[CW] Early Radio Operator Licensing
Richard Knoppow
1oldlens1 at ix.netcom.com
Wed Aug 26 01:22:27 EDT 2020
Worth the length. By memory I think TRT also operated wire
telegraph and possibly telephone service in South America before
IT&T. Also United Fruit was politically controversial for its
operations in SA.
The name Chiquita Banana may be familiar to those who never
heard of United Fruit.
My mom told me she took a cruise on a United Fruit boat. I
never heard the details but she said they served Zombies but
would not serve more than one a day to a passenger.
Unfortunately, my mom is long SK so there is no way I will ever
know the answers.
I heard WAX and WNU regularly in the 1960s. Both were very
strong in Los Angeles.
Most of the Radio Bulletins are on line, at the FCC site and
archive.org and a couple of other places. They do not have
complete lists of stations but show changes and special
transmissions like time and weather.
I with there was a source for the ITU books but they are not
even available used. I have exactly one. Since every ship had
lists of both land and ship stations there must have been a
zillion of them, perhaps all trashed.
On 8/25/2020 4:32 PM, D.J.J. Ring, Jr. wrote:
> This message is a bit long, but it has something that I've never seen
> before in one place, a listing of US Navy stations and call signs.
>
> This email is about Boston Fruit, United Fruit, their ships, and the
> radio company that managed the radio stations on these ships, and
> ashore, Tropical Radio Telegraph - now TRT.
>
> Then it has a listing of US Navy Stations.
>
> Most of the information here came from the Radio Service Bulletin #66
> issued by the Bureau of Navigation, Department of Commerce,
> Washington, DC. October 2, 1922.
>
> Boston Fruit became United Fruit then became United Brands.
> United Fruit was what they call a vertically integrated company, if UF
> needed to import bananas to USA, they needed ships to do this,
> they needed radio stations to communicate with this fleet.
>
> United Fruit's radio stations were "Tropical Radio Telegraph." TRT ran
> the stations ship and shore stations from their offices at 30 St.
> James Ave., Boston, MA.
>
> In the USA their stations - at least those that survived until the
> vacuum tube age of CW and had moved away from spark and arc which the
> early stations used were.
>
> WBF Boston. This station was closed about 1960 as they're not listed
> in my coast station book of 1963, the receiver site was in Hingham,
> MA.
> They also had a transmitter site in the same town about 10 miles away.
> One of my neighbors had a typewriter sales and service shop in Quincy
> and he remembers selling a few Olympia all capital desk typewriters to
> them in the 1960s.
>
> I believe the MF (500 kHz and working frequency) transmitters of WBF
> were located in downtown Boston near the Customs House, I used to see
> the rooftop antenna for the station on the World Trades Building near
> the FCC offices in the Customs House. (Photos attached.) They had
> 500, 8, 12 and 16 MHz.
>
> WAX - Ojus, Florida - this station closed around 1978 or so. I heard
> them calling CQ on one of the recordings that Bill Gould, 1NP, W1NP,
> K2NP made in March 1966,
> https://archive.org/details/WilliamB.GouldIiiWirelessRadioPioneer.His500KhzRecordingsOfMarch
> According to my December 1963 "ITU List of Coast Stations" (Bern
> Book), WAX is authorized 488 and 500 kHz with power of 5 kW both
> unmodulated and modulated CW, and 6390, 8526, 13011, 17199.2 and 22431
> kHz unmodulated A1 with a power of 3 kW each.
>
> WNU Slidell, Louisiana Radio is listed and was in service perhaps even
> today but the CW portion stopped in 1999. They used 463, 478, 500
> kHz, and two or three frequencies on the 4,
>
> Outside the USA, Tropical Radio Telegraph (TRT) had:
>
> HONDURAS
> Tela Honduras Radio on 310 (sic), and 500 kHz each authorized 5 kW on
> medium wave, 6200, 8460, modulated and unmodulated CW with 400 watts,
> and AM radiotelephone on 4836.2 kHz with undisclosed power.
>
> PANAMA
> Puerto Armuelles Radio / HPN on 438 and 500 kHz with a power of 1.5 kW
> modulated and unmodulated CW, and 6467 kHz CW. Puerto Armuelles,
> Panama is on the Pacific coast of Panama in Chiriqui county, right
> south of the border with Costa Rica.
>
> That's all I can find.
