Mine was from just off Singapore to GKI at Portishead - got a QRK/QSA 4 on that particular transmission! Used a Globespan (Marconi) transmitter and an Atalanta reciever.
Athinai Radio SVA Nightly on 4 and 6 mhz Panama to NSW about 1967 and GKI 22mhz daylight to the UK same trip, one call and UP WKG Freq with both stations. Transmitter looked pretty old and one had to tune the Crystal Oscillator first then the first intermediate Amp and so on until finally getting the Antenna setup via the DIP and MAX OUT. I cant remember the name of the TX but it must have came from the ''ARK''
Shouldn't this be categorised by output power?
Globespan? Commander? Modern trash with too much power.[=P]
Although the Globespan is a bit long in the tooth I suppose.
Quite right Marconi Sahib - this should be confined to Oceanspan transmitters with their stunning 120 watts max.
I remember on a shore run in Singapore being scoffed at by an SSM sparks because of the troubles I had qso'ing europe with my Oceanspan. Turned out he had a 1.2kW Transmitter !
In the days of the Area system. Just about to enter Sydney. Had just sent my TR to Sydney/VIS on 500. As usual asked him to QSP it to VIS H/F. As usual, he refused. Too close to hear VIS on H/F, it was well dark and couldn't hear him anywhere. I did however hear GKG booming in (QSA5 QRK5) on 12 mc/s (or mHz). He answered first call and I had to tell him we were QTP VIS so he could send my TR all the way back. Amazing.
As to transmitter power, I never had more than 100W, never.
We know power wasn't everything but there's certainly a difference between an Oceanspan and the later all singing, all dancing models.
Even a difference between Oceanspans from 60 watts to 120 watts but at least a yardstick for measurement.[=P]
I think the RF Out was only about 40 Watts, as in radiated power, A guy tried to explain it to me once, on and on about the Ear being subject to a Logritmig responce curve., and you having to increas power by a high proportion in order for the ear to notice., something like that., anyway we always got through to Europe. P.S. Just noticed that post/question may not have been for me,
Regularly used to send telex traffic to GKA from Aussie coast direct as long as I got short bounce route on 8Mhz in a morning if I remember back to the 80's correctly, abeit the Tx was a Redifon RMT1500 and Redifon receiver but can't remember type but it did have a large heavy silver tuning knob and was synth'd, linked to a Marconi sitor telex unit. I also remember being able to trigger GKA telex but if reception or transmission was long path the time between Tx and Rx was to long so it could not sync itself so would drop out. Those were the days when the owners would sent out messages last thing Friday knowing you could not reply until after the weekend.
Respect to the previous entry from "R651400" being able to recollect the HT voltage etc etc, crikey I only go back to the late 70's to mid eighties......... seems that maybe the old dits and dahs have been getting too the grey matter too much as I cannot recall such info as to voltage, currents etc but can remember that the Redifon RMT1500 Main Transmitter used 4 x CX250B ceramic output valves.............now that is sad but there again brings back my sea going days with nostalgia which is what this site is all about and long may it continue.
The 'City of Lucknow' had an Oceanspan III transmitter (and a CR300/2 receiver) but on our 1962/63 trip round the world west-about from Glasgow. we were never out of contact with Portishead. All traffic to the UK was sent direct to Burnham, only the shore-ship traffic was routed via the Area Scheme's overseas transmitters. From some locations you had to be choosy about transmission times but it never proved necessary to hold traffic over to the following day - not even in the Pacific to the West Coast of Panama, which was often a problem area for propagation to the UK.
Just been reading through this thead and at this late hour I rather wish I hadn't - definately too technical for my old grey cells.
I know this is a Nostalgia site but my word you Sparkie types know your onions and you don't appear to have forgotten much, you make it all sound like you could simply sit down and do it all again today(Jester)
Peter4447
Makes me want to blush but lets face it even as a child I was able to sit down and being a spark was just being professional about it de charles henry(Pint)
It's probably because it was drummed into us at college, Peter.
We were able to operate in our sleep and I suppose the deep dark recesses of our minds still contain the remnants of that training.
It sort of pops to the surface every so often like the bubbles in champagne.
