Yup, gosh now you only need 5 wpm CW for the Extra Class, top grade amateur ticket. But they did increase the theory quite a bit. I got my Navy Speed Key certificate back in 1962 and that was a real challenge. Ok yes, here is a list of duty stations, Joe. Will start out with the date.
1957 Radioman A School, Norfolk, VaJoe, when I was on the Vance in Pearl Harbor, I spent a lot of time at KGMB, the radio station in Honolulu, recording tapes that we ran in the radio shack for ships entertainment system, using their library. They were very kind to let me use one of their studios and it worked just great. When I left about July, 1959, I remember the Skipper telling me he would miss me doing that. I do have to say that I was like a sponge and soaked up everything I could about my rate on the Vance, and that helped my career a great deal. I must have had some good Petty Officers to "emulate" as I did have a good rewarding career. Not everyone goes from E-1 recruit all the way to being selected for E-9, then go to Warrant, WO1- get selected for LTJG as CWO-2, then picked for CWO-3 and LT at the same time, then get selected again early for CWO-4 as permanent grade.
Joe, I remember tying myself into a chair to copy the CW broadcast during rough weather. Oh yes, also while on the Vance, discovered that I am subject, and was for 23 years, to sea sickness, but after the first day, was just fine. Gosh I wish I could remember some of the Radiomen on there, Maeto was one, Boatwright was one, Fonville was one, Shaddix was one, Vogelsang was one. I don't remember the Chief's name now but remember that he stuttered, and don't blame him, he had two can's shot out under him during WWII. I remember I was on watch in radio central when one of the ET's, Mavis Travis opened a transmitter drawer and got zapped! I called the bridge on the 21MC and told them to get a corpsman up here, unlocked the door and went back to help him. He was lucky, ended up losing some hide on his thumb if I remember.I get on the ham bands,W0DRO, about every day, operate the new mode PSK31, which is digital, somewhat like RTTY but much more reliable and uses low power. I also get on CW and SSB, and work 20 meter band quite bit on PSK31 mode.
I teach a ham radio class here on Monday nights, we have 10 in this new class, and it's fun, I do the theory and another friend does the code and operation.Joe i am going to let you pick out what you want to put in the web site from me, I have just been rambling on here, and lots of this is probably boring. I do have to relate one very funny incident that you can understand I remember from the old Vance days.
It seems that the ET's (Electronic techs) HATED country and western music. Since WE had the RBO receiver in Radio Central for the ships entertainment system and it was more or less up to who was on watch to choose the stations, the great amount of "red necks" we had in the radio gang would tune in a local Country and Western station, which of course went throughout the ship. One day the ET's said they had to repair that RBO receiver, which by the way had two other shortwave bands on it.When it came back and we were out at sea, after they worked on it, I noticed a "dead spot" on the two short wave bands, when tuning across, the receiver went dead for a little ways then worked again.
After returning to port, one of the C&W radiomen told me that RBO was not working as could not get that C&W station there in Honolulu. I opened up the radio, and saw where the ET's had installed a arm on the tuning capacitor, with a micro-switch and when that tuning dial was tuned to THAT C&W station, they had it short out the IF frequency for that area! I found that, and disabled it, and those ET's didn't like me at all.Joe I didn't get my ham ticket until I was in Taipei at Seventh Fleet Staff Det Alfa, went over to the US Taiwan Defense Command compound and the Army had a MARS station there with ham license. So I took the exam there from US Army Captain, got my ticket and have been active for 41 years now, and it's sure been fun.
Hope I didn't put you to sleep, but that's about what I can recall about my Vance days.