# The RN's perspective on GBTT's radio station



## Troppo (Feb 18, 2010)

Hello all

Came across a fascinating report from the RN signal school on a visit to the original GBTT radio station in the 30's.

The report goes into detail on the equipment, and includes a very good antenna plan.


http://www.godfreydykes.info/THE%20LINER%20RMS%20QUEEN%20%20MARY%20AUGUST%201936.htm


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## Wismajorvik (Dec 29, 2011)

Fascinating! Familiar with sideband inversion in the days of A3 but the 'wobbler' is intriguing.
LF was before my time but remember an R/O ex Highland boat saying that the LF transmission use to modulate the ship's lighting.


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## Troppo (Feb 18, 2010)

Wismajorvik said:


> Fascinating! Familiar with sideband inversion in the days of A3 but the 'wobbler' is intriguing.
> LF was before my time but remember an R/O ex Highland boat saying that the LF transmission use to modulate the ship's lighting.


She certainly had a serious LF antenna!

I would be very interested to hear from any GBTT R/O's on how LF performed...imagine it must have been very strong at night all the way across the pond....

From memory, the LF tx antenna was removed after WW2?


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## Roger Bentley (Nov 15, 2005)

On another thread I mentioned that when on the Bibby Liner Cheshire she had a Marconi 386A MF/LF tx, this had been fitted when she was an armed mercant cruiser in WW2. On the 12-4 in the Med in 1951 I called on 143kHz and was answered immediately by Portishead and cleared the traffic on one of the working frequencies in the 120KHz range. Our main aerial was quite short and weather conditions were very dry at the time. I never tried it again! Cheers, Roger


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## Graham P Powell (Jun 2, 2007)

My understanding is that the GKA was situated where it was in order to work the Queens on LF. The one I do remember the old boys talking about working was KJEH. King Jig Easy How known to us as the United States. Very slick operators apparently. rgds
Graham Powell


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## IAN M (Jan 17, 2009)

From 1954 till 1956, I worked at Portishead Radio Station which was located at Highbridge, in Somerset, and not at Portishead, although that was where the transmitters were. I worked both GBTT and KJEH (fast operators who used a bug key), but never on LF. 

The following is an extract from my Kindle book, LAST VOYAGE AND BEYOND in which I describe the work at Portishead and Wick.

"There was also a long wave frequency available at, I believe, 2 o'clock in the morning. I seem to remember having to ask Criccieth for the use of the transmitter and then sending a CQ (all stations) with QRU? (Have you anything for me?) By the fifties, I think this was an anachronism although I believe vessels up the Amazon, perhaps Royal Mail, used to use it."

I would seem that Roger chanced to make use of this facility.


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## Coastie (Aug 24, 2005)

Ian, why Criccieth? Do you mean a ship by that name or was there a tx sited on the Lleyn? (Mynydd Rhiw?)


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## IAN M (Jan 17, 2009)

Coastie

Yes, on the Lleyn.

Ian


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## Coastie (Aug 24, 2005)

Many thanks Ian.


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## Ian Beattie (Mar 28, 2013)

The use of LF must have required a quite serious amount of juice going up the spout but there again I doubt if there would be very much interference either but you need a big boat for the aerial array. Just an extremely interesting post and thank you.

___________________

useeimbutunotseeim Bass


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## c.m.Duncan (Mar 24, 2007)

The ship survives. Is any of the radio equipment still to the fore? A museum perhaps.

C.M.Duncan


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## IMRCoSparks (Aug 22, 2008)

When I first visited GBTT in Long Beach I was saddened to see that both the radio room and aft transmitting unit had both been totally gutted to make way for new exhibits.

There is a functioning amateur radio facility up on the sun deck (with portholes) , callsign W6RO. This is is nowhere near the original radio room (inboard - no portholes!) Some original IMR equipment is on show, up on the top shelf.

L-R in the photo - a Mackay TRF 500 khz Rx (very sensitive). An AirMech Rx, used for relaying BBC & VOA broadcasts through to the public rooms.
Over on the right is a 2mhz bridge R/T and on the far right, I think, is an emergency battery charging unit. No sure about the middle equipment.
The other photo shows an IMR 54 Rx, the IMR workhorse Rx of the 50's&60's.
All R/O's had to eat lots of spinach to gather the strength to change the wave bands on that sucker.
Absolutely no transmitting equipment remains.
No LF was used in 1961 when I was there.
Ken


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## Troppo (Feb 18, 2010)

Thanks.

I remember the Japanese coast stations used to run wx on 44 kHz in the 80s.

LF is fascinating. I often listen to R4 on 198 when I am in the UK (or Europe), just for the hell of it.


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## Robinj (Jul 20, 2005)

IMRCoSparks said:


> When I first visited GBTT in Long Beach I was saddened to see that both the radio room and aft transmitting unit had both been totally gutted to make way for new exhibits.
> 
> There is a functioning amateur radio facility up on the sun deck (with portholes) , callsign W6RO. This is is nowhere near the original radio room (inboard - no portholes!) Some original IMR equipment is on show, up on the top shelf.
> 
> ...


Remember the Old IMR54. Fitted on almost all the ships I sailed. Once the linkage on the waveband changer broke and was a bugger to fix.


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