# British coast stations – greatest distance heard or worked (?)



## Worldspan

What’s the greatest distance over which anyone ever heard/worked a British coast station?

W


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## lakercapt

Worked Port Patrick GPK on r/t call from Medi round Sicily at night. MF 1883


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## Troppo

On HF?

Australia....easy in the afternoon on 12 or 8 at dusk.

Surely you mean MF...?


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## Ron Stringer

I'm sure it's no record but I worked an MF link call through GPK when near the Equator en-route UK-Lobito or Luanda. In a direct North-South direction, GPK's signal was often booming in. (I'm sure the ED guys on the site will have had the same experience).

Not sure how good things were at his end, from my Oceanspan!

Another regular was GNI in the Northern Med, although in the Gulf of Lyons the distance was not so far by the direct route across France.


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## Larry Bennett

Can't speak for the MF stations as I never worked at any, but as far as HF is concerned had plenty of cw contacts from GKA on 4 MHz off the Australian Coast (early morning UK time) and quite a few RT calls (QRK5) on 8 MHz at a similar time. If conditions allowed then we could handle quite a bit of traffic from the Australia/NZ area on 8/12 MHz during the morning.

The Polar path to Japan was often quite good mid-morning too, signals coming in from a NNE direction.

The only really poor area which GKA struggled to reach was the Pacific Coast of North America - can't recall very many contacts from that part of the world, although that isn't to say communication wasn't possible. 

Larry +


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## SparksG1714

From south of Malta into Niton on 2MHz (early morning Oceanspan V) And from south of Cuba into Pottyhead on 4MHz in the morning -- O'span VII without HF r/t so doubling 2009kHz in the buffer: must've been all of 10watts!


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## Tony Selman

Whilst I have been having a good think about this several others have beaten me, so I withdraw! As an aside for a long distance signal on MF so to speak. When I was on Matra anchored off Colombo for 6 weeks in 1964 one of the deck officers had his radio on the bridge and regularly listened to Radio Luxembourg. That's a long way when you consider that reception in the UK wasn't all that good in some parts.


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## NoMoss

Ron Stringer said:


> I'm sure it's no record but I worked an MF link call through GPK when near the Equator en-route UK-Lobito or Luanda. In a direct North-South direction, GPK's signal was often booming in. (I'm sure the ED guys on the site will have had the same experience).
> 
> Not sure how good things were at his end, from my Oceanspan!
> 
> Another regular was GNI in the Northern Med, although in the Gulf of Lyons the distance was not so far by the direct route across France.


On my last watch at GNI I connected an MF R/T call from the Med - was it you? (That would have been about 1978)


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## Worldspan

*MF dx ...*

Thanks for the interesting replies ... just to confirm, I did mean UK coast stations on MF.

I once met a former R/O from the French MN and told him about our Area Scheme. He knew nothing about this and told me that he had no option but to use FFL. But his was years ago and well before the break up of the French colonial empire - perhaps as a last resort, and at additional cost, they were able to send via coast stations in French possessions overseas. (?)

It was interesting to meet R/Os from other countries and compare notes. I went aboard a big Italian liner (Roma?) in Sydney and was given a great welcome with lunch and a tour of the radio room.

W


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## Worldspan

Not sure how we differentiated between the RT band around 2182 and the CW band between 410 (?) and 512. Were they both categorised as MF?

But for the purposes of my initial posting, I mean on CW around 500 kcs.

W


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## sparkie2182

I think we assumed that Worldspan.

TY.


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## Worldspan

*Radio Luxembourg in Colombo ...*

Further to Tony's posting ... I'm pretty sure that Luxembourg also put out their English language programmes on the 49 metre band.

W


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## david.hopcroft

GM4BES at GPK will tell you that he once worked an RAF Hercules on the ground at Port Stanley in the Falklands. It was well known that GPK had a prodigious north-south range at night on 2mhz.

Personally, on nights at GKZ, I have worked coasters into the Western Med. Some would call IDC on 2182 and listen for his reply on 2684khz. When they didn't get an answer, I would bring up the old trusty GPO W5 DSB transmitter on our working freq of 2684 and work them fine. The Coast Radio MF receive aerial system did though have 'notches' especially on 2182, but also on our allocated RT receives of Ch's 3,4 & 6 (2104, 2111 and 2534) Also worked a VLCC off Malta once. 

David
+


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## Ron Stringer

R651400 said:


> Biggest "pain in the posterior" were the Spanish fishermen calling Gijon radio.
> 
> Gijon or Gihon twenty times then Gijon Radio that used to trip GND's R/T auto alarm on many an occasion...


I'd forgotten about them. I used to think it sounded like donkeys - hee haw, hee haw, hee haw. Memory is a peculiar thing.


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## sparkie2182

Was it Dakar that sounded like a gravel crusher?


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## Mayday

We could quite often hear KPH and KFS from the South Pacific a couple of days East of Kiwi at night. Tried to QSO a couple of time with no reply.

Jmac.


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## Ron Stringer

Worldspan said:


> ... on CW around 500 kcs.
> 
> W


Tut, tut. Regulations said that only MCW should be used on 500 kHz, although both CW and MCW were permitted on the other 405 - 525 kHz marine frequencies. In regulatory terms, MF is 300 kHz to 3 MHz but in the marine radio world, MF was always taken to refer to the marine W/T band, whereas the marine R/T (1605 kHz - 3.8 MHz) frequencies were referred to as "I.F."

The ITU described 3 - 30 kHz as VLF; 30 - 300 kHz as LF; 300 kHz - 3 MHz as MF; 3 - 30 MHz as HF; 30 - 300 MHz as VHF, 300 - 3,000 MHz as UHF; 3,000 MHz - 30,000 MHZ as SHF. I never got involved with anything higher than that!


