# Marconigram 1949



## R651400 (Jun 18, 2005)

Received from a friend researching the Marconigram's recipient...
Shaw Savill's SS Tamaroa 1921-57..
Anyone possible have her call-sign?


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## Hugh MacLean (Nov 18, 2005)

TAMAROA - official number, 144805 - GFWX.

Regards
Hugh


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## trotterdotpom (Apr 29, 2005)

Fancy filling the form out using cursive writing! I always printed mine. Mind you, my handwriting is crap, at least you can read this one. Let's hop Betty had a good year.

John T


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## R651400 (Jun 18, 2005)

Precisely my thoughts when I first saw the Marconigram as Tamaroa/GFWX after WW2 was converted to tourist class only and at the very least would be H16 with two RO's..
Surely GTZM provided a type-writer for such ships?
Betty was on her way to the 1950 Empire Games in Auckland representing Scotland. in swimming.




https://natlib.govt.nz/records/22793587


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## Ron Stringer (Mar 15, 2005)

R651400 said:


> Precisely my thoughts when I first saw the Marconigram as Tamaroa/GFWX after WW2 was converted to tourist class only and at the very least would be H16 with two RO's..
> Surely GTZM provided a type-writer for such ships?
> Betty was on her way to the 1950 Empire Games in Auckland representing Scotland. in swimming.
> 
> ...


GTZM didn't provide typewriters for any ships during my time at sea; the job that they (and the regulations) asked the R/O to perform did not need one. If the Master or the ship's business required a typewriter then it was up to him or the owners to make it available.


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## gwzm (Nov 7, 2005)

Ron Stringer said:


> GTZM didn't provide typewriters for any ships during my time at sea; the job that they (and the regulations) asked the R/O to perform did not need one. If the Master or the ship's business required a typewriter then it was up to him or the owners to make it available.


Some of the Brocklebank ships had a typewriter in the radio room but most didn’t. I bought a portable typewriter and learned to touch-type. This came in handy on the Cunard cargo ships on the north Atlantic where there were many lengthy weather forecasts, ice and hurricane warnings to be copied, depending on the season. Unusually, the SS Mahronda had an old legal typewriter with a long carriage, supposedly for completing the traffic abstracts, but it was too old, clunky and awkward so never used and eventually deep-sized.
Happy days
gwzm


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## gw4xxf (6 mo ago)

Looking at the QTC form is interesting.
There is no Morse signal for the ampersand (*&*) but the R/O used the ampersand instead of spelling out "*and*" a couple of times.
Surely it was customary to write plain language messages out in separate characters and five character code messages in Upper Case.
That's what we had to do for the PMG Morse exams.

On the subject of typewriters:
My already poor handwriting was ruined even further by having to copy Morse at 25wpm.
On my 2nd ship the Master moaned constantly about it (and just abt everything else I did!).
He announced when we docked in Kobe that he would buy me a typewriter AND TAKE IT OUT OF MY WAGES.
I gave him a (un-) suitable response, despite him being the Master, and bought myself a pair of binns instead!

DE GW4XXF


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## trotterdotpom (Apr 29, 2005)

I'd been at sea for a few years before I ever saw a typewriter. Had a small portable on "Jobst Oldendorff" and the Filipino 3rd Mate taught me to use it during a several weeks in Archangel. Came in handy for weather and whatnot but pretty useless when receiving telegrams. Had to write them by hand and type the forms after if you felt like it. Millennials won't appreciate the importance of securing the typewriter down fore and aft if you didn't want to lose the carriage. Hah, millennials probably won't know what a carriage is!

John T


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## Ron Stringer (Mar 15, 2005)

I bought myself a small Remington portable typewriter that had a very twee pale blue carrying case, looking somewhat like a lady's handbag. When joining a new ship I sometimes got some odd looks from fellow crew members - interested stares from the catering department, less friendly attention from other departments.

