[QCWA] Tape downfall

[B Roske]

Hi Joe,

I spent enough time on the Signal Bridge to know that reading light was a 
horse of a different color.  Don't remember how fast I could read it, never 
checked, but not near as fast as I could copy a radio signal.
I knew an SM1 that could read light so fast  it looked like a solid beam, at 
least it did to me.

73,
Bob N0UF
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Joseph Fenn" <jfenn at lava.net>
To: "Discussion of QCWA" <qcwa at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Tuesday, March 28, 2006 11:45 PM
Subject: Re: [QCWA] Tape downfall


> Bob,
> I was in GITMO in 1941 for several days on the USAT
> Col Penrose.   It use to be the steam yacht Florida
> before Vanderbilt donated it to the ATS.
> We had to go into GITMO for serveral days as the Master
> almost capsized just north of Cuba.  We sent a msg to WAR
> about the thing and advised them that the Master refuses
> to take the ship to sea unless they poured some cement
> balast in the keel.  I and oneother RO were the only 2
> GI's on the ship.  Rest of crew were all Civil Service.
> We sent our msg out via radio to WAR just prior to entering
> the harbor.  After about 3 days of sittin behind the Radio
> Shack on upper deck and listening to The Dorsey bros and
> Sinatra,  one night suddenly we were blinded by the Tower
> light flashing in our face.   After several mins Charlie
> and I recognized that they were keying CW with the light.
> We had no idea what to do about it so went and asked that
> ships Master whats going on.  He just reached in a drawer
> and pulled out a hand key with a cable attached to it.
> WE pushed the key down and the lights on the forward mast
> went on.  So Charlie (the other RO) W4GAT said ok who wants
> to read the stuff so and which of us is gonna type it out.
> I said ok I'll read you type.   The msg was originated at
> WAR and said in essence that we were cleared to sail out
> the next morning and the ballast was finished.
> Funniest part was getting the ball rolling.  I started
> reading the code out but the light paused and repeated
> the same stuff over and over.  Finally the guy at the lighthouse
> said in blinker  "please send me a long dash for each word you
> copied ok".  After that things went smooth as butter.
>                        Joe
>
>
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