"Eisboch" wrote in
:

I've long forgotten the transmitter types we had, but I think they
were similar to the ones you describe. I think the two older were 1kw
versions (exciter and intermediate power amp) of a shore based, 10kw
AN/FRT-39 transmitter .... or something like that. It was a two rack
monster standing about 5-6 feet tall and mounted on rubber feet that
allowed it to sway all over the place. I forget now ... peak the grid
and dip the plate? Or was it the other way around? We also had a
couple of more "modern" automatic tuning transmitters but I can't
remember what they were .... UCC-1?

The FRT's were much later. TB series transmitters were WW2! peak
grid/dip plate, load plate then redip because the load detuned
everything. The antenna coupling capacitor on a TBK was two cast
aluminum round pieces that screwed in and out from each other with round
plates that meshed, but didn't touch of course. St Elmo's fire would
cause them to flashover, some times...(c;

I fixed "a few" UCC-1s in my day....yecch. I also worked on the
transmitter/receivers after the TB/RB series, the SRT/SRA series. I was
involved with some of the best (and most profitable) field changes that
came from benny suggs George Raines, an MIT engineer classmate of mine
who refused a commission, and I generated while in "A" school's
accelerated program. George couldn't open a tech manual without pointing
out some stupid error or better way of designing some circuit. He did
the engineering, then I'd build it in the school's shop to submit in our
detailed report with our benny sug...(c;


Radio one and two? Ha. Our transmitter shop was about 8 feet wide by
14 feet long. Radio Central was one deck above and was about the same
size. Then there was an ancient emergency transmitter installed
somewhere in the stern that nobody paid any attention to. I was one
of the few ET's in the Navy that also had a Mod 28 teletype repair job
code, so I was kept busy. That job code was usually held by the RMs.
I was in from 1968 until 1977 and went through the warrant selection
program. Almost was forced to made it a career by continuing to accept
school opportunities, but thankfully bailed out when I had the chance.

Everglades, a destroyer tender, was quite large. We were just a portable
shipyard. We even had an electric foundery and could make about anything
any machine part could need. Our electric shop had a full motor rewind
shop. Our main ET shop had 12 ETs. I was an ET-1598 cal tech
(metrologist) in Fleet Cal Lab designator EAT for nearly 4 years. Glades
was started at the end of WW2 but abandoned as the war ended and not
completed until 1952 to serve in Korea. She spent Vietnam, when I was
aboard her, in Charleston with Med cruises to service 6th Fleet cans and
to do Yellowstone's work for her in Mayport, FL.

Our TTY shop had two RM1s with all the schools, just aft of my cal lab.
My 28KSR used for press copy in the cal lab, posted every morning on the
mess decks bulletin board, was built from spare parts in that shop. I
had a stolen R-390A, homebrew rtty modem and that TTY machine running
24/7 in the cal lab storeroom so we didn't have to listen to the noise...
(c;

My Navy tour was from '64 to '71. Nothing heroic, I joined the Navy for
ET schools and to avoid being forced to Vietnam to die for nothing by the
War corporations. Glades was a great place we all hid in on the other
side of the planet. In '71, with the war winding down before politicians
were strung from light poles, we were 'encouraged' to leave. One of our
chiefs was refused reenlistment at 18 years service to keep from paying
him a retirement check and medical benefits from being exposed to
chemical warfare in 'Nam. He was forced out and lots of the rest of us,
traumatized by Navy's treatment of him, figured it was best to leave.

I got even and became a contractor....(c;