# Hong Kong Maritime Museum



## Peter Martin (May 30, 2005)

Any memories of this bit of kit?


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## King Ratt (Aug 23, 2005)

Had the Mercury/Electra combo on my first ship RFA Cherryleaf/GQZQ. Never had any faults on them during my 7 month appointment.


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## duncs (Sep 8, 2008)

Yes, but not all good, with its partner the 'Mercury'. The vibrator in the PS would often fail. I also had problems with the de-coupling capacitors in the front end burning out(s/c). It was a real bummer going on watch, turn on rx's and see/smell smoke. I ended up just snipping out the offending capacitors and not replacing them. Mind you, these rx's were 20+ years old when I sailed with them.
Otherwise, apart from the above mentioned problems, they were a nice pair of receivers.


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## Peter Martin (May 30, 2005)

How about this one?


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## trotterdotpom (Apr 29, 2005)

King Ratt said:


> Had the Mercury/Electra combo on my first ship RFA Cherryleaf/GQZQ. Never had any faults on them during my 7 month appointment.


Don't tell me that was the "Cherryleaf" that was "Overseas Adventurer" in real life, KR! Hope they gave you a Dynatron aswell.

John T


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## Troppo (Feb 18, 2010)

Peter Martin said:


> How about this one?



A valve auto alarm.

Sailed with one and one only. It makes me shudder remembering it.

Awful ship, terrible run.


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## holland25 (Nov 21, 2007)

It was auto alarms like that ,that took the skill out of being an R/O. Not having to tweak the vibrating reed and turn the wheel before you could turn in took all the fun out of it.


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## Bob Murdoch (Dec 11, 2004)

holland25 said:


> It was auto alarms like that ,that took the skill out of being an R/O. Not having to tweak the vibrating reed and turn the wheel before you could turn in took all the fun out of it.



The trouble was, you were so often turned out again very quickly and again and again. [=P]
Cheers Bob


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## ex ro (Oct 30, 2005)

after the Seaguard


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## GBXZ (Nov 4, 2008)

Lifeguard
When you switched it on you held the alarm mute button down ? Two handed switch on.


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## trotterdotpom (Apr 29, 2005)

GBXZ said:


> Lifeguard
> When you switched it on you held the alarm mute button down ? Two handed switch on.


I sailed with an Old Man who accused me of not turning the Lifeguard on because he didn't hear the bells when I finished watch. After that it was a case of "What Mute button?"

John T


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## Ron Stringer (Mar 15, 2005)

ex ro said:


> after the Seaguard


.....and before the _Lifeguard N_ and the _Lifeguard II_.


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## Chris Jenkins (Mar 16, 2014)

holland25 said:


> It was auto alarms like that ,that took the skill out of being an R/O. Not having to tweak the vibrating reed and turn the wheel before you could turn in took all the fun out of it.


(Jester) Yes indeed...and I seem to remember the wheel had a printing error on the facia...and instead of Clutch it read "Clotch" or something similar.

Never had any trouble with the old Lifeguard. It was a favourite for PMG exam questions though ! Lots of lovely valves.


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## GBXZ (Nov 4, 2008)

What was the Marconi AA you started by spinning a thing ???


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## Ron Stringer (Mar 15, 2005)

GBXZ said:


> What was the Marconi AA you started by spinning a thing ???


The _Type M_, later called the _Vigilant_.


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## King Ratt (Aug 23, 2005)

trotterdotpom said:


> Don't tell me that was the "Cherryleaf" that was "Overseas Adventurer" in real life, KR! Hope they gave you a Dynatron aswell.
> 
> John T


No John. That Cherryleaf was John I Jacob's Laurelwood.
Dynatron? That rings a bell and not an AA bell. Was it a broadcast receiver? It is some 50 years ago so the cells are getting depleted!

For GBXZ. I recall an AA that needed a thump on the side to get it going. Reckon it was a Marconi Type M. Dreadful thing.

73 to all.

KR


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## trotterdotpom (Apr 29, 2005)

GBXZ said:


> What was the Marconi AA you started by spinning a thing ???


Pretty sure the Seaguard had a little thing that you had to spin to set the ball rolling. If it wasn't for that, I would have lived my life in blissful ignorance of what pawls and cams are. Seem to recall it worked ok though.

