Positively CW

Women as "Sparks"

(This article ran in Worldradio, June 2001)

Stories about professional and military Morse code operators fascinate me. Imagine, being able to earn a living sending Morse code! I am sure most of the telegraphers did not think of themselves as being particularly lucky, other than being lucky to have steady employment. Perhaps if I had to copy code all day long it would lose some of its charm, but it seems like it would be The Perfect Job. To be an operator on a ship, with a title of "Sparks," would be even more exciting. Not only would you work with the code, but you could travel to exotic ports-of-call and see the world. I was born a generation too late to know whether I would have followed the call of the sea, so I live vicariously through books.

One of my favorite books is "Deep Sea Sparks; A Canadian Girl in the Norwegian Merchant Navy" by Olive J. Carroll. Women were definitely in the minority among the ranks of "Sparks," but their contribution was an important one. Not only did they break the traditional gender barriers, but the service they performed as wireless operators was vital. Records show that the first woman served as "Sparks" in the year 1910. By 1940, at least thirteen other women had operated on board shipping vessels on the oceans or Great Lakes.

In the Prologue of Olive Carroll's book, she explains that with the outbreak of World War II, ship losses meant losses of wireless operators as well. A dozen or so Canadian women were recruited by the Norwegian Merchant Marine to go to sea as "Sparks." Canadian regulations did not allow women to serve aboard Canadian ships, but Norway had no such restrictions and welcomed the Canadian women who applied.

This book is different from the other historical accounts I have read in that it goes into detail about things other than the technical aspects of the radio room. She writes about the every day life on the ship; their living quarters, the food they ate, their clothing, how they spent their shore leave time, even how they celebrated Christmas. Her experience comes to life as the author shares the emotional toll of being aboard a ship far from home, in addition to the satisfaction derived from the responsibility of being a ship's "Sparks."

One thing that surprised me about Ms. Carroll's experience was how gallant and receptive the men were of having a woman in their traditionally male territory. I was a ground breaker of sorts, too, in that I was the first woman to be hired as an electronic technician by Chevrolet Engineering back in the early 1970s. The hazing I endured is not fit for print in a family magazine! But in Ms. Carroll's experience, the men took her under their wing and treated her like a sister.

I highly recommend this book, not only to Hams who are interested in maritime operating and the merchant marines, but to anyone who would like an delightful account of a pioneering young woman's adventures. The book is available through Cordillera Publishing Company. For a list of their books send an SASE to Box 46, 8415 Granville Street, Vancouver, B.C. Canada V6P 4Z9.

The Internet is another source for maritime CW history stories. One of the best sites on the Internet is by the Maritime Radio Historical Society (MRHS). The URL, or web page address, is http://radiomarine.org.

This site has dozens of photographs of restored equipment including a Radiomarine 4U console from a WWII Victory ship, which is now in a replica of a ship's radio room at the San Francisco Maritime Museum.

Be sure to click on The KPH Project link and read the account of what it was like to "be there" when the last commercial messages in Morse code were sent from KFS, their master station. I bet you will have a lump in your throat by the time you finish reading it! And don't miss the "Incredible Radio Tales" link, which will take you to true, first-hand reports of radio adventures and some tall tales.

The most interesting link is to Jeffery Herman's first hand account of what it was like to work in the radio room. He describes the radio operations in detail, complete with observations of what it is like to be monitoring the 500kc frequency at night. Also discussed in length are explainations of proper procedures to be followed on 500kc, and his first SOS. There is also an hour extract of the ships log. See if you can decipher the shorthand they use for their communications!

If you enjoy or operate old military radios and would like a place to communicate with other with the same interest, consider joining the Old Military Radio Net (OMRN). They meet at 9 p.m. EST on Sunday nights on 3.570 and run slow speed CW. Everyone is welcome, but be sure to QRS, or send slowly. "The speed of the fleet is the speed of the slowest ship," as I have heard said.

Keys wanted

Bob Lackey, W4QBE, writes that he is looking for a specific key. He says, "I was in the Navy back in the 1950's and flew in the old PBY seaplane. I have a transmitter from a PBY, a G&hibar;-&hibar;, strictly CW. I have been looking for a key like we used in the PBY but have been unable to find one. A lot of Navy aircraft used them so I don't think they are rare, I just haven't been able to find one yet. I think it is called a 'flame proof' key." If you have one of these keys that you want to sell, please contact Bob at his callbook address.

This request for keys is from Bill Bowman, W1HQW. His father owned A. W. Bowman & Co. Bowman & Co. manufactured radios which ranged from crystal sets to the five tube, battery operated Newtrodine B.C. receivers. In addition to radios, they produced two models of telegraph keys.

Both of the keys will have the Bowman company name plate on them. One is a very heavy key with a marble base, chrome plated parts and a navy knob. The other is a light key, oval shaped metal black base, standard knob and a shorting bar. There is also a bug that Bill's father made in his home work shop which closely resembles a Vibroplex bug of the 1930's. It will also have his company name plate on it.

Bill had all three at one time, but in moving from place to place after World War II, they were lost. He admits it's a long shot, but just maybe they will show up somewhere. If you can help Bill out, please contact him at his callbook address.

I have received several requests to identify keys for people, and I am sorry, but I just do not have the time nor the expertise to help with most of them. If it is something I know, or can find easily, I am happy to help out. But in most cases, I would do the same research that you would. In the upcoming months, I will be writing about how I identify keys.

Field Day

Field Day is just around the corner. Sadly, the ARRL is discontinuing the tradition of the Novice Tent after this year. I hope your club will take advantage of having a Novice Tent one last time. Not only for the "free" points, but for a chance to be an Elmer to Novices and Techs, and show them the joys of putting up their own station and getting on the air. Send me your Field Day stories and I'll share as many of them as I can in an upcoming Positively CW.

The FISTS Spring Sprint is 1700Z-2100Z, the second Saturday in May. For rules and entry application, look on the FISTS Web page http://www.fists.org. Hope to work you then! 73 88 Nancy WZ8C