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## King Ratt

Graham Mercer told me while he was at GPK that he had worked ships in the Pacific via the greyline. GPK working freq 1883 Khz and the ship on one of the 2 meg channels.


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## jimg0nxx

Amateur operators regularly work the world using greyline on the 160m band. I myself have worked Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica, Japan, all over Africa, Alaska and west coast USA, Southeast Asia and many others. All this on a freq around 1830 KHz with a Tx power of about 400w to a 1/4 wave long wire aerial.

Jim


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## Steven Lamb

16 Mhz R/T from Eastern Roads S'pore to Portishead at around 1800 hrs local on a good clear night over there.
Cape York Northern Aussie 8 Mhz W/T GKB but not for a great length of time.
Think I once had Wick on his 8 Mhz W/T freq from off Taiwan heading north to Japan around 2100 / 2200 hrs local - it wasn't sparkling as there was another stronger station nearby causing QRM.

Memorable days
Rgds / 73's
Lamby


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## trotterdotpom

sparkie2182 said:


> Was it Dakar that sounded like a gravel crusher?


6VA? I think so.

John T


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## trotterdotpom

Ron Stringer said:


> Tut, tut. Regulations said that only MCW should be used on 500 kHz, although both CW and MCW were permitted on the other 405 - 525 kHz marine frequencies. In regulatory terms, MF is 300 kHz to 3 MHz but in the marine radio world, MF was always taken to refer to the marine W/T band, whereas the marine R/T (1605 kHz - 3.8 MHz) frequencies were referred to as "I.F."
> 
> The ITU described 3 - 30 kHz as VLF; 30 - 300 kHz as LF; 300 kHz - 3 MHz as MF; 3 - 30 MHz as HF; 30 - 300 MHz as VHF, 300 - 3,000 MHz as UHF; 3,000 MHz - 30,000 MHZ as SHF. I never got involved with anything higher than that!


Got to be worth ten points there, Ron. Where are the Modulators when you want one?

John T


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## Troppo

Mayday said:


> We could quite often hear KPH and KFS from the South Pacific a couple of days East of Kiwi at night. Tried to QSO a couple of time with no reply.
> 
> Jmac.



They used to run 10 kW tx'ers on MF.....

Aussie coast stations ran about 1.5 kW on MF.


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## Tony Selman

Dakar Radio was certainly FGA in the mid 50's according to the List of Coast and Ship Stations for the year that I have. It will almost certainly have changed to 6VA after independence in 1960.


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## Allan Pugh

*Long Distance QSO's*

Frequently worked GPK at night from West Africa as far South as Lobito. Good strong commercial calls on I/F - often put through half a dozen calls. Also worked him from Rio Grande de Sol, Southern Brazil.

Allan Pugh Former R/O Ocean Fleets


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## J. Davies

worked Portishead from the Antarctic at 67 deg South, ( north of Commonwealth Bay, south of New Zealand), on 12 MHz. The operator had to ask my position twice because he thought he had misheard me first time. I was on MS Lindblad Explorer 1982.
The vessel sank on the other side of the Antarctic about five years ago, after she had been through a couple of name-changes. She was last known as simply Explorer. A famous passenger ship.


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## trotterdotpom

Remember seeing Lindblad Explorer in Sembewang, Singapore, in the mid-80s. An impressive looking little ship, sorry to hear about her demise.

It's no big deal communicating by HF all over the place. Initially I had all sorts of bother, probably because I didn't have a real "trainee" period (as much my fault as anyone else's). Eventually, I sat myself down, gave myself an uppercut, re-thought all the "propagation theory" I'd been taught and, before I knew it, the world was my oyster.

Pick your time, choose your frequency and you can almost talk to anyone you want. Sometimes I had to get up in the middle of the night, but what the hell, it wasn't all beer and skittles, just most of it.

John T


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## Pat Kennedy

Tony Selman said:


> Whilst I have been having a good think about this several others have beaten me, so I withdraw! As an aside for a long distance signal on MF so to speak. When I was on Matra anchored off Colombo for 6 weeks in 1964 one of the deck officers had his radio on the bridge and regularly listened to Radio Luxembourg. That's a long way when you consider that reception in the UK wasn't all that good in some parts.


I picked up a snatch of Radio Luxembourg on the recreation room radiogram one morning in Kobe. Didn't half feel homesick, it was my first trip!

Pat(Thumb)


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## johnvvc

*Mf Dx...*

> What’s the greatest distance over which anyone ever heard/worked a British coast station? <

Used to hear lots of distant stations when I worked the night shifts at GLV, seem to remember VWB as probably being the furthest I heard. We used to exchange Xmas greetings with a couple of Canadian Coast Stations on 2 Mc/s R/T regularly in the wee small hours, obviously with good signals both ways.

GLV also apparently was in 2 Mc/s R/T contact with a British ship down on the West African Coast. This happened before I worked there. The ship had been impounded or was in some sort of bother and the authorities would not allow her to sail and we apparently were the only link between her and the owners back in the UK. Headquarters (Post Office that is) apparently wanted the whole thing kept quiet as there could have been repurcussions so it was not generally discussed and I never found out more about it.

Whilst at sea and running around the Baltic I met an amateur operator who worked at TingstadeRadio SAE and later when I started working at GLV we used to have skeds when we were on nights. Obviously easy enough as the distance was minimal and we both ran reasonable power. 

Also used to work GND regularly from the northeastern Baltic in the evenings when I was on - was it the Susan Constant... Quick call 'just' as the the silence period was ending always did the trick - well with an old CR300 and a Reliance you sometimes have to bend the rules just a bit...

