ?


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## Tai Pan (Mar 24, 2006)

5TT said:


> Yes Tai Pan, that would have been brilliant ... QRI ?


Thanks 5TT, have to admit to looking up QRI, memory gone to pot


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## R651400 (Jun 18, 2005)

Almost worth starting another thread. 
Did you ever hear a spark/class B emission, if so when?
I certainly remember my last time before class B emissions were discontinued excepting emergency tfc only.


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## trotterdotpom (Apr 29, 2005)

Can someone please explain what I'm doing wrong? I click on "LaatsteQTC_PCH.mp3" and all I get is an error message. The other ones (eg PCH on 4 mhz, work OK).

John T.


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## Tai Pan (Mar 24, 2006)

trotterdotpom said:


> Can someone please explain what I'm doing wrong? I click on "LaatsteQTC_PCH.mp3" and all I get is an error message. The other ones (eg PCH on 4 mhz, work OK).
> 
> John T.


Nothing. The page is closed. bibi


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## R651400 (Jun 18, 2005)

trotterdotpom said:


> Can someone please explain what I'm doing wrong? I click on "LaatsteQTC_PCH.mp3" and all I get is an error message. The other ones (eg PCH on 4 mhz, work OK).
> John T.


Scroll above Laatste etc where you see *Scheveningenradio 500khz mp3* and click on that.


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## Tai Pan (Mar 24, 2006)

R651400 said:


> Almost worth starting another thread.
> Did you ever hear a spark/class B emission, if so when?
> I certainly remember my last time before class B emissions were discontinued excepting emergency tfc only.


Only ever heard testing with emergency TX. I had the quarter KW emergency tx on a few ships. GLD used to get P*****d off if you tested it. when being B*****xed by him, it usually started up a few more. sent him crazy. nostalgia.


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## ernhelenbarrett (Sep 7, 2006)

Had an emergency Spark set on British Gratitude/MAGQ and found it very useful up the Baltic if you couldnt get thru on the main TX, one call and you had a reply straight away to get you off the air so then switched back to the main tx for the QSO, great stuff
Ern Barrett


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## trotterdotpom (Apr 29, 2005)

R651400 said:


> Scroll above Laatste etc where you see *Scheveningenradio 500khz mp3* and click on that.


Thanks R65 - I can only concur with the other posts. Very fine morse from the sender though - something like my own.

John T.


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## R651400 (Jun 18, 2005)

It was a nice drop of cream JT and obviously hand sent. 
Pity there hadn't been more coast station acknowledgment to enhance the uniqueness of this transmission for posterity.
So be it! Back to the ham bands and nowadays an electronic keyer....


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## Billieboy (May 18, 2009)

Having been out of the shipping loop since November 1994, I hadn't realised that* Poppa Charlie Hotel *had shut down, until I read through the link just now.

I was a regular user of PCH from 1971 to 1994 in the ports of Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Vlissingen and Terneuzen. My use was always VHF in connection with repair jobs, on all sorts of ships, before the availability of the mobile phone.


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## Naytikos (Oct 20, 2008)

Nothing to do with 500 Khz, but as several posts have mentioned PCH I will throw in that Scheveningen was my 2nd favourite station for HF R/T. Any time I couldn't get Bern I would use PCH. They usually ran simultaneous transmitters on two bands 16/22 and 8/12 so one could work cross-band and avoid the usual local break-through. If not busy they would change the set-up and do 16/12 as well. The operators were invariably very heplful.


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## 5TT (May 3, 2008)

What I remember about PCH was that their signal was so audible on 500, on a scheduled container service we'd sail for Rotterdam from Hamburg and for whatever reason there would often be a telegram en-route, PCH would put a call out to us on 500 and I'd hear them clear as a bell above the general racket of the time .. they were also without exception top notch CW operators.
Our morse guy at college was an ex PCH operator, Boendermacker (spelling?), he sent better morse than a machine, at any speed you liked, or as a trainee at speeds you often didn't like .. One of his trade marks in fact was to gradually speed up at the end of a session .. one by one you'd hear the pencils clatter onto the desk and the student sit upright when he did this, phenomenal skill ..