John T


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## trotterdotpom (Apr 29, 2005)

King Ratt said:


> No John. That Cherryleaf was John I Jacob's Laurelwood.
> Dynatron? That rings a bell and not an AA bell. Was it a broadcast receiver? It is some 50 years ago so the cells are getting depleted!
> 
> For GBXZ. I recall an AA that needed a thump on the side to get it going. Reckon it was a Marconi Type M. Dreadful thing.
> ...


Thanks KR, I thought O. Adventurer was too young to have Mercury and what not. Yes, Dynatron was a broadcast receiver that took up half the radio room on a lot of ships. Not a bad wireless though.

John T


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## Troppo (Feb 18, 2010)

I remember the Seaguard....we had it at college....in 1978, would you believe....the last one had been taken off Aussie ships probably 10 years earlier...

I well remember my practical exam for the MROGCP (section W, it was called) - the examiner insisted that I start the seaguard AA, and flash up the ancient Pacific tx....there was a complete suite of modern marconi equipment (Conqueror/Apollo/Salvor 3/Lifeguard N/Autokey N) that was studiously ignored...of course this ignored equipment was fitted to about 95% of ships I subsequently sailed in....

What an enormous joke of an exam it was, in retrospect.


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## China hand (Sep 11, 2008)

I thought Sparkies were good. As a mere rock dodger I was a morse nutter and used to try to read the neon on the leads.One R/O also taught me how to use a Marconi Conqueror. Sailed with an R/O who was also a maritime ham, and he taught me lots. Mostly forgotten, I'm ashamed to say. But as Mate and Master, I always had a lot of interest in Sparkiedom, and much missed their passing.


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## ernhelenbarrett (Sep 7, 2006)

Had a Type "M" on the B.I. Orna and had the wee knob on the end of the Vibrator fall off after spinning it to start the darn thing. Finally managed to fix it by soldering a blob on the end after many attempts to get the right size and it lasted all the way from outside Calcutta to London via the Cape, also the comments about the AWA Pacific Transmitter, I thought it was the Bees Knees
in 1960 after having been with Marconi and their Oceanspans!!!
Ern Barrett


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## Chris Jenkins (Mar 16, 2014)

China hand said:


> I thought Sparkies were good. As a mere rock dodger I was a morse nutter and used to try to read the neon on the leads.One R/O also taught me how to use a Marconi Conqueror. Sailed with an R/O who was also a maritime ham, and he taught me lots. Mostly forgotten, I'm ashamed to say. But as Mate and Master, I always had a lot of interest in Sparkiedom, and much missed their passing.


Well, that is nice...


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## Chris Jenkins (Mar 16, 2014)

R651400 said:


> I think the word you're looking for is Hotch which was one of the cams on the Vigilant and Seaguard selector unit. Pawl, Dash and Hotch cams.
> I only sailed with the Type M and somehow cannot get Yeoman out of my skull was it called Yeoman before Vigilant? Does seem a bizarre name for a bit of sea-going radio equipment.
> The diagram of the Type M selector unit was on my PMG2 exam paper plus a question on part of it's action.


Yes ! That was it. I can't remember the exactly, but there was a window in the facia through which you could view the synchronising unit spinning away, and on switch on you had to engage this "HOTCH" gear and give it it flick to get the thing turning...although sometimes it didn't synchronise and you'd have to try again. This was on Dartbank in 1971....I took my PMG's with the Lifeguard, and I'm pretty certain the one on Dartbank was the Seaguard. Was the type M the Seaguard ? I sailed with lifeguards a lot, and they were okay, but subject to alarming under heavy static. I seem to remember that later versions were transistorised.


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## Ron Stringer (Mar 15, 2005)

R651400 said:


> The diagram of the Type M selector unit was on my PMG2 exam paper plus a question on part of it's action.


For reasons that I never understood, in 1959 for the PMG2 exams we had to learn to draw from memory not only the simplified circuit diagram of various types of transmitter and receiver including the Type M auto alarm receiver but we also had to be able to do the same for the Type M's electro-mechnical actuator (the synchronous motor, vibrating reed, cams and pawls etc) and for the Autokey device that could be used by unskilled personnel to key the transmitters in order to send the Alarm and Distress signals. We had also to be able to describe the complete actuating sequences of the two devices.

Whether the idea was that the PMG believed that shipowners would be too mean to provide handbooks and circuit diagrams for the equipment fitted on board, or that Radio Officers would only ever sail with a single type of equipment (i.e. the one they had memorised) I don't know but learning-by-rote seemed to be the key to success in the exams that were set in those days.

