[Milsurplus] [MMRCG] Any TBY People Still On This Side of the Grass?

[David Stinson]

I passed along a set of Merchant Marine Radioman log books
to someone on the reflectors years ago.  Don't remember who
but could probably find it by digging through the emails.

The books covered several convoy trips with several ships
over many months.  They absolutely document the continual use
of TBY between merchant ships in convoy, probably for the very reason
that it is short range and low power.  The expensive TBS
was for the Navy vessels. The Radioman had to "calibrate TBY"
every few hours around the clock as the TBY net was used
as a "convoy intercom."  Were constantly checking that they had
enough batteries.  Perhaps the AC power supplies were in too-
short supply (pun there) and that's why they are so rarely seen.
These merchant ship installs were doubtless where the
"TBY Ground Plane" antennas one used to see at Fair Radio
back just before the Exodus from Egypt.

One cool passage was a long "QST" butt-chewing over the TBY
"Convoy Intercom" because some unknown op was goofing-around
and using foul language on the TBY. :-D

  I wrote several postings with details of the logs, which
including Flag Hoists, Colored Lights and Flashing Light
messages and codes, and believe-it-or-not, ZB directing
finding "discs of the day" which proves they were using
ZB to form on the Commodore if they got lost.
I have a Code Book and could "de-code" some of the
Flashing Light and Flag Hoist messages, like directing
them the next "zig" would be a "zag" or turn to some
bearing, followed by "Execute."  Submarine sightings,
picking-up survivors from attacks, etc. I thought the books
excellent, especially figuring-out what the messages were saying.

I posted some long pieces on it all,
and no one said diddly-boo. Crickets.

  I assumed few people gave a
rat's about it, so I stopped spending time on it,
found one of the very few who showed
interest and gave him the books.  Too many other projects
to waste time on one no one cares about.
I do hope that might have changed.

GL OM DE Dave AB5S


On 10/31/2022 9:50 AM, Ray Fantini wrote:
> Cant help that the TBY is a technological dead end, did not say it did 
> not get used. Navy convoy ships they used radios like the TBS that 
> resolved the issues of stability, sensitivity and power...

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