An elegant Lady-of-the-sea
by Rick McCusker, KO6DJ
(This article ran in Worldradio, June 1998)
Recently I had the opportunity to visit the Amateur Radio
station aboard the Queen Mary in Long Beach, California. Actually, my
wife was attending a cross-stitch festival on the ship, so I decided to
do a story about the Ham shack. (She has no interest in Amateur Radio;
I have no interest in stitchery!)
Although I had spent the better part of my youth in the
Long Beach area, I had never been aboard the Queen Mary. The ship was
opened for tours about the time that Uncle Sam requested my services,
and I have not lived in the Los Angeles area since 1970.
The first impression you get on arrival at the dock is "How
can anything this big have ever been able to actually move through the
water?" Yes, she is massive! She is 1,019 feet long and 118 feet
wide and top speed was 29 knots. She was so fast that when she was used
as a troop transport in World War II, the German government offered a
reward and the Knightsí Cross to the U-boat captain that sank her.
Fortunately, her speed allowed her to out-maneuver torpedoes. She successfully
delivered up to 16,000 troops per voyage, safe and sound.
During 1966/67, the Queen Mary was scheduled to be retired. The City of
Long Beach, California, saw this as an opportunity to bring a piece of
maritime history to the area, and purchased the ship in 1967. Plans were
made to convert her into a floating hotel and tourist attraction, as well
as a learning center for residents of the area.
Nate Brightman, K6OSC, brought up the idea of an Amateur
Radio station aboard the Queen during her final voyage from Southampton
to Long Beach, to the members of the Associated Radio Amateurs of Long
Beach. After getting the green light, Nate started a very difficult "paper
chase" trying to get things organized.
An application was filed with the City Managerís
office for permission to install a station for the voyage. The letter
granting the request arrived the same day as the ARRL Southwestern Division
Convention was being held in Los Angeles, and an announcement was made
during the "Open Forum" about the plans.
Permission also had to be obtained from the British government.
A letter was sent, but no reply was received. Virgil Talbot, ARRL Southwestern
Division Vice Director was going to England, and he tried to see C. Eric
Godsmark, the official in charge of issuing radio licenses for the British
General Post Office, but could not get in to see him.
Nate then wrote to John Savage, G3MSS, the Collins representative
in London. John met with Mr. Godsmark, and was told that the club could
get permission provided that they paid a British amateur to operate the
station. Since this was a club project for the ARA of Long Beach, the
condition was not acceptable.
Ray Myers, W6MLZ, the Southwestern Division Director gave
Nate the name of an amateur whom he knew at the State Department. A phone
call was made, and the situation was explained. Under normal protocol,
ARA of Long Beach was not allowed to deal with the British government.
But, if the City of Long Beach would send a written request for the station
to the State Department, he would send the request through the U.S. Embassy
in London.
Nate filed a request with the City Manager, and was told
that as soon as proof of a ticket being purchased for the voyage was produced,
the request would be sent. The club used its funds, borrowed enough money
to make a deposit on the ticket, and the City of Long Beach sent the letter
to the State Department. Within a week the State Department notified Nate
that the request for the station had been granted.
Now came the difficult problem of raising the money for
the rest of the ticket. The club applied to the Long Beach Police Department
for a permit to solicit funds, a requirement for public fundraising. Merchants
and friends of amateurs were solicited for funds. Amateurs who received
QSL certificates sent contributions so that by the time the ship arrived
in Long Beach 07 December 1967, enough money had been raised to cover
all expenses of the operation.
A difficult(???) search for a volunteer for the final voyage
from Southampton to Long Beach was made, and Al Lee, W6KQI, a member of
the club, was issued the license, GB5QM. This was the first time that
an Amateur Radio station had been allowed aboard the Queen, and the first
time a British license had been issued to an American.
The voyage lasted six weeks due to the route of the Queen
around Cape Horn. At 118 feet wide, she is too wide to go through the
Panama Canal, and several stops were made for final visits and to take
on fuel.
During the final voyage, Al made over 3,000 contacts on
all of the amateur bands. Each Ham who made contact with the Queen was
sent a special commemorative QSL certificate with details about the voyage
and a very nice photo of the Queen. Equipment for the final voyage was
a Swan 500 transceiver, donated by Swan, and was given a very good workout.
On arrival at Long Beach, the radio operator aboard the
Queen sent an arrival message to the U.S. Coast Guard radio station at
Long Beach. At the conclusion of this message, every ship in the area
sent greetings and farewell messages to the Queen. The radio operator
was kept busy for over two hours handling unanticipated traffic and, at
the conclusion of this traffic, GBTT (the Queenís international
call sign) went silent forever.
After the Queen Mary arrived, the ARA of Long Beach sent
Mr. Godsmark a plaque of the QSL certificate. The plaque was presented
to him at the American Embassy in London. Nate also sent several newspaper
articles about the ship and they started corresponding. Mr. Godsmark was
also a Ham, but preferred to be relatively inactive while in office. In
1973, he visited the "colonies" and was the guest of Nate, K6OSC,
and his wife, Evelyn, WA6TZW. They traveled over 3,000 miles by car, and
visited the Queen Mary, as well as the usual tourist destinations, including
Las Vegas. The two families have been friends for over 30 years!
During renovation, Nate wrote to the Long Beach City Manager
suggesting that an Amateur Radio station be installed on the ship. No
action could be taken on the suggestion at that time.
When renovation was completed in 1970, the Queen was moved
by tugs (she will never move under her own power again), to her permanent
location. During this move, Nate, K6OSC, and his son Howard, K6OSD, operated
as W6RO and made several contacts. Another commemorative QSL card was
created, and sent to Hams who made contact during the move.