It coped well with producing single copies with one sheet of carbon paper but not much more. Although I could copy and type at PMG 1st Class speeds without difficulty, I never attained the ability to talk or do other things at the same time in the way that some R/Is and many Coast Station operators could. Maybe I needed a better, more professional machine.


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## trotterdotpom (Apr 29, 2005)

GW4XXF, well spotted re the ampersand, I'd say DM(?) rewrote the message after first copying it on a bit of paper. I don't remember the prefix "P" (presumably "private") either - is my memory playing tricks?

I just looked it up and Elizabeth Turner got a bronze for Scotland in the 3 X 110 yard relay. Well done Betty.

John T


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## Ron Stringer (Mar 15, 2005)

While on the subject of typing skills, although I could use the old Creed model 7 and it's ilk, I never developed the skill of matching my key strokes with the timing sequence to produce that smooth, even and unbroken flow of text that the shore operators managed so effortlessly.

The Creed 444 was a blessing for me when it arrived but by then I was no longer at sea and only used teleprinters on occasional visits to ships.


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## R651400 (Jun 18, 2005)

All Coast Station RO's were trained on a three bank keyboard (Imperial from memory) typewriter exactly the same layout as a standard Creed or Siemrens Telex machine and before telex the GPO's internal system TAS (Teleprinter Automatic Switching) without page copy and the telegram printed on a thin gummed paper tape..
1963 GKA passout on TAS was thirty standard ship radiotelegrams (blind) without a single uncorrected error..


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## david.hopcroft (Jun 29, 2005)

The Imperial was a telegraph typeface - no lower case letters. I spent days pounding a TAS machine when on detached duty at GKA during the Christmas rush !

The Imp[erial and the TAS machine are from GKZ

David
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## gw4xxf (6 mo ago)

David - what's that odd-looking Rx in the GKZ photo?


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## Troppo (Feb 18, 2010)

Every ship I sailed on (in the 80s) had a typewriter. Supplied by the shipping company.


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## R651400 (Jun 18, 2005)

Every freelance ship I sailed on in the early '60's had a radio-room typewriter, two ships US built had custom desks where the typewriter stowed away..
Never had one on any Blue Flue H8 ship I sailed on but I did specifically mention Tamaroa/GFWX as being H16 with a large passenger complement..
Anyone from say P&O or Union Castle on H24 ships can comment?


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## holland25 (Nov 21, 2007)

There was a typewriter on the RMS Parthia in 1956 I used to type out the press.The next one I had was in Blue Funnel in late 1957 which was used for some of the assistant purser work I had to do ie multiple crewlists for one.


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## Ron Stringer (Mar 15, 2005)

The only ship that I sailed on that had a typewriter in the Radio Room (provided by the owners) was Elders & Fyffes' ss Golfito. It was required to prepare the duplicator 'skins' from which the passengers' daily news sheet was printed.


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## gw4xxf (6 mo ago)

I had exactly the same experience Ron.
My first ship was CITY OF PORT ELIZABETH GPLC
Worst chore ever in my life was typing the _^#_%* Wireless Press out on those _^#_%* Gestettner wax duplicator skins.
Half-asleep on that dreaded H16 watch from 0000-0600.😴😴😴😴😴😴


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## R651400 (Jun 18, 2005)

gw4xxf said:


> David - what's that odd-looking Rx in the GKZ photo?


#13 Image not too clear and eye-sight not too dusty, but if this is the receiver you're referring to?
It was apparently a GPO in-house build for Coast Stations and this one was at GKR..








Would appreciate more info on the rcvr if anyone has any...
ps Welcome to SN de F5VBU/GM3UIN


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## gw4xxf (6 mo ago)

Thanks for that. Most pictures of UK CRS show a Marconi Marine Mercury Rx.


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## R651400 (Jun 18, 2005)

Yes that was what we had at GCC and GND and GKA in my time the CR100..
#20 a screen-shot from this well worn video but still worth a view..