Subsequently, when sailing with new types of equipment, I found it sufficient to open the handbook and use the circuit diagrams provided in order to locate faults. After getting my PMG tickets, I never, ever, took the trouble to commit any circuit diagram to memory. There was never any occasion when I needed to.


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## richardwakeley (Jan 4, 2010)

The Marconi handbooks were excellent, right up to the end of the line. Same can't be said these days, many of the handbooks for the gear I work on don't even include a simple connection diagram. Anyway, now i'm a 'exchangieneer', not an engineer.


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## trotterdotpom (Apr 29, 2005)

That's true about the Marconi Handbooks, Richard, they were great. None of the other manufacturers could hold a candle to them. 

Maybe all that memorising of circuit diagrams gave us some sort of familiarity, but I have to agree with R651400 that it was a bit of a waste of time.

Just curious, does any one ever replace a component these days?

John T


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## trotterdotpom (Apr 29, 2005)

R651400 said:


> Not guilty!!
> I doubt any RO anywhere who sat his/her PMG not having experienced a PMG interview can really imagine what a professional department the IoWT within the GPO actually was and (having experienced both) other exam governing bodies like City and Guilds were completely at the bottom end of the same scale!


Huh? Been on the sauce again? What is Isle of Wight T?

I was talking about night after night drawing circuit diagrams over and over again in an effort to memorise them, just to pass an exam.

John T


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## trotterdotpom (Apr 29, 2005)

R651400 said:


> ...and where exactly in any of my postings I said that PMG studying was a waste of time?
> 
> IoWT..... Inspectorate of Wireless Telegraphy..
> 
> Whatever my sauce is it doesn't seem to have the same brain-rot as yours....Get some in trots...


Burble burble. For once I was agreeing with you, but in your paranoia you have to distort what I said. Have another Pernod.

John T


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## Troppo (Feb 18, 2010)

We had to memorise and reproduce the block diagram of a Lifeguard N A/A for the General theory exam.....


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## trotterdotpom (Apr 29, 2005)

Troppo said:


> We had to memorise and reproduce the block diagram of a Lifeguard N A/A for the General theory exam.....


In the old days, Troppo, it was the full circuit diagram - there must have been more sensible questions to ask.

When I first came to Australia it seemed like a good idea to get my qualifications accepted. I had to apply to some Electrical Trades outfit and have an interview. The interviewer asked me to draw the block diagram of an FM transceiver. I couldn't remember so I chucked in a klystron and a couple of other things. I was awarded a Radio Trades Certificate. Maybe I was being interviewed by some expert who'd knocked back AWA and Union Steam.

John T


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## richardwakeley (Jan 4, 2010)

G'day John,
We hardly ever replace individual components these days. Except items like magnetrons, bearing encoders, scanner motors etc. Most PCBs have surface mounted components on both sides. We just swap the boards.
Rgds,
Richard


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## Chris Jenkins (Mar 16, 2014)

*Pmg Exams*

For me the PMG exam questions were very relevant.... Our main purpose was safety of life at sea, and so exam questions which required a thorough understanding of the AA were not amiss in my book.


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## trotterdotpom (Apr 29, 2005)

#37 ....Makes it easier I suppose, Richard, but what do you do for a hit of molten solder?

John T


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## trotterdotpom (Apr 29, 2005)

Chris Jenkins said:


> For me the PMG exam questions were very relevant.... Our main purpose was safety of life at sea, and so exam questions which required a thorough understanding of the AA were not amiss in my book.


I was talking about having to memorise and draw several huge circuit diagrams. Surely it would be better to ask questions which would prove your understanding of the circuits.

John T


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## Ron Stringer (Mar 15, 2005)

trotterdotpom said:


> I was talking about having to memorise and draw several huge circuit diagrams.


It was the questionable benefits of such requirements that I raised in my #28. Although I wouldn't describe the circuits as huge, I couldn't understand the benefits of being able to recall and draw even simplified (component _values_ were not required) circuit diagrams from memory. In my opinion, understanding of the processes and functions to a detailed block schematic level would have served the purposes of education and examination.


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## trotterdotpom (Apr 29, 2005)

Persackerly, Ron. Maybe the circuits weren't huge but they were plenty big enough in a three hour exam.

John T


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## 27756 (Sep 1, 2008)

Yes Peter remember them well! I had two of those Marconi's on my first trip as 2/R/O on MV ***berland 1974/75. Easy to use - once you got them working! Here we are in action:
http://www.shipsnostalgia.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/426018/title/***berland-1974/cat/all




Peter Martin said:


> Any memories of this bit of kit?