Agree entirely with jimg0nxx - I've worked VK on 2 Mc/s on a number of ocassions running reasonably low power and a 'very' inefficient antenna so none of the above is exactly Guiness Book of Records stuff - combination of right time and right frequency and with a bit of propagation and the world's your oyster...

Happy days.


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## rmwilton

When I was an RO at GLD in the early 70s, we used to hear all sorts of stations on 500 during the night, and occasionally call them to say hello - WCC, WSL, EAL, EAT and some Caribbean stations whose callsigns I've forgotten. The best distance I ever reached was when I called an Esso tanker on 500 with a QTC - some time later, GKA came through on the teleprinter to say the ship was working them - he was off South Africa and had heard my call. In those days, GLD had a 5kw transmitter on WT, the usual coast station 1kw W5 transmitter plus a 5kw amplifier. We younger ones, in those long-gone days, used to turn the MCW tone down to about 650 Hz, instead of the usual 1 kHz, so the station had a nice deep distinctive tone.
The champion dx station though was, as has already been said, Portpatrick, especially when Graham was on - which was most of the time!


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## Moulder

...... and hearing that distinctive MCW tone at night was all part of 'coming home' and getting the 'channels'. Obviously we suc***bed to the 'channels' many days before the rest of the crew! (==D)

(Thumb)


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## Naytikos

I disliked MF working and avoided it unless there was no alternative. That said, I once modified an ST1400 on a Niarchos tanker to vastly increase the power output on both MF W/T and R/T.
Just for the hell of it, crossing the equator one day around 0200Z, I called ZSC and then GPK and managed to get a response from them both. This was at a sunspot minimum. I heard GNI as well, but he didn't answer.


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## PeterY

On my first ship, Aramac (E&A) 1965, as 3R/O at night/early morning you could hear all the coast station in the Pacific rim. This was that the time that XSG would quote the thoughts of chairman Mao during the silence periods. The language you would hear after the SP - well my mother would blush. Later on in my sea going time late 70's was on the ACT box boats to Australia - round world cruise - we had a ST1400 main tx and just to prove a point one trip I only used half power on HF - used to work GKA no problems from any where - usually at the end of the QRY turn list. My best effort was working VIS on R/T calls going up the Thames on 12 MHz in the early morning. Its not the power you have but how you use it.


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## rusty1946

When I worked at GPK use to work ships frequently on the west coast of Africa on 1883, Graham and I used to see who could get the furthest ship on W/T


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## lakercapt

Portpatrick would appear to be the winner if we are talking about R/T as opposed to W/T.


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## Shannoner

lakercapt said:


> Portpatrick would appear to be the winner if we are talking about R/T as opposed to W/T.


What was it about GPK that enabled them to do it?


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## Ron Stringer

I'm sure that they'll tell us it was the skill of the GPK operators. [=P]


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## rusty1946

Of course it was Ron lol......


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## Rhodri Mawr

The furthest I achieved with the humble Oceanspan (some would say Puddlespan) on 500 kHz was TUA (Abidjan West Africa) from just south of the Equator. Nothing special in that you may say, but in the evening of the same day, I achieved Walvis Bay (ZSV - Namibia). Both contacts to dispose of OBS messages. With a decent "T" aerial the Oceanspan was a good little transmitter.

On King Alfred/GYVG, I sailed with the best MF/HF equipment I ever came across. Norwegian Elektrisk Bureau (EB) gear with an "L" antenna with some decent height on the down haul. From mid Pacific between Chile and Japan, during the final 2-hour watch period of the day, San Francisco (both KPH and KFS), Choshi Japan (JCS), ZLA (Auckland NZ), and VID (Darwin Aussie) would blast through. Tried calling KPH with QRU? from just south of Hawaii (just to try it on) and received answer first time.

Without actually attempting a contact, it was not unusual to hear OST (Oostende) and WCC (Chatham USA) when rounding the Cape of Good Hope, South Africa, when keeping the 4-8 watch on Windsor Castle. I even heard WCC on the Marconi Alert receiver (usually known as the ghetto blaster) when on 4-8 watch in the Meddy. Nobody has ever believed me about that final one - I wonder why??[=D]

Cheers
Rhodri


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## david freeman

Worldspan said:


> What’s the greatest distance over which anyone ever heard/worked a British coast station?
> 
> W


Being a grease monkey, I heard tails/tales. My father in law in the Rn-Wireless operator early in the morning in the 30/40's could hear and commincate with Porttishead, instead of the local admiralty stations, while stationed of Hongkong in the China station. Talking as a listener of radio the BBC light programme in the 60's I could pick up on my own cabin aerial after 2200hours until about 0300 hours off CYprus-Does this count?


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## tyrol

*M/f*

We were sailing from Aussi to Europe, in 1980, south great circle, away south near Heard Isl, heard nothing on M/F for days, all traffic through HF. Then one night up comes 9VG with his traffic on 500. I called him out of curiosity and he came back so I sent him the OBS. He asked me to resend the first two groups, nobody ever sent him an OBS from 3000 miles away!
Thats my record.
Tom (ex-Sealnes)


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## RayL

As others have noted, communicating to the other side of the planet via sky wave by careful choice of frequency and time of day, was a normal and almost everyday practise, and I have elsewhere described how I blearily turned on the transmitter before breakfast when my ship was at anchor off Adelaide. GKA in Somerset picked up my very first call on 8MHz, which was far from my previous experiences in calling that station.

MF has been mentioned, and I do recall my night's sleep being disturbed by the auto-alarm on one or two occasions when distress episodes were taking place in the North Sea - and we were far away in the Eastern Med. Thus there must have been occasions when the conditions in the ionosphere enabled even those frequencies to go sky wave.


