[SOC] SOC Expedition

[Lloyd Lachow]

   When I heard that Nick, K3NY, was involved as a
volunteer on a WWII submarine moored in Baltimore's
inner harbor, I was simply, as Patrick O'Brian would
have put it, "with child" to go check it out. Nick
magnanimously offered to show me around, and we set a
date for yesterday, Saturday afternoon. 

   I arrived only about 45 minutes late, and there was
Nick, fumigating the harbor from topsides. My first
SOC eyeball! We spent some time looking around the
topsides, at the antennas and fittings, before going
below.

   Fascinating, below. Amazing. Very well kept, and
Nick has a deep knowledge of the history and workings
of the auld boat. We did a tour, somewhat attenuated
by my desire to be in the radio room.

   Finally ensconced in the radio room, Nick showed me
the contents, briefly, which include WWII gear from
the boat as well as some later gear from the 50s. He's
working on restoring this equipment, and I was able to
witness, firsthand, the use of some of the colorful
language required for this demanding task.

   I had brought my K1, Rock-Mites, and various
accoutrements, and Nick produced a 12V supply that
fit, a BNC connector to the boat's longwire antenna,
and a set of paddles. Plugged in, I made a couple of
contacts, using my call rather than the boat's special
call, NK3ST. (The boat, the USS Torsk, used the call
NKST.) While chatting, Nick said that once, when he
found that a tourist onboard was from La France, he
was thinking of showing her his orange juice. Froggies
all are OJD, n'est-ce pas, Claudio?

   Too soon, it came to an end...but only for this
time! Apparently, anytime I can escape the
gravitational field of ma famille, I am welcome to
return and operate from the boat!! 

   One of the SOC bits of the day was that it wasn't
until driving home that I realized what Nick had been
saying about being the focus of a pileup while
operating from the boat as NK3ST: it's a special call!
It gets spotted, and you get to distribute submarine
pelts to your hearts content! D'oh! Once, recently, I
worked NX2ND, from the USS Ling, in Hackensack, NJ,
and thought that was kind of cool...

   One other SOC moment was, after parting in the
parking structure, I thought the way out was to
continue driving upward. It wasn't...but after turning
around, Nick's smile and wave reminded me how good it
is to uphold the time-honored SOC traditions.

   Thanks, Nick! 

=====
73, 72 es oo, Lloyd, K3ESE 
  K1 # 00379 - 20/40M Rock-Mites - Hunk o' Wahr
        ARRL - ARS #1301 - FISTS #8774 - WATPK #8
               FPqrp #476 - BORG #2 - QRParci #11147
                     QRP-L #2415 - SOC #530 
                          Fun = Skill / Power
                "You can't spell Lloyd without lol!"

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