Only the best of vintages you understand. [=P]
Hi niggle
What a wonderful valve the 4cx250B was. I came across it after I left the sea as the final PA in a 100 Watt VHF transmitter operating in the lower VHF band.
So easy to neutralise and very low 3rd order intemodulation product levels. However the 1500 volt final PS supply used to give me the heebies.
Regards
John
I know it's not a 'commercial' QSO, but how about an SSB QSO from 250NM NW of Cape Town (LPG/C "Teviot", October 1994, on passage from Venezuela to Thailand) to Hawaii, with the Hawaii station beaming over the North Pole? I couldn't hear him when he tried pointing his beam anywhere other than over the Pole. I was running 200W from the ship's Skanti 7200 & Marconi vertical. It was as though the DX was in the same room. Excellent!
I sent QTC 15 to Portishead from the South Pacific using the lifeboat transmitter with the mates clothes line as an aerial. Oh yes, and I wound the handle myself at the same time !!!!!
Gareth, that wasn't a lifeboat transmitter, it was one of those old washing machines like my mother used to have - my sister and I had to work the paddle with the handle on top. I wish we'd known you could send telegrams with it, You tell the kids today....
Late 70's, we had just cleared Gothenburg in the wee hours of the morning, and I asked Sparkie to jack up a phone call to Port Chalmers, NZ - my Mothers 50th birthday. He managed it - directly via ZLB (Awarua Radio, Bluff). Clear as a bell. After talking to home, had a chat to the operator at the station. In the mid 90's, after I had come ashore, I sat my Restricted Radio Operators Certificate, and somebody in class asked the lecturer about transmission and reception distances. He said the best he had experienced was working a phone call from a British vessel just off Gothenburg and that he had a copy of the log in his 'album of memories'. Got a surprise when I told him the vessels name and the telephone number of the recipient.
When I was of Secondary (High) School age I dabbled with DXing, using an old Phillips valve radio with a length of copper telephone wire as a aerial. Got a QSL from SIBS (Solomon Islands Broadcasting Service, Honiara) - they were on Medium Wave using a temporary 5 watt rig after a cyclone had wrecked their facilities.
When I was of Secondary (High) School age I dabbled with DXing, using an old Phillips valve radio with a length of copper telephone wire as a aerial. Got a QSL from SIBS (Solomon Islands Broadcasting Service, Honiara) - they were on Medium Wave using a temporary 5 watt rig after a cyclone had wrecked their facilities.
That is quite a catch. I have QSL cards from them on SW (no struggle on the west coast of N America), and one for MW, but that is quite the catch for 5 watts.
We were spoiled by the Area Scheme, once it finished it was just a matter of applying propagation knowledge, use of correct frequency and time of day. Sometimes it meant getting up in the middle of the night or working outside of watch times in order to get through but that was what it took. Nowadays folk probably wouldn't bother, they'd just use the local stations and hang the expense, but I got a lot of satisfaction out of doing it right. A quiet achiever, that was me and no doubt a lot of others too.
One of the staff at Portpatrick/GPK used to work ships off New Zealand on 1883 Khz R/T using the "Grey Line" for propagation. These were not "One Off" QSOs.
Not in the same league for distance, but GPK was easily contactable on 2182 kHz at night from the Gulf of Guinea and the South Atlantic between St Helena and Freetown. Link calls home were so much cheaper that way!
Thanks GOSLP, I often used the theory but didn't know it had a name - you live and learn.
Andysk, long ranges on VHF are either due to "ducting" or "Sporadic E" (lots of info on Google) - very common in the Persian Gulf and not funny if you're trying to call a pilot at the Shatt-al-Arab and listening to pop music from Bahrain on Channel 16! I remember giving an eta to Durban on Ch.16 about 7 days out in the Indian Ocean.
Best Sporadic ' E ' I had at sea was trying to make a VHF call from a ship off the Kent Coast (Surronded by abundant Coast stations) But No Reply. - Next ZDK Gibraltar answers and says ur 5/5. In jumped a UK Coast Station with Sorry OM QSY etc., etc.,
Best HF QSO on an Indoor Dipole was with ''G5RV Himself '' from UK to InverCargill in ZL-land. 14 mhz. Good Fun.
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