Acid had it' s moments.
I did some good blotter on a midwatch one night, when I knew it was going to be slow.
I was a Radioman, sitting the MF CW call and distress frequency - 500 kHz. ( morse code by radio)
4 a.m. I was getting off on the acid, getting into listening to faint signals. I heard a series of 5 second transmit - what could be an auto-alarm --- an old system used for distress traffic. It was very, very faint - but clear.
The normal procedure is for the 500 operator to yell out - and get other operators to help copy - but it was so faint - I didn't want the distraction.
Then came the shocker - an SOS... very, very faint - but I was getting it.....
I copied the whole of it - but was puzzled by the position. We were used to seeing latitude and longitude of North and West. This was South and East.
I yelled out - and the chief came in...
I was one of the few operators who copied into the official log, instead of writing it down, or typing on a second typerwriter, then transferring it to the log.
The chief reason was pissed ten different ways. Because I hadn't got help, because he had to write it down, just because he didn't much like my belligerent ass...
They looked at the message, and quickly called a couple other stations - nobody else had heard it.
They ran back the 24 track player that recorded all out receivers - and it wasn't there. They started accusing me of making the whole thing up.
The first class - who liked me - and knew I was a good operator knew I wouldn't do something like that, and looked at later entries in my log - which I was still maintaining. He noted the station ZLD - from Auckland NZ, and sent them a service message on teletype.
We then got off watch and went home.
The next day watch we came in. I got called into the Master Chief's office, with the chief from my section.
The MSC had a copy of my log, and the courtesy copy ZLD had sent us of their log, working the distress.
They were identical.
The MSC told me they ran back the tapes and were able to pick out a couple bits, but most of the signal was lost in the tape noise.
He told my section chief that her owed me an apology for making the accusation that I'd made it up.
The log and the courtesy copy went up on the bulletin board and stayed there a long time.
...
Can't say I didn't sweat a bit for those days off - wondering if I HAD hallucinated the whole thing.....
I did some good blotter on a midwatch one night, when I knew it was going to be slow.
I was a Radioman, sitting the MF CW call and distress frequency - 500 kHz. ( morse code by radio)
4 a.m. I was getting off on the acid, getting into listening to faint signals. I heard a series of 5 second transmit - what could be an auto-alarm --- an old system used for distress traffic. It was very, very faint - but clear.
The normal procedure is for the 500 operator to yell out - and get other operators to help copy - but it was so faint - I didn't want the distraction.
Then came the shocker - an SOS... very, very faint - but I was getting it.....
I copied the whole of it - but was puzzled by the position. We were used to seeing latitude and longitude of North and West. This was South and East.
I yelled out - and the chief came in...
I was one of the few operators who copied into the official log, instead of writing it down, or typing on a second typerwriter, then transferring it to the log.
The chief reason was pissed ten different ways. Because I hadn't got help, because he had to write it down, just because he didn't much like my belligerent ass...
They looked at the message, and quickly called a couple other stations - nobody else had heard it.
They ran back the 24 track player that recorded all out receivers - and it wasn't there. They started accusing me of making the whole thing up.
The first class - who liked me - and knew I was a good operator knew I wouldn't do something like that, and looked at later entries in my log - which I was still maintaining. He noted the station ZLD - from Auckland NZ, and sent them a service message on teletype.
We then got off watch and went home.
The next day watch we came in. I got called into the Master Chief's office, with the chief from my section.
The MSC had a copy of my log, and the courtesy copy ZLD had sent us of their log, working the distress.
They were identical.
The MSC told me they ran back the tapes and were able to pick out a couple bits, but most of the signal was lost in the tape noise.
He told my section chief that her owed me an apology for making the accusation that I'd made it up.
The log and the courtesy copy went up on the bulletin board and stayed there a long time.
...
Can't say I didn't sweat a bit for those days off - wondering if I HAD hallucinated the whole thing.....
