As some of you know, I supported my bad habits for many years as a Navy
Radioman, and quite frankly considered myself something of a hotshot operator.
To set that stage...... I spent my early Navy years aboard destroyers in the 2nd
and 6th fleets. The amount of traffic you handled was related to the seniority
of your skipper, because senior skippers not only commanded their own ships, but
also often had additional duties as task group commanders, etc. Our skipper at
the time was CDR Grant "Flash" Gordon, and he was one of these 'senior'
skippers. We made a couple of cruises to the Mediterranean and Capt Gordon was
also CTU-60.2.5 which required our ship to guard the Sixth Fleet Task Group
Commanders Net (nicknamed "Sixes Alfa"). Sixes Alfa was a high speed net,
typical traffic speeds were 40WPM, and routine procedural speed in excess of
50WPM. At the time, I was one of only 23 radiomen in the Sixth Fleet who were
fully qualified Net Control operators for that net. I go into all of this not to
brag, but only to give you an idea of how big my 21-year-old ego was. If you
were qualified to NCS "Sixes Alfa" (you got a fancy diploma style wallet
certificate signed by the Fleet Commander) then you were pretty hot stuff.

Unlike today, in those days the Red Sea and Persian Gulf area was a quiet
backwater without much military attention. The US Navy presence was something
called "Middle East Force" and COMMIDEASFOR was a Rear Admiral whose flagship
was a distinctly unwar-like AVP (seaplane tender) anchored at the Brit base on
Bahrain. (K0DQ, Admiral Scott Redd (Retired), now an active contester and a high
honcho in Dept of Homeland Security, once held that post) The rest of his fleet
consisted of a couple of destroyers loaned to him from the Sixth Fleet in the
Mediterranean for tours of a couple months at a time to strut around and show
the flag. Often we used that opportunity to also conduct joint training
exercises with ships from allied navies in the SEATO and CENTO treaty
organizations.

Our ship, USS Henley, DD762 drew that temporary assignment while I was aboard.
To get from the Med over to the Persian Gulf requires transiting the Suez Canal,
which was under Egyptian (they called themselves the UAR in those days) control.
Ships transiting the canal were arranged in convoys, on a given day consisting
perhaps of 10 or 15 ships, one convoy northbound and one southbound. These
convoys met and passed each other about midway in the canal at a 'wide spot in
the road' called "Great Bitter Lake". Each convoy carried an Egyptian civilian
pilot who knew the waters and acted as our 'guide' in navigating the canal. If
there was a warship in the convoy, they would carry the pilot and lead the
group. These pilots were required to provide the canal "Traffic Control" with
periodic position reports so that canal authorities could track our progress and
coordinate the 'passing' of the two convoys at the wide spot. The circuit which
handled this traffic was a CW circuit, and the ashore operator was an Egyptian
civilian. This was not a busy circuit, so typically it was on 'speaker watch'
while you attended to other more busy circuits, and only actually 'manned' the
circuit when you had to send or receive a report.

Now picture me, hotshot NCS from "Sixes Alfa", keeping an ear on this pilots
coordination circuit while handling traffic on another circuit. Across comes the
call:

"NHXW DE SUQ K" ---

I put my regular military circuit on hold with a 'ZUJ' and impatiently called
the 'lowly Egyptian civilian' at about 40WPM with a speed key

"SUQ DE NHXW QRQ K" ....... (QRQ my friends, is the inverse of QRS)

Bad move...... really bad and embarrassing move!

'Lowly civilian' at SUQ came back to me at a blistering speed I'm sure was 60WPM
(or faster) of beautiful musical code (there were no electronic keyers in those
days) of which I could copy no better than 50%.

I humbly sent a break signal, then a crisp and polite "QRS PSE", and the "Kind
Sir" at SUQ slowed down to a stately 30WPM. To this day I have never sent
another QRQ to ANYONE! (That guy may be still out there waiting for the
impertinent sailor to challenge him again!)