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## Clive Knott

Whilst on 500 at GLD we received a telex from Perth/VIP to say he had just heard us on 500 Khz.

In order to annoy a certain well known colleague at GPK (who never missed a trick) I conjured a fake reply suggesting I was having a two-way QSO with VIP - although in truth I had heard nothing from him.


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## hawkey01

Clive,

that was very mischievous. Poor Graham would have been beside himself with that QSO!

Neville - Hawkey01


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## Troppo

Clive Knott said:


> Whilst on 500 at GLD we received a telex from Perth/VIP to say he had just heard us on 500 Khz.


Now, that IS impressive.


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## rusty1946

Clive

I dont think my co worker Graham at GPK would forgive you for that lol


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## Worldspan

Clive Knott said:


> Whilst on 500 at GLD we received a telex from Perth/VIP to say he had just heard us on 500 Khz.


That's quite remarkable, even for a coast station with good aerials and QRO. I wonder what kind of propagation it could have been.

W


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## Ron Stringer

Clive Knott said:


> In order to annoy a certain well known colleague at GPK (who never missed a trick) I conjured a fake reply suggesting I was having a two-way QSO with VIP - although in truth I had heard nothing from him.


Not very surprising - after all it was almost impossible to raise GLD from just off Ushant! [=P]


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## Clive123

*GLV from Hudson's Bay*

Spoke to a buddy who worked Anglesearadio on MF from Churchill Manitoba & I regularly heard European stations at night from the western atlantic and even southern carribean (Guyana) if the static wasn't too bad. Portishead's traffic lists on 1.6 was also a favourite nighttime station.


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## johnvvc

Clive123 - thanks for that interesting little story - we did have our moments !!! Must ask my old mate Gareth who also worked there, could well have been him.

(presumably Graham at GPK was off duty at the time... )

John
(ex-GLV)


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## Clive123

*G L V*

John, I had a soft spot for your station. I wheedled an invitation to visit circa 1966 when I was a student at Riversdale Tech and made the trip by train and bus from my home town in Crewe. I was made very welcome and enjoyed my day out. Additionally GLV was the first station I worked on my initial trip out of Birkenhead on GHPB (Booker Venture). 
73


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## johnvvc

*AngleseyRadio GLV*

Hi Clive,

I was at GLV from ~late 1966 onwards so I may even have met you... We used to get a few visitors, often prospective R/O's, either singly or ocassionally by the car load organised via one of the Colleges.

Have a look at this link:-

http://www.coastalradio.org.uk/ukstations/anglesey/anglesey.html

There are three pictures there but only two of them are of Anglesey Radio - the one with a number of people 'is' GLV but the other one I suspect is maybe GIL, the window frames are different. John Harris the Officer in Charge (OC) is on the right in the photograph, facing the camera.

The Eddystone EC958 was fitted after I left, we had the old Marconi Mercury when I was there.

Incidentally unlike any of the other UK Coast Stations Anglesey Radio is still on the air - it was bought by a guy who subsequently got an Amateur Licence ! Actually he got GLV as suffix so GLV lives on ! (LOL)

Happy days really...

Take care Clive and thanks for posting, 

73's de
gw3vvc


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## Shipbuilder

When I was 3rd on the Cape Mail liner_ S.A. Orange_ ex _Pretoria Castle_ in 1968, the 2nd R/0 who had once worked at GPK was often in the habit of contacting them between 0400 & 0800 at very long distances. On one occasion, the extra 2nd mate was in the radio room during one of the R/T IF QSOs heard the 2nd (not being recognised at his beloved GPK) stating something like "You must remember me - Duck!" Of course from that moment on, he became "Duck" aboard the _S.A. Orange _as well! Wonder if anyone remembers him?
Bob


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## sparks69

I once heard GLD from the southern Indian ocean. Then discovered my clever junior R/O had a tape recorder......................


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## Troppo

johnvvc said:


> Incidentally unlike any of the other UK Coast Stations Anglesey Radio is still on the air - it was bought by a guy who subsequently got an Amateur Licence ! Actually he got GLV as suffix so GLV lives on ! (LOL)


Same with VIA Adelaide Radio.


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## Bob Davies

*Long distance*



Worldspan said:


> What’s the greatest distance over which anyone ever heard/worked a British coast station?
> 
> W


I once worked Landsend radio on VHF ch16 from the middle of the Persian Gulf and was promptly told to shut up - he was working a distress.

Bob


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## Scotsnomad

Use Portishead a few times, once from the South Atlantic after our ship had left Rio. Tuned up the RN equipment called Portishead and told your second in line.....Turned out the ship in front was the QE 2 with stacks of cued calls......totally miffed !!!(Jester)


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## Ron Stringer

Worldspan said:


> That's quite remarkable, even for a coast station with good aerials and QRO. I wonder what kind of propagation it could have been.
> 
> W


Worldspan,

You may be interested to know that the lead design engineer on the Marconi "Worldspan" transmitter - Charles Burnham - is still alive and active, living in a village near Chelmsford. He also worked on a number of other transmitters using high-power wideband amplifiers (RN members may recall ICS) and was the head of the Marine Development Unit which, throughout the 1960s and 1970s, was responsible for designing MIMCo's communications equipment including, among many other products, the "Lodestar" automatic D/F, "Apollo" (and the "Pennant") receivers and transmitters such as "Crusader" and the "Commander"/"Commandant" and "Conqueror" ranges.

I hope to see him on 23 June 2012 at the Chelmsford Sandford Mill Museum, where they are having Special Open Day to celebrate the centenary of the opening of Guglielmo Marconi's factory at New Street and the Titanic centenary.