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## jimg0nxx (Sep 1, 2005)

My first two ships had typewriters:- Donaldson Line Lismoria/GNKJ, H8(I think) although we worked H16 and BI's Devonia/GTTV H24. Some years later was on Empress of Canada/GHLA H24 which I think had 2 typewriters. Assume these were all provided by the shipowners.


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## david.hopcroft (Jun 29, 2005)

GW4XXF - It was as stated, a GPO in-house built and called a W4 I think. It stayed in place until displaced by the coming of SSB, sometime around 1970 I think. The consols were changed and the Eddystone EC958's appeared. Note however, that to connect an RT call, one had to insert one's finger in the numbered hole , bottom right, and rotate clockwise.

David

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## david.hopcroft (Jun 29, 2005)

GW4XXF - It was as stated, a GPO in-house built and called a W4 I think. It stayed in place until displaced by the coming of SSB, sometime around 1970 I think. The consols were changed and the Eddystone EC958's appeared. Note however, that to connect an RT call, one had to insert one's finger in a numbered hole , bottom right, and rotate several times clockwise. !

David

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## makko (Jul 20, 2006)

Chaps,
What is H8, H16, H24?

I see mention of the US desks - The top would flip and the typewriter would go into storage beneath. Does anyone remember those extra long carriages for filling out forms.

We still have an IBM Selectric somewhere. The wife swears that it could be sold as an antique but when I say yes, she says no, why don't we wait. We also have a little portable, I cannot remember the make but it is in, of all places, the laundry room! It uses "daisy wheels" for the different typefaces and carbon film for the ribbon. Dates from around 1993. I have no idea if it still works!

Rgds.
Dave


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## gw4xxf (6 mo ago)

Mr Makko, to answer your question abt H's.

Merchant (mercantile in US-speak) ships had to keep radio watches according to vessel type.
The basic were H8 which kept four two hour watches with a two hour break in between then a gap overnight of ten hours.
Depending on longitude and the relationship of GMT/Z/UTC time zones they were 0800-1000, 1200-1400, 1600-1800, 2000-2200.
Most cargo ships (freighters in US-speak) fell in the H8 category with an allowance less than 112 passengers.
H16 were ships that had between 112 and 249 passengers.
Those watches were 0000-0600, 0800-1400, 1600-1800, 2000-2000.
H24 is fairly obvious - a continuous watch from 0000-2400. Those ships were generally large passenger ships with more than 250 passengers.
There were also HX vessels which did not keep regular watches but I don't know much about them.
It's a little bit more complicated than that, but you get the rough idea. 

On H8 & H16 vessels the distress watch on 500kHz was kept by means of an auto-alarm when the R/O was off watch.

Needless to say but on H8 & H16 ships we very often did more hours than required!


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## Wismajorvik (Dec 29, 2011)

Sailed on a Panamanian flagged tanker which was HX. Hours of watch not defined but I recollect doing something like four hours in the morning and a further four hours scattered over the afternoon and evening. 
Depended on where the ship was and what traffic was expected. Certainly did more than the 56 hours per week on most ships. 
A ship I sailed on with a typewriter had no key for the numeral 0 and hence you had to use letter O as required. Took me several years to get out of the habit of attempting O instead of 0 on standard typewriters.
Wismajorvik


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## trotterdotpom (Apr 29, 2005)

I always thought the H16 ships were anything with over 12 passengers as with the rule about carriage of a doctor but I never experienced it anyway. The 2 hours on/2hours off watchkeeping starting times changed according to a series of time zones as you went east or west. I forget which direction but you could end up starting at around midday and finishing at 0200 local. A right pain, especially when bars were introduced. I used to follow the correct times religiously, dunno why because nobody would have known what I was doing. Eventually they changed the hours to 0800-1200 local time, any two continuous hours between 1200 and 1800 and two more between 1800 and 2200 local time, as they'd been doing on Continental ships for ever, I believe. Much more sensible. As GW4 said, you could still get caught doing extra hours for one reason or another. Setting the auto alarm when going off watch involved testing it each time. I used to push a button to stop the external bells ringing and making a racket but on one ship the Old Man accused me of not testing the equipment because he didn't hear the bell. My cabin, with bell, was next to his. Boy did he wish he hadn't said that! John T


