# How did we manage it?



## William Clark8 (Feb 15, 2013)

How were we able to hump our Music Machines of Yesteryear
around from ship to ship? I had a Halicrafter Radio and a Grundig
Reel to Reel Tape-recorder plus Tapes to lug around (as wall as usual
personal gear) for our Musical entertainment. To keep in contact with folks at home it was either by Letter or via Ship to Shore Radio
or Telegram. There was also to chance of seeing Movies on some
Ships. Nowadays you can sit on the Poop Deck and with wee Gadget
that you can use to do absolutely everything. Play music, take photos that you can send to anyone anywhere as well as look at who you are talking to and a lot more all on a Gadget that is the size of a
Credit Card. (==D)(==D)


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## paisleymerchant (Mar 15, 2007)

With Difficulty though that was all part of the experience !!


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## Farmer John (Feb 22, 2012)

When did electricity get really common for running consumer electrics? The most modern ship I sailed on was the Glenogle, everything was battery powered for entertainment, that was about 1966 or so.


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## RayL (Apr 16, 2008)

In 1966 I invested in a small, battery-powered, reel-to-reel Philips tape recorder to both provide me with entertainment in my cabin and also give me the ability of re-listening to difficult messages in the Radio Room and thus not cause a delay to their issue. It served me brilliantly in both roles.

It was during that same voyage that I first clapped eyes on the new technology that would eventually replace reel-to-reel tape recorders -- the audiocassette. It came as a surprise to me because I hadn't seen the development coming. Neither was I impressed by it for I used to enjoy setting the tape in place on the spool and couldn't see why an audiocassette should be considered superior to reel-to-reel.


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## Bill Morrison (May 25, 2013)

I still have my reel to reel a Sony TC 230 I struggle to lift it these days. I was lucky that the ships I sail on had AC 50 cycles. It was not the joining of a ship that caused problems but leaving with all the bits and pieces acquired. Presents for family ect. and a case of N.Z. apples plus your gear. Taxi to the station and if there was more than yourself going home on the same train you shared the moving of your luggage getting tickets ect. and hoped the train was not over crowded and you got a seat. Ah happy days!


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## RayL (Apr 16, 2008)

After the leisurely pace of the ship's propulsion, I remember being shocked by the mad speed of the express train as it dashed from Euston to Liverpool.


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## Farmer John (Feb 22, 2012)

RayL said:


> After the leisurely pace of the ship's propulsion, I remember being shocked by the mad speed of the express train as it dashed from Euston to Liverpool.


I remember being driven over the roads on Ilkley moor, I was grabbing the dashboard when we went down hills, I did not feel safe.


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## Ron Stringer (Mar 15, 2005)

Farmer John said:


> When did electricity get really common for running consumer electrics? The most modern ship I sailed on was the Glenogle, everything was battery powered for entertainment, that was about 1966 or so.



I was only at sea during the first part of the 1960s but never sailed on a ship without mains electricity in the accommodation and at least one socket in each cabin. Mind you some of them had 110V or 220V DC, the others had 115V or 230V AC, but none had to rely on battery supplies. Lucky because my Eddystone S870A receiver needed at least 110V (irrespective whether or not it was DC or AC and regardless whether the frequency was 50Hz or 60Hz); it dealt with the higher voltages by means of a big dropping resistor, which produced some unwelcome heat up the Gulf or anchored at Chalna!


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## Freo (Nov 4, 2005)

Still got my SANYO Solid State Stereo Music Centre, which has 2 speakers, that clipped on as covers, and made into what looked like an attache case. It has a combined radio FM/SW & AM, cassette player and record player. Cant remember where I bought it, but it must be nearly 50 years old by now. Got it rigged up in the workshop at present. Made it much easier to lug around, as well as all the other gear I had.


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## Split (Jun 25, 2006)

I must say that I get quite surprised by some of the comments made by posters. I sailed mainly in Forts and t2s. We had electric points in all cabins. These were WW2 built ships. But, even, one German WW2 built ship had that amenity. Perhaps. I am missing something.

My first radio was a Halicrafter, but it developed a shriek in the speaker system. Fortunately, I was able to sell it to Sparks, who seemed confident that it was fixable. My second radio was a Pye Cambridge. I took that all over the place and, when I was on leave, it developed a fault. I took it to the repair shop and he dropped it off the workbench, breaking the plastic cabinet. Apologising. profusely, he put it back into the later model wood cabinet. It served me well until I sold that for a transistor.


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## ART6 (Sep 14, 2010)

Being an engineer on tankers I never had time to listen to music in my cabin, so I never owned anything that would play it. Generally, we had a gramophone thing in the smoke room that would play the old vinyl 78s that had more sea time in than any of us did. On my first trip the fleet commodore chief engineer was obsessive about Gilbert and Sullivan, and that was all he would permit to be played. We were all required to sing along while pretending to be merry gentlemen or the epitomes of major generals. Some of the more rebellious souls earned field days by inventing their own words for the songs!

It must have been nice to be a sparky, with nothing more to do each day than listen to music and bronzy on the fiddly deck. Clearly, my original ambitions were misplaced! (Jester)


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## johnvvc (Feb 8, 2008)

Interesting how many of us had similar bits and pieces that we lugged from one ship to the next.

I had a big Elizabethan open reel recorder with a selection of 7" tapes. That required a nominal 240 volts ac. I also lugged around a dc to ac convertor made I seem to remember by Valradio. It had loads of valves and occasionally, presumably when it was being overloaded the anodes would glow a lovely cherry red!!! I think it was later that I bought a record player, similar to the one someone mentioned earlier with two clip on speakers, probably a Sanyo. Some of the records I bought in Hong Kong came in different colours, I remember a red one though I can't remember what the artists were.

For the BBC and any interesting local broadcasts I also had a Hallicrafter, it may have been an SX27, can't remember. What I do remember is that it was a 110 volt model so on 240 volt ships I had a 40 watt mains lamp in series with the supply to knock it down to ~110.

I also remember lugging around a very impressive looking Eddystone 840C, can't remember whether it was before or after the Hallicrafters. Most of the crew had the usual ac/dc multiband Pye radios and they performed much better.

Would have been so much easier with just a small tablet or netbook...


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## William Clark8 (Feb 15, 2013)

*50 /60 Cycles*



Bill Morrison said:


> I still have my reel to reel a Sony TC 230 I struggle to lift it these days. I was lucky that the ships I sail on had AC 50 cycles. It was not the joining of a ship that caused problems but leaving with all the bits and pieces acquired. Presents for family ect. and a case of N.Z. apples plus your gear. Taxi to the station and if there was more than yourself going home on the same train you shared the moving of your luggage getting tickets ect. and hoped the train was not over crowded and you got a seat. Ah happy days!


I had a Tape recorder that had a Wee Wheel that you could turn
over and this gave you what you wanted. It had two diameters so
speed could be varied(==D)


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## doxfordsix (Apr 2, 2012)

*Hallicrafters at sea*

I bought a Hallicrafters in New York in 1959. Grey steel cabinet with two Civil Defence (CD) spots in case the Bomb came! Went all over the world with me and never failed. Favourite prog Voice of America Tangier with the Jazz Hour with Willis B Connover. Still have it,still worksl' Regards Doxfordsix


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