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## Varley

Ron,

Sailed with Globespan, never heard of Worldspan. Any chance of a photo ID?

David V


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## Ron Stringer

Varley said:


> Ron,
> 
> Sailed with Globespan, never heard of Worldspan. Any chance of a photo ID?
> 
> David V


Worldspan was something like an "Oceanspan I" plus an equally-sized wide-band power amplifier unit mounted alongside and fixed to it. The two together made a fearsome beast and, since the combination was earthed only by 7/.029 copper cable (standard practice at the time), the amount of RF floating about the chassis was near deadly. Almost everything metal within the radio room was "live" with induced RF and I have it on good authority that even the headphone cable had to be kept away from contact with your skin or you suffered burns. A problem in the non-aircon radio rooms of the time where it was common to wear only shorts or a towel.

I don't have any photos to hand although I have some old Marconi Mariner magazines that may have one. Problem with those magazine photos was that they were printed in a process that makes scanned copies look like pointillism.


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## RayJordandpo

Working as mate on an anchor handling tug in Argentina (close to Rio Gallegos) in the eighties. We had no RO so every evening at about 1900 local time I would give Portishead radio a call. It was more of a formality than anything else as I never heard a peep from them after weeks of trying. I got the shock of my life one day when they replied as clear as a bell. For the life of me I can't remember what frequency I used or even the model of the radio although I do know it was a Marconi set.


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## trotterdotpom

RayJordandpo said:


> Working as mate on an anchor handling tug in Argentina (close to Rio Gallegos) in the eighties. We had no RO so every evening at about 1900 local time I would give Portishead radio a call. It was more of a formality than anything else as I never heard a peep from them after weeks of trying. I got the shock of my life one day when they replied as clear as a bell. For the life of me I can't remember what frequency I used or even the model of the radio although I do know it was a Marconi set.


What a pity you never had an RO, you probably could have had a chat every night.

John T.


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## trotterdotpom

Ron Stringer said:


> Worldspan was something like an "Oceanspan I" plus an equally-sized power amplifier unit mounted alongside and fixed to it. The two together made a fearsome beast and, since the combination was earthed only by 7/.029 copper cable (standard practice at the time), the amount of RF floating about the chassis was near deadly. Almost everything metal within the radio room was "live" with induced RF and I have it on good authority that even the headphone cable had to be kept away from contact with your skin or you suffered burns. A problem in the non-aircon radio rooms of the time where it was common to wear only shorts or a towel.
> 
> I don't have any photos to hand although I have some old Marconi Mariner magazines that may have one. Problem with those magazine photos was that they were printed in a process that makes scanned copies look like pointillism.


I remember that tropical pointillism quite well.

John T

PS Why is everyone talking about Portishead, it was an HF station and as such it should have been heard world wide - this thread is presumably about MF stations.


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## King Ratt

My first ship, the RFA Cherryleaf in 1963, was fitted with a Worldspan. It was simply a big PA driven by an Oceanspan Mk 6. A noisy beast since it had a rotary converter in its base to provide the HT if I remember. There certainly was enough RF floating about especially on 22 Mhz to give the occasional burn. Leaving small white marks on the skin areas which came into contact with it. 
Didn't make much difference for HF comms but it certainly improved the range on five ton.


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## GBXZ

KR
RFA Plumleaf had the same fit in the late 60s', no doubt RFA Pearleaf had similar. You had to be very careful on HF not to touch the cabinet when keying, you also had to remove the aerials from the CJPs and other bits etc and then switch them off to prevent stray RF damage. 
GBXZ


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## King Ratt

GM GBXZ

Pearleaf in 68 still had the Oceanspan/Worldspan Tx setup. The Rxs were B40/B41 and Atalanta.
Check out my photo of my JRO David Smith tuning up on IF.

http://rfanostalgia.org/rfapeoplega...album=search&cat=0&pid=2835#top_display_media

73

KR


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## Varley

King Ratt said:


> GM GBXZ
> 
> Pearleaf in 68 still had the Oceanspan/Worldspan Tx setup. The Rxs were B40/B41 and Atalanta.
> Check out my photo of my JRO David Smith tuning up on IF.
> 
> http://rfanostalgia.org/rfapeoplega...album=search&cat=0&pid=2835#top_display_media
> 
> 73
> 
> KR


Sorry KR link doesn't work for me (firefoxing). David V


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## Ron Stringer

Varley said:


> Sorry KR link doesn't work for me (firefoxing). David V


Try this link. Must say that I only see an Oceanspan - no sign of the wide-band power amp. 

http://rfanostalgia.org/rfapeoplegallery/displayimage.php?album=3&pid=2835#top_display_media


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## King Ratt

Hello Ron.
The WBA was to the left hand side of the Oceanspan. These Oceanspans also had a black box fitted to the right hand side of the cabinet which you can just see in the picture. This was a VFO which allowed frequency inputs which were not obtained by the crystal oscillator. it fed into the Tx via the cable just below the ROs left hand.
73
KR


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## Ron Stringer

King Ratt said:


> Hello Ron.
> The WBA was to the left hand side of the Oceanspan.


Ratty,

I know what the set looked like but David V was looking for a photo, so I was searching for one showing the whole set up, rather than just the exciter unit (which is what the 'Span was in reality). Have gone through the indexes to all the old Marconi "Mariner" magazines in my possession but there was no mention of the set there.

The "Worldspan" was fitted on several RFA vessels in the 1950s and on a few passenger ships too. I never sailed with one but worked on one on an RFA oiler (name lost in the mists of time) in refit somewhere. MIMCo's transmitter development moved on to the "Globespan" and the "Crusader" while MWT's naval comms division went down the wideband amplifier track, into ICS1, 2 and 3. 