73, de Hans, K0HB
--
Homepage:
http://www.home.earthlink.net/~k0hb
Member:
ARRL http://www.arrl.org
SOC http://www.qsl.net/soc
VWOA http://www.vwoa.org
A-1 Operator Club http://www.arrl.org/awards/a1-op/
TCDXA http://www.tcdxa.org
MWA http://www.w0aa.org
TCFMC http://www.tcfmc.org
FISTS http://www.fists.org
LVDXA http://www.upstel.net/borken/lvdxa.htm
NCI http://www.nocode.org

On Thu, 15 Dec 2005 03:59:48 GMT, "KØHB"
wrote:


As some of you know, I supported my bad habits for many years as a Navy
Radioman, and quite frankly considered myself something of a hotshot operator.

Didn't you post this a couple of weeks ago?

Doesn't matter. It was a good read then, and it's a good read now. I
know (and you probably do, too) several guys that could probably have
copied him--NN1N, AG9A, W4AN (SK), K1AR...


--
LRod

Master Woodbutcher and seasoned termite

Shamelessly whoring my website since 1999

http://www.woodbutcher.net

Proud participant of rec.woodworking since February, 1997

"KØHB" wrote in
ink.net:

I humbly sent a break signal, then a crisp and polite "QRS PSE", and
the "Kind Sir" at SUQ slowed down to a stately 30WPM. To this day I
have never sent another QRQ to ANYONE! (That guy may be still out
there waiting for the impertinent sailor to challenge him again!)

Heh heh. During 18 years on the circuits at VCS, Halifax, I can relate
to this. During part of that we were often required to copy long fishing
reports from Russian trawlers operating under license within our 200 mile
zone. These messages could run to 5000 words and more. You did not want
to copy them slowly and the Russian ops (probably KGB-trained) were good.
But when they were sending weather OBS (you know--the standard 5-figure
group synoptic reports), they would just let fly. The messages we'd do
at about 50wpm, but I think they were trying to see just how fast I could
copy an OBS. Never did find one I couldn't get the first time. A year
and a half up north on very fast point-to-point circuits sending upper
air reports gave me that skill. But it's a lost art. Everything is
satellite and RTTY nowadays.


But on the other end of the scale, I came across a vessel on 500khz one
day with a callsign from a certain Caribbean country (not Cuba) that
shall remain unnamed. His code was bad but I managed to get him off onto
480 and listening to me on 484. I was using an AEA Morsematic that would
not slow below 5wpm and this joker kept sending QRS until I bottomed out.
Now I simply cannot send morse with a handkey at less than about 10 and I
keep winding up to 20 all the time even trying to do that. But I could
keep the Morsematic going at 5. But not satisfied, he still insisted
QRS. At that point I gave up. I mean 20 is minimum commercial speed and
this joker was telling me he couldn't read me at 5 with perfect code!

So I said, "OM, if I QRS any more I am stopped." At that point the QSO
was transferred to 2Mhz SSB. His English was better than his CW and his
French actually understandable!


--
Dave Oldridge+
ICQ 1800667
VA7CZ

KØHB wrote:
As some of you know, I supported my bad habits...(SNIP)

Hans, why not send this in to CQ or Worldradio...?!?! I think it
would be a great piece!

73

Steve, K4YZ

GREAT story!! Thank you!


On Thu, 15 Dec 2005 03:59:48 GMT, "KØHB"
wrote:


As some of you know, I supported my bad habits for many years as a Navy
Radioman, and quite frankly considered myself something of a hotshot operator.
To set that stage...... I spent my early Navy years aboard destroyers in the 2nd
and 6th fleets. The amount of traffic you handled was related to the seniority
of your skipper, because senior skippers not only commanded their own ships, but
also often had additional duties as task group commanders, etc. Our skipper at
the time was CDR Grant "Flash" Gordon, and he was one of these 'senior'
skippers. We made a couple of cruises to the Mediterranean and Capt Gordon was
also CTU-60.2.5 which required our ship to guard the Sixth Fleet Task Group
Commanders Net (nicknamed "Sixes Alfa"). Sixes Alfa was a high speed net,
typical traffic speeds were 40WPM, and routine procedural speed in excess of
50WPM. At the time, I was one of only 23 radiomen in the Sixth Fleet who were
fully qualified Net Control operators for that net. I go into all of this not to
brag, but only to give you an idea of how big my 21-year-old ego was. If you
were qualified to NCS "Sixes Alfa" (you got a fancy diploma style wallet
certificate signed by the Fleet Commander) then you were pretty hot stuff.