>
> I always thought that Limon, Costa Rica Radio / TIM was run by TRT but
> it is listed as being run by Compania Radiografica Internacional de
> Costa Rica, San Jose, Costa Rica.
>
> Early on TRT which ran both the radio stations on land and on the
> United Fruit ships, had another coast station in Burwood, Louisiana
> with call sign WBW and special land staton, 5XE, WNU and special land
> station 5XH were then listed as TRT, New Orleans, LA, Fort Morgan,
> Alabama, WIO,
>
> From the early Radio Service Bulletin of the Commerce Department:
>
> RADIO WEATHER BULLETINS, SWAN ISLAND, CARIBBEAN SEA.
>
> The United States Weather Bureau has made arrangements with the United
> Fruit Co. for broadcasting and disseminating daily, beginning
> September 18, 1922, of special weather bulletins from the radio
> station located on Swan Island (United States ) for the special
> benefit of shipping in the Caribbean Sea.
>
> The a.m. bulletins will be in two parts. The first part will be
> broadcasted only during the hurricane season, June to November,
> inclusive, and will consist of weather observations taken at
> (approximately ) 8 a.m, seventy- fifth meridian time ( 7 a.m ninetieth
> meridian time), at the following places which are indicated by key
> letters:
>
> Swan Island........ US
> Port au Prince, Haiti...................... PP
> Belize, Honduras....... BZ
> Cienfuegos, Cuba........ CFG
> Bluefields, Nicaragua.... BFD
> La Fe, Cuba......... LFE
> Willemstadt, Curacao... W [Yes, a one letter call sign!]
> Kingston, Jamaica....... KN
> San Juan, P. R............ SJ
> Turks Island, Bahamas... FI
>
> The names of the stations, as well as the key letters, will be radioed
> from September 18 to October 15, 1922, inclusive, in order that
> shipmasters may identify the stations;
> after that time only the key letters will be used. The key letters
> will be followed by a group of five figures showing barometric
> pressure, wind direction, and wind force. The first three figures
> express actual barometric readings, in inches, reduced to sea level.
> The fourth figure is wind direction: 1 = north ; 2 = northeast; 3 =
> east; 4 = southeast ; 5 = south ; 6 = southwest; 7 = west ; 8 =
> northwest; 0 = calm. The fifth and last figures show wind force in the
> Beaufort Scale; except when winds of force greater than 9 occur words
> instead of figures will be used. If any portion of a report cannot be
> furnished, such portion will be replaced by an equivalent number of
> letter “ X. '' Example: US 98643 ( translated ): Swan Island,
> barometer 29. 86 inches, wind direction southeast, wind force 3. The
> second part of the bulletin will consist of wind and weather forecasts
> for the western Gulf of Mexico (west of longitude 90° ), eastern Gulf
> of Mexico ( east of longitude 90°), the Caribbean Sea (west of
> longitude 739), and for the Windward Passage.
>
> The Radio Service Bulletin from Commerce Department also lists:
>
> Details of time, weather, press, and hydrographic bulletins schedules
> broadcasted by Naval Communication Service .
> Name of station Call letters, Wave length, Type of emission . Time (
> 75th meridian ) . Nature of service.
>
> Alpena, Mich . .. . . . NSM 1,200m Spark 0845 1145
> 1245, 1645, 1845 Weather.
> Annapolis, Md......... NSS 17,145m C.W. 1155 Time,
> 1700 Ice report, 2155 Time, Press.
> Arlington, Va......... NAA 5,950m and 2,650m C.W./ spark 1030
> Weather, hydrographic, 1135 Time, storm warnings. 2155 Time,weather,
> hydrographic, press.
> Balboa, Canal Zone.... NBA 10,110m C.W. 0155 Time,
> press 12.55 Time.
> Baltimore, Md........ NBZ 700m Spark 1030
> Weather, hydrographic. 1600 DO.
> Bar Harbor. Me. NBD 2,750m Spark 0300 Press.
> Boston, Mass......... NAD 1,620m Spark 1100
> Weather, hydrographic, 1155 Time, if Arlington (NAA) fails, 1700
> Weather, hydrographic.
> Buffalo, N. Y.. NNZ 1,200m 1045 1700 Spark 2245
> Weather, hydrographic
> Cavite, P. I. . .. .. ..NPO 5,200m CW and 2,700 Spark Time
> signals at listed times.
