Christmas 1997
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Numfier 55 — Cfin’stmas 1997 ’Viliroplex Tresentation 'MorIeI EDITORIALAND Ursum SUBSCRIPTIONOFFICES: . Morsum Magnificat, 9 Wetherby Close, Broadstone. Dorset BH18 818, England. lcat Phone/FAX: Broadstone (01202) 658474; ISSN 0953-6426 International +44 1202 658474 MORSUM MAGNIFICAT was first published as a quarterly magazine in Holland, in 1983, by the late Rinus Hellemons PAOBFN. Now published six times a year in Britain, it aims to provide international coverage ofall aspects of Morse telegraphy,past present andfuture. MORS UM MAGNIFICAT is for all Morse enthusiasts, amateur or professional, active or retired. It brings together material which would otherwise be lost to posterity, providing an invaluable source of interest, reference and record relating to the traditions and practice ofMorse. EDITOR Geoff Arnold G3GSR CONSULTANT EDITOR Tony Smith G4FA1 (l3 Morley Road, Sheringham. Norfolk NR26 8JE, England. Phone: 01263 821936. e—mail address: lonyOmorsum.demon.co.uk) MM home page - http://www.morsum.demon.oo.uk © G C Arnold Partners 1997 Printed by Hertfordshire Display plc, Ware, Herts ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTIONS (six issues): UK £13.00 Europe £14.00 Rest ofthe World £17.00 All overseas copies are despatched by Airmail w —1 Overseas must be payable in Sterling and drawn on a London Clearing?Bank. cheques, etc., Payment by Mastercard, Eurocard or Visa is also accepted; quote your card number and expiry date, checking that you have written them clearly and correctly. We no longer accept payment via PostGiro or PostCash lntemational, or by International Money Orders handled through the Girobank system. For security reasons, we cannot accept orders for subscriptions, magazines, books, etc., via e-mall. Make all chequespayable to ‘G C Arnold Partners’. “When does my subscription expire ...?” The number on the top line of the address label of your last MM tells you the last issue you've paid for. Also, we shall jog your memory with a renewal reminder included with that final issue. MM Back Issues Issues Nos. 31, 32, 34—36 and 38—54 only are available from the Editorial offices. Post-paid prices: Issues 31—50: £2.20 each to UK; £2.40 to Europe: £2.75 elsewhere by airmail. Issues 51—54: £2.50 each to UK; £2.70 to Europe: £3.00 elsewhere by airmail. Deduct 20% if ordering 3 or more. ON OUR FRONT COVER Vibroplex 'Presentation’ model,first produced 1948, and still in production. This key, serial No. 193162, was bought in USA c.1956. It has been modified by the addition ofa small magnet located on the vibrating arm to produce ‘clean' dots from a small reed relay. Its owner, Jens H. Nohns, says "This bug served me wellfrom 1958 to 1970, first in Royal Danish Navy ships and coast station work ( Faroe Islands), and later in Maersk Line ships " all over the world. Since 1982 it has been in use with my ham call OZICAR. —Photo: 02] CAR Comment Contents T WAS OBVIOUSLY INEVITABLE that News medium-frequency W/T watchkeeping by Short Break: Scouts UK coast radio stations would eventually English Boy I Studying Wireless come to an end, but knowing that fact does 10 Is Morse Passing? nothing to reduce the lump in the throat or to dry 12 2nd IARU HST the tear in the eye when reading the closure World Championships 16 Short Breaks: announcement which appears in our ‘News’ pages in this issue. Remarkable Development. Upper Case for Weather Radiotelegram traffic handled by these stations Reports. on MF W/T has dwindled to no more than a RNAS Morse handful of messages each day at the most, but the 17 New Italian final ‘nail in the coffin’ was the decision by the Robot Morse Beacon 19 MM Binders UK Coastguard Agency that it would no longer 20 Reflections from pay British Telecom Maritime Radio Services for Uncle Bas — 25 keeping the distress listening watch on SOOkHz. 23 Bookshelf Instead, that watch will in future be maintained at Showcase 26 The Schurr Profi the stations themselves — the few that Coastguard Twin Paddle reviewed will remain when their current round of 27 Readers’ ADs reorganisation and cost-cutting has been 28 The Teaching-Leaming completed! Environment With revenue dropping like a stone, even the 32 Elmering New of station closures CW Operators recent programme coast and 33 Short Break: centralised watchkeeping arrangements was not Complex Communications enough to sustain the MF coast stations as a for a Mass Flight viable business. 