# Where did all those ship's radios go?



## GW3OQK (Jun 10, 2010)

Where did all those old ship's radios go? This question is asked on the QRZ forum http://www.eham.net/ehamforum/smf/index.php/topic,91345.0.html

I refitted a ship in Cardiff once and the old gear was landed at the dry dock where it was rained on for a week. In my vintage shack I have working an RN transmitter, an Atalanta, and a Marconi 365A.

73
Andrew
GW3OQK


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## chadburn (Jun 2, 2008)

EXRO said:


> Where did all those old ship's radios go? This question is asked on the QRZ forum http://www.eham.net/ehamforum/smf/index.php/topic,91345.0.html
> 
> I refitted a ship in Cardiff once and the old gear was landed at the dry dock where it was rained on for a week. In my vintage shack I have working an RN transmitter, an Atalanta, and a Marconi 365A.
> 
> ...


I was invited to have a look around a newly redundant underground facility by an employee of the Home Office some years ago, the radio equipment and teleprinters were being stripped out before it was to be put onto the market. All the equipment looked very new and I asked one of the men stripping the equipment out what would happen to it all, scrap, was the answer, you can take one if you want he said, but as I was out on the Fireblade (motorbike) I had to decline.


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## Erimus (Feb 20, 2012)

I bagged an old IMR 72 from a Houlders Ore Carrier (Oregis or Oreosa) at Gjers Ayresome Wharf in 1961/2 when they were being refitted with Marconi equipment.....I used it in London for medium wave DXing and gave it a way 1970 to someone who was awaiting traing as as R/O. 

geoff


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## David Fyfe (Nov 19, 2011)

*Old Ship's Radios*

Andrew - Most, I suspect, ended up in skips, scrappers & landfill. This has been my experience for several years, sourcing old equipment & making enquiries. On odd occasions I've been lucky, but many inquiries resulted in being told that I'd missed a half-skip full by a few days, weeks or months.
More distressing is finding out that Marconi Marine dumped heaps of Manuals & Circuit diagrams during their last days in Chelmsford.
The Wireless Museums in Orkney & Shetland have quite a few old AM & SSB R/T sets from coastal & fishing vessels. Then of course there are folk like you & I, VMARS Members, BVWS Members, RSGB Members, squeezing lovely old ex marine equipment onto cramped shelving in our wee workshops.

Regards, David


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## Graham P Powell (Jun 2, 2007)

I don't know about ships gear but at GKA the original CR150 rx's were sold to staff as were the Racal 1218's. (Very nice set that one).
Teleprinters all ended up in a skip. I retrieved one very large mains transformer whichnow powers my model railway!. We had some more modern Racal rx's as well but don't know what happened to them.
They were superb and I would have loved one at home. I did buy the large Ferrograph tape recorder which was used at one time for the call bands. I sold it to an am/dram group largely because I couldn't lift it. Water under the bridge now but what a shame to see all that lovely gear just dumped.
rgds
Graham Powell


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## David Fyfe (Nov 19, 2011)

*Old Ship's Radios*

Despite all the lovely old equipment which has been skipped up to now, there will no doubt be still some lying in old sheds & storerooms around the coast.
I would respectfully encourage Forum contributors who hear of such items to help disperse such radio equipment amongst other genuine collectors/restorers, should they not have room to store them themselves. I'm not acting in any mercenary manner, and quite frankly I'm against internet speculators and profiteers. Money might well be needed to change hands, plus there are courier charges to consider. But remember this - shipping companies, agents, chandlers etc - all now have to pay skip sites to come and remove old stuff. But think on this - 3 years ago, I aquired from a recycling yard - a complete fully working, ex Coastguard, Sailor Radio 1000Series HF Tx/Rx cabinet - for only 60 quid, (weighed about 2cwt, though). Also, like Graham, about the same time, I "saved from a skip" - a lovely big Ferrograph6 in good nick. I personally had no use for it, so gave it to another collector/restorer guy, who now cherishes it.
Other Forum sites such as VMARS & www.vintage-radio.net have members/contributors with marine interests and have sale sub forums, and make arrangements amongst themselves to move equipment around the country, buck-sheesh.

Regards, David


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## ninabaker (May 4, 2012)

Had a lovely day out with my pals from the Womens Engineering Society locally, we went to visit a wonderful private museum: The Darvel Telephone Musuem, near Kilmarnock. The owner has a hundred year history of phones of all sorts and masses of associated stuff. 

