Submersible station
By Rick McCusker, KO6DJ
 A submersible station? Yes, there
are several Amateur Radio stations able to go underneath the surface of
the water. Of course, I am talking about in installations on submarines.
The USS Pampanito, NJ6VT, is a fleet-type
World War II veteran, now moored at Pier 45 and open to the public in
San Francisco. The boat was launched 12 July 1943. It's 311 feet long
and 27 feet wide. The boat served with distinction during the war, making
six war patrols including one of the rare wolfpack operations carried
out by U.S. submarines.
All of the original radio equipment is
in working order. The transmitter is a TBL-7 with coverage on 175-600
kHz and 2.0-18.1 MHz. The transmitter is capable of 50 watts on AM phone,
and 200 watts on CW. RAL and RAK receivers can still hear signals, sometimes
better than modern receivers. Three long wire antennas are mounted on
the port side of the conning tower, running aft to a stanchion near the
stern. The original transmitter has been used on many occasions for QSOs
and contesting on the amateur bands. With the long wire antenna mounted
20 feet above the salt water of San Francisco bay, signal reports are
surprisingly good. The salt water acts as an excellent ground plane, and
most stations are very impressed with the signal.
 A very interesting
piece of equipment is just inside the door to the radio room. Located
on a swing-down shelf that's a part of the safe, is a "Sigaba"
cryptographic code machine. Radiomen aboard the submarine copied messages
in Morse code as five-letter coded groups. The message was then given
to the communications officer and he would type the coded groups into
the code machine. The code machine would decipher the coded groups into
plain language text on a paper tape, provided the machine had the correct
settings for the day. When the U.S. Navy was asked for one of the eight
remaining code machines left in the world, the Navy sent this machine
with practice code wheels installed. The real wheels are still held by
the Navy, and will not be released.
The Amateur Radio call sign is unique in
itself. When the Pampanito was commissioned, the boat was assigned the
call sign of NJVT. When the vanity call signs became available, Pampanito
was granted NJ6VT, with the "6" inserted in the original call.
 The
photograph of the radio room does not show how small the room actually
is. The room is about five feet wide, and eight feet long, bulkhead to
bulkhead. Add the equipment installation, and it is tiny! The room makes
a right turn to the operating console, with about a two foot by four foot
space for the operator. Directly behind the operator is the transmitter,
a deck-to-overhead monster taking up a big portion of the room. When the
transmitter is on, the room gets very, very warm.
The photograph of the original transmitter
is deceiving. It was taken from astorage area below the deck, looking
up through the hatch. I had to photograph it that way because the room
was too narrow for the camera to focus. Above the transmitter are three
antenna leads, leading into a trunk with connectors for the wire antennas.
An SGC antenna tuner mounted on the bridge tunes the long wires. Also
mounted on the bridge, between the periscope shears is the only outside
clue that there is modern equipment aboard. If you look closely, you can
see a Diamond dual-band antenna for VHF/UHF on a magmount.
 NJ6VT is active in several contests,
as well as giving demonstrations of Amateur Radio for groups aboard for
a tour of the Pampanito. The night before my visit, a group of Cub Scouts
spent the night aboard the sub, and were treated to a demonstration of
Amateur Radio during the California QSO party on 40 Meters.
A unique feature aboard the fleet-type
boats was the lack of room for the crew. There were 10 Officers and 70
enlisted men assigned to the Pampanito, but only 30 bunks or "racks"
installed for the 70 men. They slept in shifts! If you were on watch,
someone else occupied your bunk. The mess deck (dining room) seats 24,
so meals also were eaten in shifts. An average patrol lasted 75 days,
and there were no showers. By the end of a patrol the boat usually smelled
very, very ripe.
Although moored as a museum, the Pampanito
is capable of getting underway. Her propellers have been removed for restoration,
and will be re-installed in early 1999. Three of the four main engines
are started once a week with the remaining engine as a display with open
viewing windows. The U.S. Navy has reservists coming aboard on a regular
basis for training and maintenance of the boat.
If you are going to be in the San Francisco
area, stop by for a tour of this unique Amateur Radio station. But be
aware, if you suffer from claustrophobia, this may not be your cup of
tea. For information about the USS Pampanito see: www.maritime.org/pamphome.htm
or call 415/775-1943.
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