34 Those Were the Days! Having spent the first half of working life Radio Bygones my 39 In Praise of the in the marine radio and electronics both industry, Hand—Key afloat and ashore, I feel very sad about this ending 42 Info Please! of an era — it is almost as if I, too, have been Hams’ Signals Save declared redundant! Crew and Plane I shall console myself by looking back on 46 Your Letters those years and remembering the good times — the places I visited, the people I met, and the interesting and rewarding work. The job had its Mum-5 ups and downs, of course, but all in all I count it a to have done it. privilege I) 41 FISTS CW Club I G4ZPY Paddle Keys [€ng CQW/mm International 41 G—QRP Club 11 MEGS ‘3 /, GSGSR 31 The QRP Component Co. MM55 — Cfin‘stmas 1997 Mauls Closure of UK 500kHz and MF CW Super-Station0p Assists Commercial Morse Services in Life-Saving Operation In the period leading up to 31 December Dateline 8 August 1997: 1997, the following message, originated The life of a ship’s cook was saved to- by British Telecom, is being periodical— day by the efforts, in part, of an alert ly transmitted by British coast stations Radio Officer at the CW Super—Station GLD, GCC, GKR, and GPK: operated by Globe Wireless in Half . Moon Bay, California. ‘CQ de GLD GCC GKR GPK 2 Radio Officer Walter J. Kane, III was FROM Ol/OOOOZ JANUARY 1998 THE on duty at the CW Super—Station control UK COASTGUARD AGENCY NO point in California. From there he was LONGER REQUIRES BRITISH TEL- monitoring the receivers connected to ECOM MARITIME RADIO SERVIC- high-gain antennas at four radio stations ES TO MAINTAIN A SOOKHZ on the US East, Gulf and West coasts DISTRESS WATCH. AT THE SAME (KFS, KPH, WCC and WNU). He heard TIME, BRITISH TELECOM’S MF a distress call from the vessel Oituz and COAST RADIO STATIONS WILL relayed the information to the United States Coast Guard. CEASE ALL MORSE COMMERCIAL 1 SERVICES. HF MORSE SERVICES The Coast Guard, in turn, called in WILL CONTINUE AS NORMAL the Mexican Navy who effected the res- VIA PORTISHEADRADIO/GKA. MF ‘ cue of the, by then, very wet cook. COAST STATION STAFF SEND The detailed account below is in BEST WISHES TO ALL RADIO OP- Mr. Kane’s own words: ERATORS, PAST AND PRESENT, ‘At approximately l745UTC, I WHO USED BRITAIN’S MF MORSE detected a weak Morse Code signal on SERVICES DURING THE PAST 89 one of my local scanners calling WCC. YEARS+’ I answered the call, from the general 1 cargo vessel Oituz, radio callsign YQIE, It is anticipated that farewell trans— (on 8MHz) and received a message missions and responses on this highly which read: emotive occasion will commence on 1 FROM MV OITUZ YQIE TO ALL 500kHz at 2348Z on December 31. SHIPS STOP PSN 1848N/O9459W (Our thanks to Bruce Morris, GW4XXF, FROM VERA CRUZ TO FRONTERA who copied the above messagefrom GLD REPORTED MAN OVERBOARD / at 21002 on 7 November 1997.) COOK DESPINA GHEORGHE / 2 MM55 — Christmas 1997 MALE / ROMANIAN NATIONALITY DESPINA GHEORGHE OVERBOARD STOP (signed) MASTER SAVED ALIVE BY MEXICAN NAVY I asked the ship to standby and tele- IN PSN 1848N/09459W STOP PA- phoned the US Coast Guard Rescue Co— TIENT AT PRESENT ON BOARD ordination Center (RCC) in New York MEXICAN NAVY UNDER MEDICAL who then teleconferenced me with the ASSISTANCE IN ROUTE TO COAT- Duty Officer at USCG District 8 (New SA COALCOS FOR REPATRIATION Orleans). The Duty Officer plotted the STOP “ vessel’s position; it seems the vessel was (Globe Wireless news release, relayed actually in Mexican territorial waters, to MM by SOWP Editor, Ted Phelps near Vera Cruz. Mexico, outside the ju— W8TP, 15 October 1997.) risdiction of the USCG. RCC asked me to ask the vessel if they were searching Amateur Morse Test Review the area. Delayed Until 2001 With an exchange of Morse Code As anticipated in MM53 (p.4), the messages, the Captain responded that he expected review of Article 825 of the had a lifeboat in the water and was ‘ International Radio Regulations will searching. Upon relaying that informa- not be considered at the ITU’s World tion, the USCG indicated that all they Radiocommunication Conference in would do was pass the information to 1999 (WRC-99) after all. the Mexican Navy. Article 825 contains the internation- Later, I called Petty Officer Taylor at al radio regulations specific to the Ama- USCG District 8 (who) told me that teur and Amateur Satellite Services, and they had (relayed) the message to includes the Morse code requirement the Mexican Navy. At approximately for operation below 30MHz. 1915 UTC the ship’s radio officer called, Because of the large number of other using Morse Code, to say: issues identified for inclusion in the 1850 UTC CREW MEMBER REPORT- WRC—99 agenda at WRC-97 (held in ED MISSING WAS FOUND ALIVE Geneva, November 1997), the review of BY MEXICAN NAVY STOP THANKS S25 has been provisionally placed on FOR YOU AND ALL ALERTED the agenda for the WRC due to be held STATIONS in the year 2001 (WRC—01).