[GreenKeys] Re: NAVY MORSE code

[Don Robert House]

Good story Bob,

When I was going through AT "A" school at NATTC Memphis in  
Millington, TN we had several ATNs go through MORSE training.  The  
instructor loved CW.  He could stand at a chalk board and copy code  
from two sources, one in each ear, and write out the messages on the  
board.

When I completed ATS phase my rate was changed to AX and I then went  
to ASW operators school in Norfolk.  Finally I arrived at my first  
duty station VP-16 at NAS Jacksonville.  After a month I made AX3 and  
after one year I earned my aircrew wings.  In over 1,000 hours of  
flying in both P2V Neptunes and P3A Orions I remember only one  
occasion when our radioman "Spongee" used CW.  All of us techs on the  
crew, including our electrician, took turns on the radio.  You could  
go stark raving mad listening to HF hiss for 10-13 hours at a time.   
The AN/ARC-94 and upward were all Collins 618T models.  A very  
dependable series of transceivers.  We had both overhead and trailing  
wire antennas.  Encoded SSB voice was the mode used about 98 percent  
of the time, and this was 1963 to 1965.

When I was transferred to the ASCAC on the USS Randolph CVS-15 we had  
an AN/ARC-97 installed in our space to talk directly to S2F  
technicians and some of the helo techs that operated dipping SONAR  
(Not a good assignment.)  When the air traffic controllers needed to  
reach an aircraft and were having problems with the ships radios they  
would come to our space and use our ARC-97.  This is quite a  
testament to the Collins 618T.  I worked on a lot of gear in the Navy  
and operated even more, but we hardly ever had a failure with a  
618T.  I have a "Navy" key from an old friend that was used on  
Spangle One, our call sign.  When talking to the Air Force we were  
always "NAVY 151385."

Does everyone out there know why a "Navy" key is designed the way it  
is?  I suppose so...

Thanks for your post.
Don
K9TTY


On 5 Mar 2006, at 2:08 PM, Bob McConnell wrote:

Don Robert House wrote:
> For what its worth,
> I know several Amateurs that passed their MORSE exams and have  
> never  used it since, not one single time.  If I had better hearing  
> and it  did not give me a headache every time I tried it would be  
> different.   It is very hard to differentiate the tones when my  
> ears ring all the  time.  If I try again, it will be with someone  
> helping me with both a  flashing light and a tone sequence at the  
> same time.  If the headaches return forget it.

I had to learn Morse to get into the US Navy Radio School in 1970.  
After sitting in front of an Olivetti typewriter 40 hours a week for  
three weeks learning how to type 40 words a minute, we put on  
headphones and started typing the code lessons. We didn't get out of  
there until we could send and receive 16 WPM, another three weeks for  
most of us. In the remaining seven years I was a radioman, I used  
Morse exactly once, via sonar, in an ASW exercise. As part of the  
drill, we had to exchange ten messages with a sub. Unfortunately, the  
sub was close to a hard bottom, so the echo made it impossible to  
copy. I never did hear any CW on a radio during my 3 1/2 years on a  
destroyer. Nor did I ever find a key in that radio shack. On the  
other hand, we had more crypto equipment than TTYs. We could encrypt  
two UHF voice circuits.

Today, learning Morse code to get any license is about as useful as  
having to learn calligraphy before you can use a work processor. Yes,  
you might actually chose to use it, but what does it really gain you?

On top of everything else, my Tech Plus license was downgraded to  
Tech when I last renewed it. If I ever do find a reason to take the  
General Exam, I need to turn in either my initial Novice license, or  
my first Tech license to the VE to prove I have already passed the  
Morse requirement.

Bob McConnell
N2SPP
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