However he didnt seem to have either a ships voice tube or a lifeboat radio. So if anyone knows where such things are lying about unloved, stick them in the post to Darvel.
N


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## ninabaker (May 4, 2012)

R651400 said:


> Quite sometime back and not sure where maybe Radio Officer Assoc Bulletin QSO, the Scottish Maritime Museum was saying they had a surfeit of marine radio etc equipment in store and were looking to dispose.
> Sorry I can't be more specific but ROA archivist may be able to help.


Thanks. That is a good idea.


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## johnball59 (Aug 13, 2013)

Hi
Yes I would like to know I did my training on the Atalanta receiver and Crusader transmitter went to the Radio college in Western ave Cardiff in between 1972 and 1974 I bet most have been scrapped


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## Troppo (Feb 18, 2010)

A mate of mine has a fully working Apollo in his ham shack.

It was the first time I had sat in front of one for about 18 years.

Took me back....

What a heap of junk....


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## Ian Beattie (Mar 28, 2013)

Ninabaker I can tell you that one of MIMcos old wind up lifeboat kits is at the bottom of Montreal harbour after I gave it a drop test (which failed) and got a severe b******kin from the superintendent until I told what use would it have been in an emergency if she no float ?? with a bit of grumbling I got a brand new hand held job from Canadian MIMCo bods a really good bit of kit.
Cheers Ian


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## David Fyfe (Nov 19, 2011)

*Old Ship's Radios*

Folks, Most if not all marine band HF Rx's will easily work on the amateur 80 & 160m bands. The Tx's will need re-crystalling & the MO's re-tuning, and the PA's tank circuit altering to work say-3615KHz or 3690KHz for example.
In my limited experience with Marine HF AM sets, the Coastal Radio Ltd Tx equipment was easier to alter than spRadio(Sailor) equipment such as the 76D & 86D Tx's.
However, some ex coastal & fishing skippers & crew members still occasionally work the marine frequencies from their homes &/or recreational boats to shipmates still at sea. So it is essential that old sets are rescued - just to keep those sets still in use - repaired & servicable.

Regards, David


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## david.hopcroft (Jun 29, 2005)

I was on hand when engineers stripped out GKZ and believe me, 'stripped out' was exactly what they did. The word went round that anything was free to take away, but surprisingly few takers turned up I was later told. I did though manage a little salvage myself with a Lowe HF-235 receiver. This wonderful little thing was used as the 2182 remote watch. What wouldn't we all have given for one of those at sea all those years ago !

David
+


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## Graham P Powell (Jun 2, 2007)

Hi Dave, I wasn't at GKA when it finally shut. Probably not much of interest as all the individual HF RX's had gone by then. The Racal ones at the end were just front panels of remotely operated ones. 
A while after I left, one of the boys rang me up and said was I interested in any nuts and bolts as I did model making. I said "sure thing". He turned up with a Transit van full of nuts and bolts. All BA sizes in all different lengths and all of brass. I gave a lot away but still have at least two boxes full. More than I shall ever use anyway.
My friend had been given the job of clearing the engineers workshop. 
I often wonder what happened to the superb Rolls Royce generator set. It only had about 30 hours on the clock. I expect it went for further use somewhere. The original genny came out of a submarine!.
All the best
rgds
Graham Powell


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## Mister B (Feb 4, 2010)

There is a Marconi Apollo listed on Ebay and presently at £60. Ebay Item Nr 400547787500


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## chadburn (Jun 2, 2008)

Graham P Powell said:


> Hi Dave, I wasn't at GKA when it finally shut. Probably not much of interest as all the individual HF RX's had gone by then. The Racal ones at the end were just front panels of remotely operated ones.
> A while after I left, one of the boys rang me up and said was I interested in any nuts and bolts as I did model making. I said "sure thing". He turned up with a Transit van full of nuts and bolts. All BA sizes in all different lengths and all of brass. I gave a lot away but still have at least two boxes full. More than I shall ever use anyway.
> My friend had been given the job of clearing the engineers workshop.
> I often wonder what happened to the superb Rolls Royce generator set. It only had about 30 hours on the clock. I expect it went for further use somewhere. The original genny came out of a submarine!.
> ...


It was the same with the RSG Bunkers, when they were built the Standby was an ex Submarine Genny in a disguised remote building which looked like a Parish Church (the exhaust going up the steeple). When they were refurbished the standby Genny House was built next to the Guardroom with two new RR 6cy Turbo Genny's and assoc equipment. The last Bunker I looked at before it was sold both engines had around 40hours each and went with the sale, as far as I am aware they are still there and were not removed prior to the sale.


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