[ARC5] [MRCA] CW Keying Wheel

[Richard Knoppow]

    WNU was the New Orleans station of Tropical Radio Telegraph Co. TRT 
was a division of The United Fruit Co and a pioneer in wireless. The 
wheel was probably used on a "beacon", a transmitter used on the HF 
bands to announce the presence of the station and solicit for traffic. 
Typical message might have been V V V DE WNU WNU WNU  QRU?  QSX 6 8 12 
MCS AR K. Stations also used loops of punched paper tape. TRT also 
operated WAX near Miami Fla, and at one time a few other stations mostly 
serving the Gulf and Caribbean area. It also operated extensive 
telephone and wireless operations in South America.
     You should be able to trace out the message on the disc. I have no 
idea what the number means, perhaps there were many discs with standard 
messages.

On 8/23/2024 8:17 PM, howard holden wrote:
> WNU was a coastal station in Slidell, Louisiana. They would have been on 22431, not 21431, which is in the 15 meter ham band. Plus, they would have been on 500Kc, plus a traffic alternate to 500 somewhere between 400 and 500 Kc, plus on 4, 6, 8, 12, and 16Mc marine bands. That wheel was probably an idle traffic wheel, which would have gone something like this: VVV VVV VVV CW DE WNU WNU WNU OBS? TFC 4/6/8/12/16/22 MC and would repeat. There's a photo of WNU on this site: https://www.radiomarine.org/historic-coast-stations
> 
> 73, Howie WB2AWQ


-- 
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles
WB6KBL
SKCC 19998