= Adrian +


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## R651400 (Jun 18, 2005)

I think the most distinctive thing about PCH was a very slight note change on initial key down which sadly is missing from the recording. 
Being their country's main marine station I'm sure both PCH, DAN and OST had more powerful MF transmitters than UK coast stations. 
I do remember another German station Elbe-Weser /DAC and of course there was Rugen/DHS which had a cracking note on MF very similar to GCC.


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## Billieboy (May 18, 2009)

I think that the best coversation I had with PCH was sometime in '92 when the girl on the VHF replied to me in Dutch when I called to get a link call, it meant that I had finally perfected a Dutch accent,(or at least, lost my Welsh one!) when speaking Dutch. It had only taken 22years to fool the sharpest ears in the world.


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## mikeg (Aug 24, 2006)

Naytikos said:


> Nothing to do with 500 Khz, but as several posts have mentioned PCH I will throw in that Scheveningen was my 2nd favourite station for HF R/T. Any time I couldn't get Bern I would use PCH. They usually ran simultaneous transmitters on two bands 16/22 and 8/12 so one could work cross-band and avoid the usual local break-through. If not busy they would change the set-up and do 16/12 as well. The operators were invariably very heplful.


PCH always had very efficient operators in my experience on both W/T and R/T. One of my favourite stations. Couldn't help but think the R/T ladies were good looking from their accents (I know, I know, I'd been at sea far too long)
(Flowers)


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## Larry Bennett (Aug 28, 2005)

mikeg said:


> Couldn't help but think the R/T ladies were good looking from their accents (I know, I know, I'd been at sea far too long)
> (Flowers)


Visited PCH a couple of times in the 1980s....most courteous and friendly staff, and indeed the YLs were very pleasant on the eye....

Understand the YLs were employed in the main for R/T working, whilst the blokes handled most of the W/T. However I may have been misinformed or I misunderstood what was told to me. 'Twas a long time ago.....


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## Graham P Powell (Jun 2, 2007)

I always thought the female operator at Moskva Radio sounded nice.....
Never worked them but they created havoc at GKA with interference. One day I got one of Russian linguists to translate but it was all domestic stuff."how are the kids etc". PCH was a good station. They came up on the telex at GKA one evening and asked "if there were any amateurs on duty". The reply was "No,we are all professionals here". They cleared down without saying anymore. Larry and Neville might remember that plus the bosses comments to Bern Radio re Toblerone and Cuckoo clocks....
rgds
Graham Powell


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## Rhodri Mawr (Jul 6, 2008)

Having just listened to the final morse TX of PCH, boy did that bring back some memories. Must have worked him hundreds of times on both 500 and HF over the years. My early recollections of PCH was when I first went to sea in 1966 - very first sea passage was Cardiff to Amsterdam. The general babble on 500 in those days had to be heard to be believed, but through it all, PCH would dominate the signals all down the English Channel. Terrific signal.

Cheers
Rhodri


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## G4UMW (May 30, 2007)

mikeg said:


> Couldn't help but think the R/T ladies were good looking from their accents (I know, I know, I'd been at sea far too long)
> (Flowers)


The general concensus in the aviation industry is that a female controller who sounds good over the radio either has a face like a bag of spanners or requires two chairs to ensure adequate support when seated. 

Rule of thumb: "Sounds good on the phone... add three stone!"


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## Billieboy (May 18, 2009)

G4UMW said:


> The general concensus in the aviation industry is that a female controller who sounds good over the radio either has a face like a bag of spanners or requires two chairs to ensure adequate support when seated.
> 
> Rule of thumb: "Sounds good on the phone... add three stone!"


I can assure all readers, that the foregoing statement, does *NOT* apply to those at PCH!


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## mikeg (Aug 24, 2006)

I was very glad to hear that about PCH.
Talking about the aviation industry, I've attached a picture of Patricia Gross, an Airbus A321-200 pilot.


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## 5TT (May 3, 2008)

Does she sound alright on the phone Mike?


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## mikeg (Aug 24, 2006)

5TT, She sounds good. Patricia is in the RH seat:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZ6FbOK8mUE


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## Naytikos (Oct 20, 2008)

Does she give instruction on the side?


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## Billieboy (May 18, 2009)

Naytikos said:


> Does she give instruction on the side?


Which side would that be then?


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## mikeg (Aug 24, 2006)

Naytikos said:


> Does she give instruction on the side?


Join the queue B\)


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## wireless man (Jun 16, 2008)

My F/Os weren't like that


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