Page 32 May June 2014 TCA

Checking wiring for bad Norm, KI4YSY, Bob, KK4KSY and
insulation, cleaning all the Bill N2COP (South Carolina Section
switches and contacts, Manager) working 40 metres.
and reseating all the man who went ashore under
plug-in components, like the covering fre of the North
resistors, was a major Carolina. Charlie is currently
undertaking. The the President of the Azalea
generators had to be Coast club.
lubricated as well as
having brushes and Norm, Jack and Allan have
armatures tested. It took many stories about the work
over a year, with several they did on the ship. They
failures, until the usually stop working on the
transmitter was ship in late May and return in
functioning. The frst October, as the ship has no air
signal went out on conditioning and you can
November 27, 2001. imagine how hot a steel ship
gets in the North Carolina sun.
The most memorable Jack told me about the time
contact with this they thought they would get
transmitter took place on some air by forcing air through
January 28, 2002. They As stated earlier I listened to CFRX as the ducts. He said the radio room was a
worked W1SRR using the TBM. This was well as CHU on 7.850 and 14.670 MHz. mess and it took them a long time just to
Richard “Mac” McCullough who was a I never hear the 14.670 signal at home. clean it. They turned on the fans and the
Plankowner and a radio operator on the The story of moving this 100-pound dust that came out of there was so bad
ship. A Plankowner is someone who receiver from Radio 1 two decks above is they had to abandon the room. He said it
joined the ship when she was well worth hearing. took two weeks to clean the room.
commissioned. This was the frst contact
on the equipment in 60 years. The generators are the problem at the Allan, Jack and Norm are ex-ATT
present. They are down so the original employees so they also undertook to
On May 30, 2006, the TDE transmitter transmitters are silent for a while. A local repair the paging system on the ship. It
was activated. This is a smaller unit that repair shop has done many hours of work took them two years to rewire the
was put on the ship in 1944. Many of you on these – at very low fnancial return – hundreds of speakers on the ship.
may remember the famous DXpeditons of to get them back into working condition. However, now people can be paged and
Iris, W6QL and Lloyd Colvin, W6KG. They even sent one armature to Florida to authentic period radio programs are
According to Allan they had a TDE be rebuilt. They want the station to be run played over the system. They also used
transmitter onboard their boat. as original. their knowledge and repaired the ship’s
Once again the frst contact was with You have to respect the ingenuity that the telephone system. You can now call
W1SRR. You have to respect these Amateurs have used to restore this setup. around the ship using the original phones.
hardworking gentlemen as they arranged They had a problem replacing brush caps I could have spent days talking to these
for Mac’s son to bring him to the on these generators. They could not get three gentlemen, hearing their tales of the
battleship. Allan said they almost had to them, but a local community college, work on the ship. Allan has a vast
carry him down the ladders, but they got Cape Fear Tech, had their students make knowledge of radio history as well.
him to the radio rooms where he could many of them as a project. One of the
actually make some contacts on the feld pots had the ceramic break and they QSO PARTY OPERATIONS
restored equipment. You can still see the had no replacement. A local Amateur The team consisted of:
smile on their faces as they remember made replacements out of wood.
Mac operating the sets. There is an Jay Barton, N3QH; Allan Pellnat, KX2H;
original chalkboard in Radio 2 that still As you look around you see many vintage Ron Walsh, VE3GO; Bill Morine, N2COP;
has the dates of the contacts with Mac. pieces of equipment. A three-foot high Bob Kiehlmeier, WA3IRG; Bob Froelich,
Unfortunately, Mac became a Silent Key a TDQ transmitter grabs your attention. KK4KSY; Jack Jacobs, WD4OIN; Norman
few years ago. The TBK-7 transmitter was This was the VHF unit used. I sure would Clemmons, KI4YSY; Jim Kapetski,
brought to life in 2009. not want to run this mobile in my car. K3DEP; Jeff Wingfeld, KI4JDE; and
Nearby, there are Hallicrafters S20R and Dean Webb, KK4DRQ.
Several of the RCA receivers have been S27 receivers. The S27 was the VHF
restored. There are three types you can receiver while the S20R was similar to the My day began with an invitation to join the
use. The RBA was for 500 kHz and below, rig used by the original holder of my call, Azalea Club at the K&W Cafeteria in
the RBB was for 500 kHz to 4 MHz and Chuck Millar, VE3GO. Wilmington for breakfast. I enjoyed
the RBC was for 4 to 18 MHz. These rigs meeting Allan and others who I had
were restored in Arizona and work well. On the 65th anniversary of the signing of corresponded with.
I was surprised at the sensitivity and the surrender documents in Tokyo Bay, I passed the promised Morse key to Allan.
selectivity of the radios. In fact, their analog the USS North Carolina used their original The operating group met in the ship’s
calibration was quite accurate. I guess I transmitter to make a contact with the cafeteria and then proceeded to the ship.
will always be an SWL as I could not keep USS Missouri on which the document The battleship is impressive as you make
my hands off the receiver. When I get was signed. The operator Charlie the turn off highway 17. Her size and
back there I plan to do some real listening Vaughn, K4UWH, is the son of an camoufage paint scheme captures your
on these sets. operator from the North Carolina. The attention immediately.
operator on the Missouri was the son of a
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