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## trotterdotpom (Apr 29, 2005)

Cool picture, Geoff. Is that a Bombay badge on your steaming bonnet? What did P&O say about your haircut or lack of? That was the 60s ....

John T


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## 27756 (Sep 1, 2008)

Hi John - Actually it's the P&O badge.
Yes, it was the 70's and we seemed to be able to get away with it 



trotterdotpom said:


> Cool picture, Geoff. Is that a Bombay badge on your steaming bonnet? What did P&O say about your haircut or lack of? That was the 60s ....
> John T


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## trotterdotpom (Apr 29, 2005)

Thanks for the close up, the badge looked a bit big and I forgot about company badges. 

John T


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## Chris Jenkins (Mar 16, 2014)

Part circuit diagrams were one part of a question. I certainly can't remember a circuit diagram being an entire question in my PMG's.


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## Bill.B (Oct 19, 2013)

Our year for MRGC you had to be able to do circuit drawings for valve and transistor and I can still remember a lot of it now. Marconi manuals were great but so were Kelvin Hughes when they were brown. I asked the guys at Hainault why the difference between blue and brown manuals and Jimmy Farrers said the bloke who did the brown manuals retired. Needless to say the blue ones were s- hite.
Sailed with Electtra and Mercury first trip RFA Orangeleaf and they were good receivers. Never had a spinning auto alarm. 
Bill


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## richardwakeley (Jan 4, 2010)

The photos posted by Peter Martin reminded me that it was time for me to browse around there, so I went in yesterday. They have quite a few other items of Marconi gear, plus a Sailor console and a JRC MF/HF console from 1969.
Photo of another Rx is attached. I'm sure I must have sailed with this one but can't remember the name. Unlike the nearby Electra, it is only labelled 'Marconi Marine' and the museum has wrongly labelled it as an Electra. I'm sure I also sailed with the Autokey, and know I did with the Lodestar.
They even have a JRC type morse key hooked up to an oscillator for you to have a go on. I thought I would try to impress everyone with a quick burst, but the gap is set to about an inch, and the adjustment is blocked by a perspex cover.
The new museum, replacing the smaller one at Stanley, is well worth a visit. It's in the new Central Piers, right next to the new Star Ferry pier. They have quite a lot of interesting exhibits and models, and currently a temporary exhibition on loan from Oxford Univ including the 'Selden map'.
Richard.


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## Troppo (Feb 18, 2010)

Monitor em rx. "Clankey, clankey" 1097 autokey and lodestar DF


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## richardwakeley (Jan 4, 2010)

Thanks for reminding me Troppo.
I Definitely sailed with all three, and just noticed the em rx does have a small label 'monitor' at the top. Definitely better than Alert.
brgds, Richard.


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## Ron Stringer (Mar 15, 2005)

The _Monitor _reserve receiver was usually fitted into a 19-inch unit alongside the _Autokey _in the radio room consoles, which had become the preferred installation on new-buildings of the day. A much smaller number were sold singly as shown, in typically-Marconi bullet-proof steel cabinets. These generally went on refit jobs, where _Atalanta/Monitor_ or _Apollo/Monitor_ replaced e.g. _CR300/Alert_ receiver installations. 

But there were some "careful" shipowners who refitted with _Apollo _and _Crusader _or _Commander _to meet the introduction of SSB regulations but still kept the _Alert _since it was only necessary to carry a reserve receiver (500kHz-only) and not an emergency receiver such as the _Monitor_.


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## richardwakeley (Jan 4, 2010)

Ron,
Thanks to you and 'troppo' for bringing it all back. I sailed on several of the blue funnel 'a-boats', built between late 40s and mid 50s. they all had the original marconi gear as fitted when new. so i had all those rxs, including cr300, in my great days at sea.
brgds,
richard

ps Ron, the monitor and akd at hk maritime museum both look like rack-mounted units.


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## Troppo (Feb 18, 2010)

I had the misfortune of sailing with a Monitor.....

The Sentinel (modern replacement) was much better....

Never had a problem with the 1097 though....very reliable.


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## richardwakeley (Jan 4, 2010)

I would go back to usiing a 'monitor' right now, if i had the chance to re-live my youth. What a difference it made though, in mid 70s, when blue funnel retrofitted the 'super Ps' with ssb synthesized tx/rx, it was redifon and very good but i stlll think the equivalent mimco gear on centaur - commander - or was it conqueror?, my brain is deteriorating- and apollo - was better


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