| AFTER RETIRING FROM THE SERVICE, SPENT 17 YEARS AT SEA ON U.S. - FLAGGED MERCHANT SHIPS AS A LICENSED RADIO/ELECTRONICS OFFICER AND RETIRED FROM THAT JOB IN 2007. |
QLF HERE OM
Gag photo by my electrician shipmate friend.
Note the WESTCLOX hand key on my "portable
desk". It eventually retired (along with me,
the watch clock and the lifeboat radio) in
Cathlamet after the 500 KHz CW safety
watch requirement and CW HF traffic were
eliminated.
Note the WESTCLOX hand key on my "portable
desk". It eventually retired (along with me,
the watch clock and the lifeboat radio) in
Cathlamet after the 500 KHz CW safety
watch requirement and CW HF traffic were
eliminated.
During my off-duty hours on MAUNAWILI and
other MATSON vessels, spent a LOT of time
on the hand bands - mainly 40 meter cw on
36 day runs to Hawaii, Guam and the Far
East. Once we got beyond KH6 land, hung out
mostly on 20 and 15 cw, but 40 got
interesting when we were anywhere close to
land. Antennas were usually a spare 35 ft
vertical, a 4:1 Balun at the base The
Venerable Drake B-twins (and later an
IC-706MKIIG) worked a lot of 40 meter cw
on our 36 day runs to Hawaii, Guam and the
Far East. Antennas were usually a spare 35
ft vertical, a 4:1 Balun at the base, and the
little B&W tuner on top of the TX (steel ships
and the entire ocean make for a fine radial
system) but on WILI I installed a Hustler
6BTV (without the 75M coil and whip - too
much wind resistance)..
other MATSON vessels, spent a LOT of time
on the hand bands - mainly 40 meter cw on
36 day runs to Hawaii, Guam and the Far
East. Once we got beyond KH6 land, hung out
mostly on 20 and 15 cw, but 40 got
interesting when we were anywhere close to
land. Antennas were usually a spare 35 ft
vertical, a 4:1 Balun at the base The
Venerable Drake B-twins (and later an
IC-706MKIIG) worked a lot of 40 meter cw
on our 36 day runs to Hawaii, Guam and the
Far East. Antennas were usually a spare 35
ft vertical, a 4:1 Balun at the base, and the
little B&W tuner on top of the TX (steel ships
and the entire ocean make for a fine radial
system) but on WILI I installed a Hustler
6BTV (without the 75M coil and whip - too
much wind resistance)..
| PONCE, a Puerto Rico Marine RO RO (roll on, roll off) ship - the only radio shack I ever saw with the console in black crackle - beautiful!. Note the super regen rx on the right - worked great. |
PONCE MAIN DECK AFT LOOKING FORWARD
PONCE, ON BRIDGE LOOKING FORWARD - COMPLETELY
EMPTY OF CARGO. LOADED HER WITH ARMY VEHICLES
(TRUCKS, TANKS, HUMVEES, ETC.) AND DELIVERED THEM
TO KUWAIT FOR THE INVASION. INTERESTING TRIP - WE
POSTED A BOW LOOKOUT AS WE APPROACHED KUWAIT TO
AVOID NUMEROUS OLD-FASHIONED FLOATING MINES SET
BY IRAQ. ON THE WAY OUT THEY HAD BEEN CLEARED BY
SOME REALLY EFFICIENT GERMAN MINESWEEPERS.
EMPTY OF CARGO. LOADED HER WITH ARMY VEHICLES
(TRUCKS, TANKS, HUMVEES, ETC.) AND DELIVERED THEM
TO KUWAIT FOR THE INVASION. INTERESTING TRIP - WE
POSTED A BOW LOOKOUT AS WE APPROACHED KUWAIT TO
AVOID NUMEROUS OLD-FASHIONED FLOATING MINES SET
BY IRAQ. ON THE WAY OUT THEY HAD BEEN CLEARED BY
SOME REALLY EFFICIENT GERMAN MINESWEEPERS.
PONCE MAIN DECK BOW LOOKING AFT
PONCE, ONE OF TWO TOP HAT
LOADED 500 KHZ ANTENNAS
LOADED 500 KHZ ANTENNAS
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| E-7 in 1981 - retired from combined USN/USCG service as an E-8, April Fool's Day, 1987 (appropriate) |