The MN couldn't afford such luxuries. When the QE2 was being planned we had a visit from their consultant, who wanted to buy a couple of military transmitters for the ship and suggested ICS2* sets would be suitable. He was quoted a price of around £40,000 each, blinked hard and then suggested that we might like to supply them free - for the publicity we would gain from having them on such a prestigious vessel. I don't know how many other shipowners would decide to spend that sort of money on transmitters in response to such publicity but he met a blank refusal and had to go elsewhere for his kit. At the time, the selling price of an "Oceanspan VII" (as bought by most British shipowners) was £675, so you can see why we did not jump at his proposal.

*I think, it was ICS2 but I can't remember which variant was in production at the time - it might have been ICS3'


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## les.edgecumbe

*WorldSpan layout:*



King Ratt said:


> Hello Ron.
> The WBA was to the left hand side of the Oceanspan. These Oceanspans also had a black box fitted to the right hand side of the cabinet which you can just see in the picture. This was a VFO which allowed frequency inputs which were not obtained by the crystal oscillator. it fed into the Tx via the cable just below the ROs left hand.
> 73
> KR


I have found my MIMCo Instruction Manual for the WorldSpan. Regret it does not include any photographs but have managed to drag off the attached page.
If anyone wants any specific details I can bring them up here.


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## Naytikos

With so many comments about the Worldspan, perhaps someone could break the suspense and let those of us who have never seen or heard of it into the inner mysteries. Like: which valves/tubes did it use and what was the power output?


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## GBXZ

KR
I think that the VFO we used with the Worldspan had its origins with the RAF


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## Varley

Thanks everyone. I must have got to the same photo eventually but as Ron says I thought this was just the Oceanspan (not that I had much to do with this beast. Ticket on Commander, earliest thereafter was Globespan - although with Reliance).

Pic from manual just as good for me thanks Les.


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## les.edgecumbe

*World Span:*



Naytikos said:


> With so many comments about the Worldspan, perhaps someone could break the suspense and let those of us who have never seen or heard of it into the inner mysteries. Like: which valves/tubes did it use and what was the power output?


Photo available at http://qrz.com and search for G4HVK, more info there too.
Cct diag from Worldspan manual.

Interesting tha 1Kcs MCW available on hf......now that wud have been useful at times!!!


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## Ron Stringer

Many thanks for that Les. (Applause)(Applause)


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## Varley

Indeed.

One thing puzzles me a bit. Why does the amplifier also have settings for MF? Wasn't the power of MF limited by regulation and well within Oceanspan's capability? Did it perhaps have 0 dB gain when on MF and save the complication of aerial switching?

The stories of RF burns are not restricted to Wordspan. If one were stupid enough to tune up a Crusader with no aerial and standard issue headphones one could get a nice scorch across the scalp and fingers when clutching to remove the sourch of pain!

Did anyone notice that birds would quite happily continue their aerial perching when key down HF but would immediately scatter on MF?


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## Ron Stringer

Varley said:


> Indeed.
> 
> One thing puzzles me a bit. Why does the amplifier also have settings for MF? Wasn't the power of MF limited by regulation and well withing Oceanspan's capability?


The Oceanspan had nowhere near the permitted maximum power on MF, producing only about 80 Watts. I don't know the answer to your question but I suspect that the MF antenna tuning arrangements (variometer etc) of the O'span could not handle the 750W+ of the Worldspan and there would have been insufficient space in the O'span cabinet to upgrade things sufficiently. 

When we were testing the Salvor 3 & 4 transmitters it was quite common to produce 45kV - 50kV of RF at the antenna terminal into some loads and currents of 8 or 9 amps into others. That was a 100W transmitter, so you can imagine what the increases in conductor sizes and spacings would have been required to cope with the Worldspan.

Never noticed the effects of radio frequency on birds (there must be room for a dirty joke there somewhere) but one afternoon sitting yarning on the hatch, whilst alongside the quay at Pyrmont, there was a thud near us. A pigeon had flown into the main antenna wire and its headless body landed beside the 5/E, with its head landing a few feet further across the hatch. No RF was involved.


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## trotterdotpom

The "weak link" was the pigeon's neck. If he'd smashed into a mobile phone tower, would he be a "roaming pigeon"?

John T


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## sparks69

Oh very witty Wullie


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## Trevor Clements

This has been a really interesting thread to read. I have just been writing an article for the ROA about a trip I did and the problems I had raising Portishead from the Caribbean. All due to my inexperience with frequency selection I believe.

The worst experience I remember with MF is coming home from the Med sending TRs to Portishead, and half way up the Spanish coast being informed by a Spanish station QTC at GLD. No way I thought, much too far!! I think I reached them the next day from just off Opporto. That was a big enough surprise to me. Some of you boys are obviously in a much higher league.

Woken up by PCH setting off our autoalarm while we were in the Gulf of St lawrence, for yacht in trouble in the North Sea. PCH had real MF power; somehow.


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## trotterdotpom

sparks69 said:


> Oh very witty Wullie


Thankyou, Chrus!

John T


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## minty

don't recall the Worldspan but have fond memories of the Ocean & Globe - using the Commander (Benlawers) was paradise in comparison !

getting back to the topic I recall being woken at about 0300hrs by the Auto Alarm being triggered by an SOS from *GNI* - problem was we were in the southern Indian Ocean bound for Oz.....not a happy bunny !


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## Worldspan

Not been on this forum for a while, but as the one who started this particular thread, I'm psd to see that it's stimulated some interesting postings. I did mean MF and not HF, by the way.

Regarding the Worldspan tx, I'm sure that we had one on Orontes (GBXM); as far as I can remember, it had 813s in the final and was driven by an Oceanspan.