On 20 June 1974, Nate wrote a 12-page proposal for Amateur
Radio operation aboard the Queen Mary. Although the idea was favorably
received, money for establishing a station was not available. Then in
1979, the ship was turned over to the Port of Long Beach, money was available
and the project took off.
During the Amateur Radio installation, insurance was a concern,
and the ARRL was contacted for insurance coverage. ARRL replied that they
canít provide insurance for a station located on a ship. But because
the Queen Mary had almost all of her machinery removed during renovation,
and the plans to convert her into a hotel were being implemented, her
official classification was changed. Instead of being a ship, she was
now a building, subject to building codes for the City of Long Beach.
In order to qualify for ARRL insurance coverage for the station, copies
of the Coast Guard documentation for the change in status had to be submitted
along with another application for coverage. ARRL has provided coverage
ever since.
Finally, after years of frustration, W6RO, aboard the Queen
Mary, went on the air on 27 April 1979. The station has been in continuous
use since that date.
Nate Bright-man, K6OSC, has been the station manager of the Queen Mary
station, W6RO, ever since the permanent Amateur Radio station was installed.
Along with other members of the ARA of Long Beach, he helped in the construction
of the Amateur Radio station and the radio exhibit just outside of the
Wireless Room.
It was decided the Wireless Room would be staffed by at
least one Amateur Radio operator during the hours the ship was open to
the public. Volunteers were given training in the equipment aboard and
in the historical equipment that remains as part of the wireless room.
Cushcraft donated the antennas and they were installed above the Wireless
Room.
There are currently dipoles for 80 and 40 Meters, a vertical
HF antenna, and a 3-element multiband beam. The longwire antennas that
formerly had been strung between the smokestacks were removed during the
renovation. (These antennas still appear to be in place, but the wire
was replaced by rope!!) Cushcraft continues to donate the antennas that
must be replaced every three to five years, due to the salt air environment.
They also have a problem with very large birds making rough landings,
using the antennas as a place to rest and deposit souvenirs.
Radio equipment for the station is donated by Yaesu, Kenwood
and Icom. They update the equipment on a regular basis.
Each volunteer working aboard the Queen is required to be
in uniform when on duty. The uniform currently being used is a white shirt,
black necktie and black or dark blue pants. When the Queen first opened
for tourists, the uniform resembled the one worn by the officers who staffed
the wireless room, but because the weather in Long Beach can be warm during
the spring and summer months, they usually had a "ripe" odor
and required cleaning once a week. With over 80 uniforms being cleaned
each week, a decision was made to change the uniform to the one being
used today.
Some time ago, a U.S. Navy admiral was being given a special
VIP tour of the Queen. During this tour he visited the Wireless Room and
was impressed by the "officers" and their knowledge about the
operation of the wireless equipment. He was later told that they were
actually Amateur Radio operators, and that they were volunteers. He was
very surprised to hear this, and sent his compliments to the "professional
officers" of the Wireless Room.
In 1997, in an effort to save money, the City of Long Beach
considered selling the Queen Mary to Japan. There was a promise of financial
compensation to last over several years, but clear minds prevailed, and
the Queen is going to stay in Long Beach.
As you approach the Queen Mary, you will notice a very nice,
quaint "village" of souvenir shops and small food concessions.
During the next three years, this village area will be removed and replaced
by a parking structure, another hotel and better shops and food concessions.
To your right, you canít help but notice the huge
dome sitting there like an inverted satellite dish. Howard Hughesí
"Spruce Goose" wooden seaplane was displayed inside it for several
years, until it was moved to the Pacific Northwest. The dome is now used
for movies, and all of the "Batman" movies were filmed inside.
The dome will be retained in that location for several more years, and
has been leased by a major studio for more movie use.
There are currently over 100 Amateur Radio operators in
the group of volunteers that staff W6RO. Any licensed amateur is allowed
to operate from the Queen Mary, and operators from around the world have
been "guest" operators while visiting. Every guest operator
has his/her name entered in the visitorís log and is given a certificate
verifying that she/he was a guest operator aboard the Queen.
During my visit aboard the Queen, I operated in the 20-meter
band, and made contact with AB7RU and KK7LQ. Both were very surprised
to be talking to the Queen Mary, and each will receive a nice QSL card
with an excellent photo on the face of the card. I was using a Yaesu FT-1000
that has been donated by the Yaesu Corporation, going into a vertical
antenna, at 100 watts. They canít have amplifiers aboard because
any power higher than 100 watts gets into the hotel television system!
The operator on duty, Bill Holder, W6TNB, showed me the installation of
the amateur equipment, and the original commercial equipment that is still
in place in the Wireless Room. Bill is also Assistant Manager of the station
and is responsible for indoctrinating new operators and maintaining the
equipment.
After my turn at operating, Nate and Bill served as my personal
tour guides on a first-class tour of the ship. I visited all of the areas
open to the public as well as some areas that are available to employees
only. It was a very long tour!
If you are fortunate enough to work W6RO, QSL cards are
available by sending an SASE (business-size) to: P.O. Box 7493, Long Beach,
CA 90807.
If you are going to be in the Long Beach area, I strongly
recommend a visit to the Queen Mary. Amateurs that are interested in operating
W6RO should let the staff know about two weeks ahead of time, if possible.
Nate Brightman, K6OSC, is the station manager, and will let you know in
advance if an operator is available during your visit to the Queen Mary.
Nate can be contacted at: 4219 Gaviota Ave., Long Beach, CA 90807-3012,
or by e-mail at: nehtan@juno.com.
His phone number is 562/427-5123.
My thanks go to Nate, Bill, and the rest of the Associated
Radio Amateurs of Long Beach for keeping such an outstanding piece of
maritime history available for all Amateur Radio operators and those interested
in such a magnificently restored vessel.
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