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## gw4xxf (6 mo ago)

Thanks Trotter. Yes - I knew abt the change of watchkeeping hours to four in the mng but that happened after I swallowed the anchor.
My first ship (as Jnr R/O) carried abt 100 passengers. We kept H16 because of the Wireless Press but when that closed down one of my successors told me they reverted to H8. I will research the classifications.
The Chief R/O was a disgusting drunken slob (may he rot in...........!) so of the H16 I had to stand abt H12. Right b'stard he was.

When I was on H8 ships I learned never to switch the Auto-Alarm off. Two reasons:
One] It was better at detecting than I was when desperately trying to work on HF with cans clamped tight to my ears.
Two] It saved a few minutes when going off watch waiting for it to warm up!!


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## R651400 (Jun 18, 2005)

Wasn't your Auto Alarm interlocked with the ship's main aerial ?


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## gw4xxf (6 mo ago)

Good point, maybe I connected it to the Em Ae.

It's a long time ago!!


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## Wismajorvik (Dec 29, 2011)

Recollect the A/A interlocked with the main aerial on various ships. 
On the Amazon H24, three R/Os and subsequently no A/A.
The radio room was set up as a MF desk, an HF desk and an emergency desk where the equivalent of the MIMCO Alert was situated. When operating on hf there was no way to monitor 500.
Being on the 12-4 watch it was my lot to do meal reliefs, take telegrams from the passengers and handle passengers making R/T calls at the telephone booth. All for £40 10s a month. I moved to tankers.


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## Troppo (Feb 18, 2010)

By the 80s, A/As had their own antenna...

I used to use the A/A as a watchkeeping rx - as long as it had a BFO (Lifeguard N)


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## makko (Jul 20, 2006)

gw4xxf said:


> Mr Makko, to answer your question abt H's.


Dear gw4xxf,
Thank you very much for your comprehensive answer! So, "H" is hours watchkeeping per day. I was just a humble Engineer.........!
Rgds.
Dave


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## david.hopcroft (Jun 29, 2005)

Ref GW4XXF #21 We had those also at GKZ

David

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## gw4xxf (6 mo ago)

David, the Mercury was a cracking Rx on MF, very little drift at all due to that temperature compensating capacitor.
Obviously at a CRS they were never switched off H24.
I learned at sea to leave the Rx's on H24.
Especially because of arriving on watch in the nick of time meant I was ready to take the Area Scheme TFC lists!!
That of course applied to HF - the Electra and then the Atalanta.


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## Ron Stringer (Mar 15, 2005)

Sailed on a couple of ships with the CR300 and because of the drift with temperature, was always advised not to turn it off between watches. But leaving it on meant that those horrible, unreliable vibrator power packs in the bottom of the Oceanspan ran continuously, risking their failure.

Switching off made it hard to locate the wanted HF station when you switched on, (the working- temperature calibration settings were way out on a cold receiver) so finding the Area traffic list could be a bit of a panic at times. Of course, those same vibrator power packs often failed on switch-on, possibly the contacts didn't enjoy the current surge.

Decisions, decisions.


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## johsnhghg (3 mo ago)

Precisely my thoughts when I first saw the Marconigram as Tamaroa/GFWX after WW2 was converted to tourist class only and at the very least would be H16 with two RO's..


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## graygordon871 (4 mo ago)

gw4xxf said:


> Mr Makko, to answer your question abt H's.
> 
> Merchant (mercantile in US-speak) ships had to keep radio watches according to vessel type.
> The basic were H8 which kept four two hour watches with a two hour break in between then a gap overnight of ten hours.
> ...


All NZS cargo ships were H16 and I thought that the regs in the early sixties required passenger ships carrying up to 80 passengers eg. Gothic Ceramic etc were H16 did that change later in the decade?


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