W


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## Worldspan

No, not at all sure. It's a long time ago!
W


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## trotterdotpom

R651400 said:


> Counted nine bottles in the final of Les' diagram Worldspan are you sure they were 813's?


The diagram shows three condtions of the transmitter: MF, 4 Mcs, 22 Mcs. It is a functional diagram rather than an actual circuit diagram. I'm guessing that there are actually 3 x 807 beam tetrodes in that box.

I'm amazing myself here, but, of course, I could have my head in the "space clouds".

All that time memorising those circuit diagrams of stuff that they can put in a matchbox now. Seemed like a good idea at the time.

John T


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## Tony Magon

Worked at ZLB from 75 to 89 - Heard GLD on 2182 around 0745??utc during the equinox period. I was told that Humber Radio had also been heard on 2182 in the past. 

Mediumwave reception of European and UK stations were heard quite regularly back in the 60s from around 1700utc - I personally heard Radio Caroline North on 1520 (199) back in March 1966 from near ZLB where I lived. Also heard the BBC over the years on 1052, 1053, 693, 909 and 1089 and got a qsl for all of them as well as Radio Manx on 1368.

Was in the RNZN as an R/O from 67 to 75 - then ZLB/ZLC then VIS from 89 to 92.

73

Tony Magon VK2IC ex ZL4DE


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## Troppo

ZL is the antipodes of the UK, Tony.

Apparently, this provides optimum MF prop at certain times.


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## trotterdotpom

Welcome to SN, Tony. I worked ZLB many times, always easy going and efficient - maybe we talked once or twice. ZLC? Chatham Islands? 

John T


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## Troppo

All the Kiwi stations were good. Closed too early.


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## Ystradgynlais

Have only come across this thread nearly all in 2012, until Troppo posted just now, so it gave me an opportunity to add my longest QSO with GLD from Aden!
I was on the 12-4 watch, first trip, Radio Comms on 500 Kcs (The vernacular at the time, or even 600M) had just been opened, on surrender by Japan. Heard GLD send out his Tfc list, and my ship was included. Started up Siemens SB186, and called GLD. after the QSW/QSY made my first ever exchange of tfc. GLD ended the QTC by sending AR, HW? I had never heard a "HW?" before! Ever heard some one say "Pls rpt a/a AR K" It did cause confusion! There was no "HW" in the Radio Operators handbook! (this probable should have been in "Ooops" My other M/F DX QSO, was on leaving Cook Strait, when I QSO'ed KHK Ketchikan Alaska!.

Someone said that Oz Coast Stations used 1-1/2KW, although it is a long time ago, VIM used at least 5Kw input on M/F from 4 x 4CX1500A Ceramic tubes.


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## trotterdotpom

trotterdotpom said:


> Welcome to SN, Tony. I worked ZLB many times, always easy going and efficient - maybe we talked once or twice. ZLC? Chatham Islands?
> 
> John T


Sent my last telegram, a pratique message, through Aucklandradio - could have used the Satcom but it was on the bugle. Paid off in Wellington - so long and thanks for all the fish.

John T


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## trotterdotpom

Ystradgynlais said:


> Have only come across this thread nearly all in 2012, until Troppo posted just now, so it gave me an opportunity to add my longest QSO with GLD from Aden!
> I was on the 12-4 watch, first trip, Radio Comms on 500 Kcs (The vernacular at the time, or even 600M) had just been opened, on surrender by Japan. Heard GLD send out his Tfc list, and my ship was included. Started up Siemens SB186, and called GLD. after the QSW/QSY made my first ever exchange of tfc. GLD ended the QTC by sending AR, HW? I had never heard a "HW?" before! Ever heard some one say "Pls rpt a/a AR K" It did cause confusion! There was no "HW" in the Radio Operators handbook! (this probable should have been in "Ooops" My other M/F DX QSO, was on leaving Cook Strait, when I QSO'ed KHK Ketchikan Alaska!.....


Momentous first QSO, YS but how did you get all the way to Aden without transmitting? Were you on "radio silence" or something?

I can see how that "HW" would have confused you. Luckily, those of us who came later had plenty of experience listening to real life comms on the wireless. The one that eventually bugged me was British coast stations (and ship stations) sending "R" like "EN", meaning "received". A German RO pointed that out to me otherwise I wouldn't have noticed that nobody else did it. I stopped doing it after that ... tut mir leid, brother.

John T


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## Troppo

Ystradgynlais said:


> Have only come across this thread nearly all in 2012, until Troppo posted just now, so it gave me an opportunity to add my longest QSO with GLD from Aden!
> I was on the 12-4 watch, first trip, Radio Comms on 500 Kcs (The vernacular at the time, or even 600M) had just been opened, on surrender by Japan. Heard GLD send out his Tfc list, and my ship was included. Started up Siemens SB186, and called GLD. after the QSW/QSY made my first ever exchange of tfc. GLD ended the QTC by sending AR, HW? I had never heard a "HW?" before! Ever heard some one say "Pls rpt a/a AR K" It did cause confusion! There was no "HW" in the Radio Operators handbook! (this probable should have been in "Ooops" My other M/F DX QSO, was on leaving Cook Strait, when I QSO'ed KHK Ketchikan Alaska!.
> 
> Someone said that Oz Coast Stations used 1-1/2KW, although it is a long time ago, VIM used at least 5Kw input on M/F from 4 x 4CX1500A Ceramic tubes.


That's a brilliant first QSO!

VIM and all the Oz stations used AWA CTM2K txérs on MF from the late 60s onward. 2K out, but they usually cranked them back to about 1 to 1 and a half to save the valves.


