21. September 2009 by admin.

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—

Alan Spicer

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21. September 2009 by admin.

Speaking of my Microsoft visit in Redmond Washington, while on a job for a yacht in the Seattle Washington area - The picture of the old original Microsoft company gang … reminded me that I recently started scanning old pictures that I have.

Ham Radio stuff from the 1980’s - Drake TR3 (I bought used at a Hamfest) Tube Transmitter and Receiver combo, and two other unknown mobile (probably vhf / uhf) radios in base operation on 12vDC converters. Note Navy Signalman picture (Morse Code by Flashing Light) which was one my job ratings in the U.S. Navy.

1980’s era computing horsepower for (not many people ha! ha!) the home - Radio Shack TRS-80 Color Computer II, TRS-80 Model I with after-market Expansion Unit (clone), Yes that’s a Hayes Smart Modem 300 Baud on the shelf (the start of smart modems which modems even today still follow), Cassette player for program save and load. Wow! Imagine that?

Computers from the 80’s a little bit later on past the CoCo and Model I - On the left this is a Tandy with an Intel 80286 processor (a what? before Pentium was 8086, 80286, 80386, and 80486 cpu models), on the right is an older Tandy 8086 model. Yes those are floppy disks. Yes that is a Radio Shack Programmers Calculator. What else … Microsoft Quick C, and I still had the Hayes Smart Modem 300 Baud. That might be some Ham Radio gear still in the picture as well that got pushed aside when I started spending TOO MANY HOURS on the computers.

“Contact - bearing 000 - range …” Photo take aboard U.S.S. Recovery ARS-43 in the late 1970’s - early 1980’s … I could be more specific, but I’d have to kill you!

Image from “My” Signal Bridge onboard U.S.S. Recovery ARS-43 - This is looking aft (astern) (towards the Not Pointy End of the Boat) the smoke stack is right there. Good morning Viet Something … I did (NOT) love the smell of Diesel (napalm) in the morning black crap that blew out of the stack after we’d been docked for a long time. I’m am still, many years later, rather proud of my fire hose rack (Damage Control Petty Office was one my gigs) all shiny and protected by plastic cover. You can see a signaling light with the lever on the left. I was originally a Signalman, later studied and also qualified as a radioman, and stood watch as Quatermaster of the Watch which was basically navigation watch at the chart table in the wheel house.

U.S.S. Recovery bow in seas on the deep blue - Not sure exactly when or where … at sea bow photo sometime in the late 70’s / early 80’s. Ummm we had no GPS, No Nobeltec, we actually used Charts and Loran C, and something called Omega (which sucked) and Sun Lines and Celestial … you know Shooting Stars Navigation. You captains know this stuff.

U.S.S. Recovery ARS 43 Wheelhouse and Chart Table - The wheelhouse, Portholes to Enclosed Conning Station, Chart Table, Sperry Gyro Compass Repeater. I shined and cleaned pretty much everything up there … and as DCPO I fixed the doorway gaskets, portholes everything, and labeled those nice Frame “FR” stencils that you see up high and the 02 numbers. Can I tell you a secret? We were supposed to go on watch by walking aft out onto the stern deck, and climb upwards outside to access the bridge wings and the Wheel House. Often in real inclement weather we were allowed to go up through the Officers Passage (ladder way). But us bridge crew types (Operations or “OPS” types) were *Elite* and I (and others) often went that way most of the time. A good excuse was to get the Officer (OOD / OOC “I have the deck and the conn!”) on watch a cup of coffee. I was once accused of spilling sugar or coffee or something and was  banished to a deserted island awaiting my doom. Not really. But I was chastised severely. The last XO was real character. You know, the “I had a headmaster like that once in Prep School” type (quote from the Band of Brothers movies) type of officer. I know everything, ummm now show me how we do that???? He absolutely hated me. I probably helped that somehow. And I was a Short Timer which meant that I was getting out of the Navy soon. That was like throwing fuel on an already hot fire. He bumped me from one getting off date/time (excuse “we need his services a bit longer”) in the Med that year. Yah, wait till he needs some coffee.

* That’s all for now

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Alan Spicer Telecom and Alan Spicer Marine Telecom

http://www.marinetelecom.net

+1 954 683 3426

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