> Charleston, S.C.... . . NAO 2,250m Spark Weather
> and Time if Arlington fails.
> Cleveland, Ohio .. .. NRH 1,080m Spark Weather
> 1100, 1730 and 2300.
> Colon, Canal Zone . .. NAX 1,620m Spark Weather 0455, 1255
> Duluth , Minn.. ... .. NUX 1,200m Spark Weather 1045, 1645
> Dutch Harbor, Alaska NPR 2,250m Spark Weather 0030, 1230
> Eureka, Calif . .. . . NPW 2,650m Spark Weather,
> Time, and Weather
> Galveston, Tex. .. ... NKB 1,813m Spark Weather
> Great Lakes, Ill. .. . .NAJ 1,988m Spark Weather and Time
> Guantanamo, Cuba... . NAW 1,870m Spark Hurricane
> Warnings every four hours
> Honolulu , Hawaii . . NPM 2,250m Spark 11,500 C.W. Weather and Time
> Key West, Fla . .. . ...NAR 1,988m Spark Time and Press
> Miami, Fla . . . . . . NGE 1,620m Spark Weather
> New Orleans, La . . .. NAT 1,832m Spark Weather and Time
> Newport, R. I. . . . NAF 1,908m Spark Time if
> Arlington Fails
> New York, N. Y. . . NAH 1,832m Spark Weather
> and Time if Arlington Fails
> Norfolk, Va . .. . . . NAM 1,851m Spark 507m Spark/MCW Weather
> and Time if Arlington Fails
> North Head, Wash. ... NPE 2,700m Spark Weather and Time
> Pensacola, Fla . . . . NAS 2.250m Spark Weather
> and Hydrographic
> Philadelphia, Pa. . . NAI 1,948m Spark Weather
> and Hydrographic
> Point Isabel, Tex. .. . NAY 2,250m Spark Weather
> Port au Prince, Haiti. NSC 2,250m Spark Hurricane
> Warnings every four hours
> Portland, Me. NAB 800m Spark Weather
> San Diego, Calif. NPL 9,800m C.W, 1,988m Spark Press, Time
> San Francisco, Calif. NPG 1,908m Spark 4,650 C.W Time,
> Press, Weather and Hydrographic
> San Juan, P . R . ... NAU 5,200m Spark Hurricane
> Warnings and Weather
> San Pedro, Calif. NPX 1,851m Spark Weather
> Savannah, Ga . ... .. NEV 1,813m Spark Weather
> Seattle, Wash . .. .. . NVL 1,988m Spark Weather
> St. Augustine, Fla .. NAP 1,851m Spark Weather
> St. Croix, Virgin Is. NNI 450m Spark Hurricane
> Warnings every four hours
> St. Petersburg, Fla . NGL 2,700m Spark Weather
> St. Thomas, Virgin Is. NBB 1,688m Spark Hurricane
> Warnings every four hours
> Tatoosh, Wash . .... .. NPD 1,654m Spark Weather
> Tutuila, Samoa.. ... NPU 2,250m Spark Weather,
> Hydrographic
>
>
> The Radio Service Bulletin listed the times of transmission, and I
> typed some of them, but I abandoned that effort because it was
> meaningless at 100 years after the fact.
>
> 73
>
> David N1EA
>
> On Tue, Aug 25, 2020 at 2:48 PM Richard Knoppow <1oldlens1 at ix.netcom.com> wrote:
>> I am not sure who the Great White Fleet was. The term was
>> used for a U.S.Navy operation to show off U.S. Naval power during
>> the Theodore Roosevelt administration. Was this who was
>> advertising in QST? Sildell was Tropical Radio Telegraph Co,
>> WNU. TRT was owned by the United Fruit Company. Before WW-2 TRT
>> had at least three stations in the U.S. WBF (Boston Fruit) in
>> Boston, WNU in New Orleans, and WAX, near Miami (I think Hialeah
>> originally). WBF seems to have been discontinued and was not on
>> the air after the war.
> ______________________________________________________________
> CW mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/cw
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:CW at mailman.qth.net
> CW List ARCHIVES: http://mailman.qth.net/pipermail/cw/
> Unsubcribe send email to
> cw-unsubscribe at mailman.qth.net
> Subscribe send email to cw-subscribe at mailman.qth.net
> Support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>
> =30=
--
Richard Knoppow
1oldlens1 at ix.netcom.com
WB6KBL
More information about the CW
mailing list