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Today's Topics:
1. Radios in movies (Charlie L.)
2. Re: AM beacons (Hubert Miller)
3. Re: AM beacons (Bruce MacMillan)
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Message: 1
Date: Tue, 27 Jan 2026 14:14:19 -0500
Subject: [Milsurplus] Radios in movies
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Does 'Where Eagles Dare' rank as one of the most radio intense movies?
'Inglourious Basterds' has a radio scene briefly. 'The Ministry of
Ungentlemanly Warfare' has a brief scene, but one a bit longer with a copy
of a paraset. And what was the name of that WW II movie whose storyline
was to get a radio operator to a Japanese radio controlled mine station so
he could transmit the signals to detonate all the mines? The rack of radio
gear there was impressive, was that a real radio station's equipment?
Charlie in NC
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Message: 2
Date: Tue, 27 Jan 2026 23:50:18 +0000
Subject: Re: [Milsurplus] AM beacons
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Sent from my Galaxy
>-------- Original message --------
>Date: 1/27/26 10:42
>To: Kargo_cult
>Hue, when I first got my 348 working back in the early 1980s there were still a bunch of those beacons on military bases. 388khz (NXX) was close enough that I could hear it with a short length of wire. Once I put a real antenna on it I could hear a bunch of them. BTW: my 348 has an AC supply instead of >the dynamotor.
I recall in the early 1960s my parents shopped at Paine Field AFB in south Everett WA. This AFB field is now a civilian operation and Boeing Aviation moved into the rest. I recall in the early 1960s, probably in the winter DX season, you could on a car radio at Paine AFB hear beacon 'OX' from Comox, BC Canada just below the official AM band lower limit. Above the band, on 1630 kHz, was 'Bull Harbor Radio', an AM coastal radio station from BC Canada. You could hear it in Seattle on any competent radio receiver. I am wondering right now if it was a Canada coast guard station because i don't recall hearing ship , shore phone traffic. When there were still a lot of disused AM boat radios around, you used to occasionally see one with a transmit rock for 1630 in it, which meant the vessel traveled up to BC.
I recall some Navy ship trying to set up a phone call on the still in use AM medium wave channel, now disallowed for good old AM, but their SSB just did not work. I think this was the limited period where there was an "AM equivalent" suppressed sideband mode allowed. I also did the 10:00 wx on 2522 kHz a time or two, and i suffered "mic fright", altho i realize now that no one listening gave a
sh@t what you sounded like, IF they were even listening.
About this time it seemed good ole Western Electric standards started going to hell. I recall Olympia marine channel 28 VHF was out of service for weeks because some tech had forgotten to close the transmitter access door.
I also recall some beer swilling good ole boys trying to get some laffs by calling in with a semi obscene "boat name" ( right...) to embarass
a woman op. BUT the marine op that afternoon on Olympia 28 happened to be one H. Miller and he just could not hear you, even if you had a transmitter with VOA's power.
Enough digression...
-Hue Miller
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Message: 3
Date: Wed, 28 Jan 2026 09:17:13 +0000
Subject: Re: [Milsurplus] AM beacons
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In the beginning there was the West Coast Radio Service. This
established communications and navigation stations at lighthouses and
other shore stations from Victoria to the Alaskan border. In 1937 it
became the federal Dept. of Transport. 1630 was the working frequency
for the westcoast of B.C. so would be monitored by all stations. In the
1960s B.C. Telephone Co. took over ship to shore on their own
frequencies, also in the marine band. I spent many nights listening to
the fish boats phoning home but only 1/2 of the conversation. The rest
was beeps.
Bruce? M0SOE (ex VE7)
On 27/01/2026 23:50, Hubert Miller wrote:
> Above the band, on 1630 kHz, was 'Bull Harbor Radio', an AM coastal
> radio station from BC Canada. You could hear it in Seattle on any
> competent radio receiver. I am wondering right now if it was a Canada
> coast guard station? because i don't recall hearing ship , shore phone
> traffic.
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End of Milsurplus Digest, Vol 261, Issue 49
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