Unlike today, in those days the Red Sea and Persian Gulf area was a quiet
backwater without much military attention. The US Navy presence was something
called "Middle East Force" and COMMIDEASFOR was a Rear Admiral whose flagship
was a distinctly unwar-like AVP (seaplane tender) anchored at the Brit base on
Bahrain. (K0DQ, Admiral Scott Redd (Retired), now an active contester and a high
honcho in Dept of Homeland Security, once held that post) The rest of his fleet
consisted of a couple of destroyers loaned to him from the Sixth Fleet in the
Mediterranean for tours of a couple months at a time to strut around and show
the flag. Often we used that opportunity to also conduct joint training
exercises with ships from allied navies in the SEATO and CENTO treaty
organizations.

Our ship, USS Henley, DD762 drew that temporary assignment while I was aboard.
To get from the Med over to the Persian Gulf requires transiting the Suez Canal,
which was under Egyptian (they called themselves the UAR in those days) control.
Ships transiting the canal were arranged in convoys, on a given day consisting
perhaps of 10 or 15 ships, one convoy northbound and one southbound. These
convoys met and passed each other about midway in the canal at a 'wide spot in
the road' called "Great Bitter Lake". Each convoy carried an Egyptian civilian
pilot who knew the waters and acted as our 'guide' in navigating the canal. If
there was a warship in the convoy, they would carry the pilot and lead the
group. These pilots were required to provide the canal "Traffic Control" with
periodic position reports so that canal authorities could track our progress and
coordinate the 'passing' of the two convoys at the wide spot. The circuit which
handled this traffic was a CW circuit, and the ashore operator was an Egyptian
civilian. This was not a busy circuit, so typically it was on 'speaker watch'
while you attended to other more busy circuits, and only actually 'manned' the
circuit when you had to send or receive a report.

Now picture me, hotshot NCS from "Sixes Alfa", keeping an ear on this pilots
coordination circuit while handling traffic on another circuit. Across comes the
call:

"NHXW DE SUQ K" ---

I put my regular military circuit on hold with a 'ZUJ' and impatiently called
the 'lowly Egyptian civilian' at about 40WPM with a speed key

"SUQ DE NHXW QRQ K" ....... (QRQ my friends, is the inverse of QRS)

Bad move...... really bad and embarrassing move!

'Lowly civilian' at SUQ came back to me at a blistering speed I'm sure was 60WPM
(or faster) of beautiful musical code (there were no electronic keyers in those
days) of which I could copy no better than 50%.

I humbly sent a break signal, then a crisp and polite "QRS PSE", and the "Kind
Sir" at SUQ slowed down to a stately 30WPM. To this day I have never sent
another QRQ to ANYONE! (That guy may be still out there waiting for the
impertinent sailor to challenge him again!)

73, de Hans, K0HB
--
Homepage:
http://www.home.earthlink.net/~k0hb
Member:
ARRL http://www.arrl.org
SOC http://www.qsl.net/soc
VWOA http://www.vwoa.org
A-1 Operator Club http://www.arrl.org/awards/a1-op/
TCDXA http://www.tcdxa.org
MWA http://www.w0aa.org
TCFMC http://www.tcfmc.org
FISTS http://www.fists.org
LVDXA http://www.upstel.net/borken/lvdxa.htm
NCI http://www.nocode.org

Sighhhhhhhh, old frustrated white men, who never tire of
blabbing about how great they once were............
borrrrrrrrrrrrrrrring.



"KØHB" wrote in message
nk.net...

"KØHB" wrote

At the time, I was one of only 23 radiomen in the Sixth Fleet who were
fully qualified Net Control operators for that net. I go into all of this
not to
brag, but only to give you an idea of how big my 21-year-old ego was. If
you
were qualified to NCS "Sixes Alfa" (you got a fancy diploma style wallet
certificate signed by the Fleet Commander) then you were pretty hot
stuff.

that's very humorous.. only, what's QRQ and QRS?

"KØHB" wrote in message
ink.net...

