[Milsurplus] Mackay marine

[Hue Miller]

When I was working in Seattle in the late 1970s I would pass by the local 
Mackay office
every day. I felt it was interesting that even in those years a high-seas 
radio company
still had a local representative. Their office, IIR, was down on or near 
Western Avenue,
and close to my employer, Radar Electric. Seattle is actually quite a large 
port, though,
even if not for container freight: it's actually the largest fishing port on 
the west coast.

When I moved to Newport, Oregon, on the coast, in 2003, one thing that 
surprised me
was, I saw a small building, a house actually, with a sign or painted name 
on it,
RADAR ELECTRIC. I had known that Radar had branches in a couple places, but 
quite
forgotten. By the time I moved here, all the branches had been given up.

'Mac' McPherson, the founder of Radar Electric, had been a radioman on a WW2
cargo ship on the Pacific route. The story I heard about the founding of 
Radar Electric
is that Mac had some kind of operation and the docs did something like took 
out the
wrong kidney. Mac got some kind of large cash settlement and used the money 
to
found his parts and service company. Mac always had a fond eye for surplus 
junque
and on the counters in his retail new parts store you could often see 
something
surplus, either military, or commercial surplus being offered.

I saw a handoff of a Mackay 3010 once at the Seattle, August swapmeet. It 
was
done in aggressively low key,  hush-hush manner, like a handoff of nuclear 
secrets
maybe. That's alright boys, I am real curious, but no way do I want your 
3010.
-Hue Miller