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## Troppo

Edit - VIS had its own big MF tx that ran about 3 kW into a big mast radiator, from memory. They knocked the mast down in the 80s, and replaced the combo with a CTM2K and a wire T antenna.

Most of the other stations ran 150 foot masts with three big wire radials for top loading.


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## Shipbuilder

Ystradgynlais
Wasn't the Siemens SB186 an HF transmitter? I recall sailing with one in 1962, and part of the tuning procedure was pulling or pushing a brass bar in or out of the front panel!(EEK)
The oldest MF Siemens transmitter I sailed with was an SB502!
Bob


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## gwzm

Ystradgynlais
Wasn't the Siemens SB186 an HF transmitter? I recall sailing with one in 1962, and part of the tuning procedure was pulling or pushing a brass bar in or out of the front panel!
The oldest MF Siemens transmitter I sailed with was an SB502!
Bob

Bob,
Yes - the Siemens SB186 was an HF transmitter. The tune-up procedure included pulling/pushing the bar sticking out of the front like an old-fashioned fire damper. I sailed with one of these on Brocklebank's SS Malakand - memorable only because of the number of RF burns I had from that bar when the earth contact didn't make properly. That, and the weekly chore of polishing its brass dials with Brasso. 
Happy days,
gwzm


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## Ystradgynlais

Re #103 That's the problem with youngsters today, they still have a memory! Yes, you're right! The SB186 was an H/F Tx and well remember the brass bar - by the time you exerted enough 'Pull or Push' you went past the tuning point you wanted! Can't remember the M/F Tx at all! Can only dimly remember the oldest H/F tx had a single triode valve the size of a football! The SWR was so bad that you could light up a neon any where on the ship on the lead covered DC wiring! It wasn't easy using a TRF main Rx either - I remember the later Rx used a National HRO tuning system - they were good!

For Troppo! I couldn't recall the MF model type, thanks. (it was 50 years ago) did you ever see the 4CX1500A's lose their cooling fans? The closest I ever came to seeing an Iron foundry at full blast, and the tubes still worked! The H/F Tx's were superb - one switch or button, and the TX tuned itself! The beginning of automation . . .


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## J. Davies

#94
I think Tony deserves the award. When a kid, I used to lie in bed listening to Radio Caroline on a home made reflex receiver with S.G. Brown headphones, pretending to be asleep. But hearing them from ZL is quite amazing.
John


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## Wismajorvik

gwzm said:


> Ystradgynlais
> Wasn't the Siemens SB186 an HF transmitter? I recall sailing with one in 1962, and part of the tuning procedure was pulling or pushing a brass bar in or out of the front panel!
> The oldest MF Siemens transmitter I sailed with was an SB502!
> Bob
> 
> Bob,
> Yes - the Siemens SB186 was an HF transmitter. The tune-up procedure included pulling/pushing the bar sticking out of the front like an old-fashioned fire damper. I sailed with one of these on Brocklebank's SS Malakand - memorable only because of the number of RF burns I had from that bar when the earth contact didn't make properly. That, and the weekly chore of polishing its brass dials with Brasso.
> Happy days,
> gwzm


I believe that TX had an output of 60 watts, 6,8,12 and 16Mhz only. Few station listened on 6Mhz. Suffered the odd burn or two myself on the Clan Macdonald. MF TX was a T10, equivalent to the 'Span.


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## Shipbuilder

Here is a Siemen's SB502 MF transmitter on the collier _Wandsworth_ in 1962
Bob


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## david.hopcroft

Yes, the SB186 was memorable. When tuning to 16 mhz, the bar was pulled right out as I remember, and after the first few bangs on the head, you also remembered not to stand up to change the G12 to the HF section. Also had the T10A on the Lokoja Palm.

David
+

Not a brilliant photo, but shows how basic it was. Tuning was clockwise from the top left 'box'


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## ernhelenbarrett

When I joined AWA after Marconi our Transmitters were usually the "Pacific"
or ex Coast Station Transmitters with long pullout sections for MF and HF. The 
Pacific was great as you could program in your working MF frequency and didn't 
need to retune the TX, think it was about 300 Watt compared to the Oceanspan 1
of approx. 80 Watt. We used 2kw Transmitters at VIG and VIS for shipwork
and 10KW at VIG for Top 20 R/T and Telex.
Ern Barrett


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## radiotech

I sailed with an STC1400 (lovely tx); 2Mhz was limited to 100W but I by-passed the power reduction relay so I could get 1kW on 2Mhz. The results were excellent, anywhere off Norwegian coast I could get back to GCC. Another time about 200 miles off GLD calling, calling then GKZ answered said you're QSA5 where are you ?
Another test from north Scotland CQ QSA? Southampton pilots answered with a QSA5. Had to keep aerial insulators immaculately clean tho - happy days


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## sparks69

I once worked Wellington Radio (ZLW ?)on MF from the Panama side of the Pacific one night, the Pacific was the only place in 20 years at sea that there was no crashing and banging static at night. The Rx was an IMR 5000 with an ST1400 Tx


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## trotterdotpom

sparks69 said:


> I once worked Wellington Radio (ZLW ?)on MF from the Panama side of the Pacific one night, the Pacific was the only place in 20 years at sea that there was no crashing and banging static at night. The Rx was an IMR 5000 with an ST1400 Tx


Easy peasy when you had a friend in high places (Mt Etako)?

John T


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## sparx

During my 20 odd years at sea never did much work on MF. 99.9% was HF thru GKB and SVA. Could get GKB off Vancouver on a good day and also off Japanese coast. On the North Atlantic run you could hear all the European MF stations pratically all the way across. PCH always sounded "low" on 500 and the "chirpy" sound of EAL was very distinctive. Nice listening to the "bugs" from WSL and WCC.


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