Ham Radio

[RocketMan275]

When my late DH was in Viet Nam, he was able to call me about once a month and we had to go through HAM operators. DH would speak and say 'over' and then I would speak. It was so awkward but I was very appreciative to the HAM Operators who made it possible for me to hear his voice. At least I knew that at the exact moment, he was safe and well. I couldn't know what might happen five minutes later.

 

 

That was the MARS network. Used it a few times in Korea. The military operated the MARS stations overseas and would coordinate with ham operators in the US who had to arrange a telephone call from their station to your location.

[LHT28]

DH is not allowed any Ham radio gear on holidays

I barely get him out of his ham shack as it is :eek:

 

The cards are QSL cards & they probably can still send them as a Maritime mobile contact... I am not sure on that

DH gets cards from SW listeners so anything is possible

 

Hand helds on the ship what would you hear ?? They have a short range ..maybe in port but check your licensing to make sure it is allowed in that port

[sail7seas]

That was the MARS network. Used it a few times in Korea. The military operated the MARS stations overseas and would coordinate with ham operators in the US who had to arrange a telephone call from their station to your location.

 

You're right.... that is exactly what I referenced.

I was very appreciative to those operators who provided that service for servicemen and their families.

 

[Bill S]

Having had a ham radio license for quite a long time, while I was stationed on Guam in 1970, I used to go over to the MARS station and help with running the station and making contacts with state-side hams to run phone patches for troops there on Guam. It was gratifying to help them. I was able to run a phone patch or two to by Dear Wife, too. As an aside, the Navy recently abandoned its MARS program, but the Air Force and Army still support theirs.

 

Regarding HTs, Dear Wife has been very tolerant of me bringing an HT along on a few cruises, primarily to Alaska, and the few times when we cruise with another couple whose male unit is also a ham. On those cruises we bring our HTs and occasionally used them to coordinate meetings, etc., and we are very mindful of our surroundings to minimize disturbing our fellow passengers.

 

I will try to post some photos of my ham radio setup when we were on the Zuiderdam a few years ago.

[Bill S]

Here is a photo of my antenna as viewed from the pier in Aruba:

 

[Bill S]

deleted content due to link to photo not working.

Edited October 25, 2015 by Bill S

[Bill S]

sorry about this, but link did not work again,

Edited October 25, 2015 by Bill S

[Bill S]

Hopefully this will work: view from verandah:

 

[Bill S]

My ham gear on the verandah:

 

[Bill S]

Setup in the cabin:

 

[chefestelle]

Very cool

[Viv0828]

This thread is making me nostalgic about my dad who died 15 years ago. During the Vietnam War he too relayed calls from service men to their families.

I remember Dad and a couple of Ham buddies would do this from somewhere near LAX. I haven't thought about this in years so thanks for bringing it up.

He was K6SUZ.

Edited October 25, 2015 by Viv0828

[Bill S]

Viv,

 

I can tell you from first hand experience that your dad's and his buddies' contributions to the morale of the troops was very much appreciated.

 

In large part, support and services like phone patches are part of what the hobby of Amateur Radio is about: public service.

 

These days, phone patches have been replaced with things like Skype, FaceTime, and emails. Which is great! Our youngest son recently returned home after a 7-month long deployment in the Sinai with his National Guard unit, and we were pleased that he could easily communicate with his family using Skype and emails. No more "overs" and having ham radio operators listening in. ;)

[sail7seas]

This thread is making me nostalgic about my dad who died 15 years ago. During the Vietnam War he too relayed calls from service men to their families.

I remember Dad and a couple of Ham buddies would do this from somewhere near LAX. I haven't thought about this in years so thanks for bringing it up.

He was K6SUZ.

 

 

I'm so happy this has triggered happy memories of your Dad. I and other military families were very grateful to him and his colleagues. He gave us a real gift. :)

 

 

Viv,

 

I can tell you from first hand experience that your dad's and his buddies' contributions to the morale of the troops was very much appreciated.

 

In large part, support and services like phone patches are part of what the hobby of Amateur Radio is about: public service.

 

These days, phone patches have been replaced with things like Skype, FaceTime, and emails. Which is great! Our youngest son recently returned home after a 7-month long deployment in the Sinai with his National Guard unit, and we were pleased that he could easily communicate with his family using Skype and emails. No more "overs" and having ham radio operators listening in. ;)

 

Though the HAM relay telephone calls were so awkward, not to mention monitored so no privacy, they were a 'lifeline' for wives/parents/children who so treasured hearing their loved one's voice. At that very moment, I knew he was safe and unhurt. This, of course, was long before the luxury of cell phones, e-mails, Skype and the like. We got snail mail letters (that were often weeks old by the time they arrived :) ) but those 3 minute phone calls were treasured.

 

BillS............ your set up on the ship is amazing. You were so fortunate the Captain gave his approval. I imagine you had lots of fun times with it.

 

 

 

[Bill S]

Hi Sail!

 

I was part of a large ham radio organization which obtained permission to set up 2 ham stations on the Lido deck and permission for individual hams to set up stations in their verandah cabins. I believe that my station was the only "privately-owned" station onboard. That weekend there was an international amateur radio event in which hams attempted to have contacts with as many different call sign prefixes as possible, for example US prefixes are W, K, N & A while Netherlands' prefixes are PA & PJ (Antilles). Because we were on a Netherlands flagged ship, we had to use the PA or PJ prefix ahead of my W prefix and identify as Maritime Mobile.

 

I used an antenna system that I had used on my SUV years ago and my transceiver is all solid-state, with microprocessors galore, but still pretty basic by comparison these days. I operated both with voice and morse code.

 

The propagation conditions were superb and I made many contacts with both US and European ham radio operators. It WAS great fun, and a very special experience to operate as a maritime mobile.

 

Indeed, I owe the Captain and HAL a great deal of thanks!

[kc5fm]

I'm just curious - what does one do with the radio on board? I'm unfamiliar with amateur/ham radio; I read the wikipedia entry but still don't understand what the main reason for involvement is, or why it would be of interest on a cruise.

 

The answers you have heard so far involve High Frequency "shortwave" sets. Another option is for your traveling buddies who are also #hamradio operators to talk to one another while on or off board using their handheld radios.

 

Just as some folks also like to listen to "scanners", for example, on the railroad frequencies, some folks like to listen to port channels and the Maritime Safety Channel 16.

 

Just like some can't leave their cell phone turned off in their cabin, there are those in my hobby who would actually melt dead-away, if they could not talk on the radio. :D

 

It is a fun hobby. For more information, please feel free to visit the ARRL, find a local club, and see if you won't fit.

 

73

 

Lloyd, KC5FM