[Milsurplus] "An unusual QSO"

[Bruce Gentry]

Having served in that time and theater, all sorts of clandestine QSOs 
were had.  To actually do so "in the trenches" would be foolhardy, but 
considering the morale of Army trops in Vietnam, and the likelyhood of 
him having drunk or taken something, totally possible. As for aircraft 
radio QSOs, it happened all the time. It was forbidden by regulations, 
but again, due to the character of the war and  morale status of the 
troops, it went on. In technical classes at Keesler air base, when the 
lifers weren't around or attentive, we would connect a piece of wire to 
the dummy load on KWT-6 transceivers and work local CB stations or the 
base amatuer radio club for grins and giggles.  At my base in Taiwan, we 
had an intercom on the 220 band by tuning ARC and GRC 27s, PRC-41s, and 
GRA-53s there. The manuals said it was not possible so the lifers didn't 
look for it, but it certainly does work although output power and 
sensitivety  decline the father you get from 225 MC. Rebroadcasting the 
BBC's truthful news about the war, reading newspapers from home, and 
other program material was done constantly with PRC-25 and 77 backpacks 
as well as ARC-54s. As soon as one station was found and shut down, 
another would come on, often within hours.

     Bruce Gentry, KA2IVY

On 11/20/17 7:35 AM, Hubert Miller wrote:
>
> Noticed the following letter in 'Practical Wireless'  ( U.K. ) Dec. 
> 2017 :
>
> "An Unusual QSO
>
> Dear Don, Further to the interesting QSO Harry Leeming G3LLL had with 
> the Russian station ( In the Shop, October ) and your request for 
> anyone to share an unusual QSO
>
> with PW readers, I thought I would describe an experience I had many 
> years ago.
>
> I used to have a sked with my dear friend Bruce VK2YU ( now SK ), 
> which ran for many years on 15 and 20m, depending on propagation. We 
> had been working short-path
>
> on 15m one morning back in the early 1970s and as we signed I heard a 
> weak station calling me. I gave a 'QRZ ?'  and asked for a location so 
> I could turn my beam to peak
>
> his signal. He said he just wanted to know if he was being received in 
> the U.K. and went on to tell me he was in Vietnam in a trench using a 
> Collins KWM-2 and the antenna
>
> was a long coil of barbed wire lying on the ground.
>
> He mentioned that he wasn't supposed to be on the air but had been 
> listening to our QSO and wondered if he could load up the wire and be 
> heard over here. He said that
>
> he had a U.S. callsign but couldn't tell me what it was. Just then he 
> said, 'We are coming under fire, will have to go QRT'.  I went back 
> and wished him good luck and hoped
>
> he would soon be home safely and asked if he would send me a card or 
> something to let me know he had returned safe and sound. About two 
> years later I received his
>
> QSL among a pile from the bureau, telling me he was back in the U.S.A. 
> unharmed and thanking me for the contact.
>
> You may remember that it was not uncommon in those days to hear 
> aeronautical mobiles operating from B-52s flying over North Vietnam 
> during bombing missions using
>
> the aircraft radio on the amateur bands to pass the time during the 
> flight.
>
> Howard Jone  GW3TMP,  N. Wales"
>
> End quote.
>
> I am thinking the first incident above, some G.I. rather 
> overdramatized his hamming diversion, I mean the on ground antenna and 
> the coming under fire,
>
> which I suspect was his way saying the equivalent of "Well, it's 
> dinner time, and I have to sign off now."
>
> As to the second example above, I have never heard of anything like 
> that, but I wasn't radio active during those years. Still, I suppose 
> I'm skeptical about that too,
>
> at least during bombing missions. Maybe that too was dramatized by the 
> military guys.
>
> -Hue
>
>
>
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