[CW] Morse code announced to be Immaterial World Heritage

[John Kelly via CW]

Dan and Don,
If you were at Kagnew in the late 1960s maybe you saw my father there.  He worked for the Navy shore electronics engineering activity in London and went wherever the Navy had shore electronics problems in the NavEUR theater, which meant Asmara very often.  In one case at Asmara, there was a problem up an antenna tower and the C.O. wouldn't let his sailors climb the telegraph pole to fix it, so my father, Vaughn Kelly who then was in his mid 60s, climbed it and fixed the problem.
In 1974 or so I served in a little office in Washington with a commander who had been C.O. at Asmara about that time but I never mentioned that incident.  In that same office there was an Army LtCol Chilcote who worked at AEZ, the Army station.
I think I'm talking about the GENSER side of Asmara but my father was so tight-lipped I don't know.

 73,
K4XC

 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Donald Chester via CW <cw at mailman.qth.net>
To: cw <cw at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Tue, Nov 4, 2014 10:50 am
Subject: Re: [CW] Morse code announced to be Immaterial World Heritage


You were probably there about the same time I was. We missed out on the old
Radio Marina towers that used to stand on what was later called Tract A. I
have seen photos, two self-supporting four-sided towers probably 200 ft. or
more high, built by the Italians prior to WWII, used for Italian naval
communication I was told. Something right out of radio history, It was a
real shame that they tore them down. They probably supported a multi-wire
flat-top or cage antenna.  I could imagine stringing a HF dipole between
them. Long after the towers were gone, locals  still called Tract A "Radio
Marina".

About 15 years ago, I found out after the fact that a  group of local hams
had gone on a DX-pedition to Eritrea. I might have tried to join them if I
had known about it in advance. Considering the  political turmoil that has
enveloped that part of the world, I think you are right; it wouldn't be
advisable for Americans or Brits to travel there now.

Don k4kyv


-----Original Message-----

From: Danny Douglas via CW <cw at mailman.qth.net>

I served Uncle Sam, in a small base called Kagnew Station, up on an
8,000 ft high mountain in Ethiopia.  Our little home brew 2 element, 3 band
Quad, sat on top of a water tower, at the highest point in the city of
Asmara.  It was so far up that our rotator wouldnt work because we didnt
have a large enough control wire and the wire wouldnt deliver enough voltage
to turn it.  We sat it pointing stateside and there we 
worked EVERYBODY.    But I digress,  and the true "old" antenna was a 
buried cable, maybe thousands of feet long, which I saw there.  It had
previously been used by the small Naval contingent there, to communicate
with submarines in the Red Sea.  I dont know how that worked - but
apparently did.  Probably still there, if anyone wants to go to Eritrea and
put it on the air.  Suggestion - DONT.


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