As some of you know, I supported my bad habits for many years as a Navy
Radioman, and quite frankly considered myself something of a hotshot
operator. To set that stage...... I spent my early Navy years aboard
destroyers in the 2nd and 6th fleets. The amount of traffic you handled
was related to the seniority of your skipper, because senior skippers not
only commanded their own ships, but also often had additional duties as
task group commanders, etc. Our skipper at the time was CDR Grant "Flash"
Gordon, and he was one of these 'senior' skippers. We made a couple of
cruises to the Mediterranean and Capt Gordon was also CTU-60.2.5 which
required our ship to guard the Sixth Fleet Task Group Commanders Net
(nicknamed "Sixes Alfa"). Sixes Alfa was a high speed net, typical traffic
speeds were 40WPM, and routine procedural speed in excess of 50WPM. At the
time, I was one of only 23 radiomen in the Sixth Fleet who were fully
qualified Net Control operators for that net. I go into all of this not to
brag, but only to give you an idea of how big my 21-year-old ego was. If
you were qualified to NCS "Sixes Alfa" (you got a fancy diploma style
wallet certificate signed by the Fleet Commander) then you were pretty hot
stuff.

Unlike today, in those days the Red Sea and Persian Gulf area was a quiet
backwater without much military attention. The US Navy presence was
something called "Middle East Force" and COMMIDEASFOR was a Rear Admiral
whose flagship was a distinctly unwar-like AVP (seaplane tender) anchored
at the Brit base on Bahrain. (K0DQ, Admiral Scott Redd (Retired), now an
active contester and a high honcho in Dept of Homeland Security, once held
that post) The rest of his fleet consisted of a couple of destroyers
loaned to him from the Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean for tours of a
couple months at a time to strut around and show the flag. Often we used
that opportunity to also conduct joint training exercises with ships from
allied navies in the SEATO and CENTO treaty organizations.

Our ship, USS Henley, DD762 drew that temporary assignment while I was
aboard. To get from the Med over to the Persian Gulf requires transiting
the Suez Canal, which was under Egyptian (they called themselves the UAR
in those days) control. Ships transiting the canal were arranged in
convoys, on a given day consisting perhaps of 10 or 15 ships, one convoy
northbound and one southbound. These convoys met and passed each other
about midway in the canal at a 'wide spot in the road' called "Great
Bitter Lake". Each convoy carried an Egyptian civilian pilot who knew the
waters and acted as our 'guide' in navigating the canal. If there was a
warship in the convoy, they would carry the pilot and lead the group.
These pilots were required to provide the canal "Traffic Control" with
periodic position reports so that canal authorities could track our
progress and coordinate the 'passing' of the two convoys at the wide spot.
The circuit which handled this traffic was a CW circuit, and the ashore
operator was an Egyptian civilian. This was not a busy circuit, so
typically it was on 'speaker watch' while you attended to other more busy
circuits, and only actually 'manned' the circuit when you had to send or
receive a report.

Now picture me, hotshot NCS from "Sixes Alfa", keeping an ear on this
pilots coordination circuit while handling traffic on another circuit.
Across comes the call:

"NHXW DE SUQ K" ---

I put my regular military circuit on hold with a 'ZUJ' and impatiently
called the 'lowly Egyptian civilian' at about 40WPM with a speed key

"SUQ DE NHXW QRQ K" ....... (QRQ my friends, is the inverse of QRS)

Bad move...... really bad and embarrassing move!

'Lowly civilian' at SUQ came back to me at a blistering speed I'm sure was
60WPM (or faster) of beautiful musical code (there were no electronic
keyers in those days) of which I could copy no better than 50%.

I humbly sent a break signal, then a crisp and polite "QRS PSE", and the
"Kind Sir" at SUQ slowed down to a stately 30WPM. To this day I have never
sent another QRQ to ANYONE! (That guy may be still out there waiting for
the impertinent sailor to challenge him again!)



Cute story. I guess everyone needs at least one humbling experience in
their "hotshot youth".

Anyway, if I send either QRS or QRQ, I always add my desired speed to it to
try to avoid problems like this !!

Dee D. Flint, N8UZE

"Falky foo" wrote in message
. com...
that's very humorous.. only, what's QRQ and QRS?



QRS = slow down
QRQ = speed up

example:

PSE QRS 15 = please slow down to 15wpm
PSE QRS 30 = please speed up to 30wpm

If you don't attach a number, you are leaving it up to their judgement what
speed to change to. This often works but as you can see from Hans' story,
it can get you in over your head.

Dee D. Flint, N8UZE

Says the **** Lloyd who can't even do 5 wpm morse code....
BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!