Hello everybody
I am a newcomer to this site and hope i have put the "new thread" in the correct place.
At FORT PERCH ROCK, NEW BRIGHTON, BIRKENHEAD. UK a new Marine Radio
Museum has recently been opened.
A small group of ex M.N.R/O's and helpers with maritime interests have managed to obtain ex Merchant Ships Radio Equipment that is now no longer in use due to the GMDSS regulations now being in force.
As everyone of us is a volunteer and we have all played various roles in
the realisation of this museum from scrounging radio gear to dismantling it from ships, donations of members own items, building of benches to support the equipment on display, painting, cleaning etc and has now finally come to fruition. We have managed to save this radio gear from the skip and from being kicked in the dock and thrown over the wall!!
We now have 3 yes 3 ex ships radio stations, 2 from the Marconi company and 1 from the Kelvin Hughes company, together with radio related items like telegram send/receive forms slt forms, lots of other radio related paperwork and a small library of reference books. We even have a genuine ships radio room clock with "silence periods" marked on it from the ship "Dart 8".
First Marconi station is a identical setup as for the ship "Lady of Mann" an Isle of Man ship that one of our volunteers was a Radio officer on her.
The second Marconi station is from the ship "FORTHBANK" of Andrew Weirs
shipping company, consolized station with a Commandant HS main transmitter donated from Belfast Radio college together with their Apollo receiver.
The 3rd radio station is that of Kelvin Hughes Main Consolized main and emergency radio station together with the Zealand Main Transmitter.
We also have a number of smaller units like a Marlin R/T set a Sailor VHF also Sailor Coastal telephony transmitters and receivers.We even have a few lifeboat radios with windy up handles!!! Also one from Russia!!
For transmitter lover "sparkies" we also have an STC 1400 TX and a rare
ITT Mackay 1500watt transmitter on display off the "Panamax Neptune"
bulk carrier.
A seperate room just nearing completion is a "Memories" room of things M.N.
a large chart with positions of torpedoed ships in WW11, a number of poems,
some stories of times at sea with some fine stories, plenty of pictures of ships of all types and ages that used to sail in/out of the river Mersey.
The radio room is situated in a round room with windows that look out on the river Mersey giving an excellent view of the shipping coming and going
and listening to Mersey Radio on VHF talking to the various ships in the river.
We are also soon hoping to have a live AIS display of the river in the near future.We also remember the coastal radio stations with a few pictures and articles about them as well.
Also each kid that visits can have a "go" on one of the morse keys and send his or her name in morse code. (Who said Morse Code is dead??) not here it isn't!!
Unfortunately the era of the Radio Officer is no more, they have been and gone and we have no more young ones coming up to take over from us
so our group will leave a "Radio Museum" so that people will know what a ships radio room looked like in the late50's/60's and 70's and in years to come and maybe people will realise that many, many lives were saved at sea because of Marine Radio and the Radio Officers who manned the ships and of our old friend Guglielmo Marconi who made it all possible.
The end of an era indeed.
The museum was opened by Captain Robin Woodall M.N. Ex Capt. QE11
and as shown on the plaque on the door the Radio Room is dedicated to all Merchant Navy Personnel.
The FORT is usually open every weekend from 1200 to 1630 sat and sun
and every day from 1200 to 1700 in the kids school holidays. If interested please pay a visit sometime.
I have already posted about 5 pictures of the radio room under the gallery titled "ENGINES ETC" and will post more photos very soon.
Many thanks for your attention.
freddythefrog
I am a newcomer to this site and hope i have put the "new thread" in the correct place.
At FORT PERCH ROCK, NEW BRIGHTON, BIRKENHEAD. UK a new Marine Radio
Museum has recently been opened.
A small group of ex M.N.R/O's and helpers with maritime interests have managed to obtain ex Merchant Ships Radio Equipment that is now no longer in use due to the GMDSS regulations now being in force.
As everyone of us is a volunteer and we have all played various roles in
the realisation of this museum from scrounging radio gear to dismantling it from ships, donations of members own items, building of benches to support the equipment on display, painting, cleaning etc and has now finally come to fruition. We have managed to save this radio gear from the skip and from being kicked in the dock and thrown over the wall!!
We now have 3 yes 3 ex ships radio stations, 2 from the Marconi company and 1 from the Kelvin Hughes company, together with radio related items like telegram send/receive forms slt forms, lots of other radio related paperwork and a small library of reference books. We even have a genuine ships radio room clock with "silence periods" marked on it from the ship "Dart 8".
First Marconi station is a identical setup as for the ship "Lady of Mann" an Isle of Man ship that one of our volunteers was a Radio officer on her.
The second Marconi station is from the ship "FORTHBANK" of Andrew Weirs
shipping company, consolized station with a Commandant HS main transmitter donated from Belfast Radio college together with their Apollo receiver.
The 3rd radio station is that of Kelvin Hughes Main Consolized main and emergency radio station together with the Zealand Main Transmitter.
We also have a number of smaller units like a Marlin R/T set a Sailor VHF also Sailor Coastal telephony transmitters and receivers.We even have a few lifeboat radios with windy up handles!!! Also one from Russia!!
For transmitter lover "sparkies" we also have an STC 1400 TX and a rare
ITT Mackay 1500watt transmitter on display off the "Panamax Neptune"
bulk carrier.
A seperate room just nearing completion is a "Memories" room of things M.N.
a large chart with positions of torpedoed ships in WW11, a number of poems,
some stories of times at sea with some fine stories, plenty of pictures of ships of all types and ages that used to sail in/out of the river Mersey.
The radio room is situated in a round room with windows that look out on the river Mersey giving an excellent view of the shipping coming and going
and listening to Mersey Radio on VHF talking to the various ships in the river.
We are also soon hoping to have a live AIS display of the river in the near future.We also remember the coastal radio stations with a few pictures and articles about them as well.
Also each kid that visits can have a "go" on one of the morse keys and send his or her name in morse code. (Who said Morse Code is dead??) not here it isn't!!
Unfortunately the era of the Radio Officer is no more, they have been and gone and we have no more young ones coming up to take over from us
so our group will leave a "Radio Museum" so that people will know what a ships radio room looked like in the late50's/60's and 70's and in years to come and maybe people will realise that many, many lives were saved at sea because of Marine Radio and the Radio Officers who manned the ships and of our old friend Guglielmo Marconi who made it all possible.
The end of an era indeed.
The museum was opened by Captain Robin Woodall M.N. Ex Capt. QE11
and as shown on the plaque on the door the Radio Room is dedicated to all Merchant Navy Personnel.
The FORT is usually open every weekend from 1200 to 1630 sat and sun
and every day from 1200 to 1700 in the kids school holidays. If interested please pay a visit sometime.
I have already posted about 5 pictures of the radio room under the gallery titled "ENGINES ETC" and will post more photos very soon.
Many thanks for your attention.
freddythefrog