3000 Sailors and 6 Single Women Chapter 3

Rather than be bored initially, I have waited until now to talk a bit about Midway's history. While the two islands (Sand, the larger and Eastern, the smaller) may have been visited by Polynesians and other explorers the 1st habitation was in the early 1900's. 

In the early 1900's Sand Island became a cable repeating station for the Transpacific Cable System and was manned by a crew of six. This cable linked the West with the Far East. 

The Japanese cut the cable during WWII and reestablished in 1964 while I was stationed there. Until 1964 ET could not directly phone home.

In the mid-1930's Midway was a stop connecting the west coast with the Far East using the Pan Am Clippers (flying boats). It was at this time that the facilities were quietly upgraded in response to the Winds of War. 

One reason I was sent to Midway was that I was an Electrical Engineer. The Pan Am Clipper Staff was maybe 600 personnel and initially were supplied power by local generators. Somehow during that same the Pan Am era a permanent power plant was built, and its capacity was 10,000 people. (Somebody was expecting WWII.) There were problems with the power plant and connect that with an EE. In the wisdom of the Navy, I never touched the power plant. Unlike today in the late 1930's the 7 Ps were in play. Proper Prior Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance.

At the outset of WWII, Midway had been beefed up and was next on the list after Pearl Harbor. The Battle of Midway just 6 months later was the start of the defeat of Japan. Post WWII not much happening there but the advent of the cold war breathed new life into Midway. It had an 8000 ft air strip with a 3000-foot overrun... read big jet capable. 

In 1963, Midway was part of the Airborne Early Warning System.  The flight crews home ported at Barner's Point HI, were on a rotational two-week tour. 

The aircraft you’re asking about — the “Willie Victor” AEW platform flown from Midway Island in 1963 — was the Lockheed WV‑2 Warning Star, which was later redesignated EC‑121 when the U.S. military standardized aircraft naming in 1962.

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Midway Island hosted Navy AEW barrier squadrons that flew long-duration radar patrols during the Cold War. These missions were part of the Pacific Barrier (“PacBar”) early‑warning network, and the WV‑2/EC‑121 was the primary aircraft used.

Thus, our primary mission was to keep Midway open to support the EC-121 operations. It was rumored there were some "spook" stuff going on with civilian contractors but like Sgt. Schultz, I knew nothing.

Midway had many left-over WWII revetments and bunkers. The bunkers were an issue as they were unsafe and a haven for teenagers to have a little party. More than once while standing OOD I was called out to find some missing teenagers. The ringleader was the XO's teenage son, and when found you had to finesse his leaving the bunker. That kid was a prick! Typically, he would try to parlay his dad was the XO. I always had the Master at Arms with me as a witness. Another trick I picked up in the Navy.

Midway's mean elevation was 6 feet ASL and so we were concerned about Tsunami's and as the most junior officer on the island my GQ station was the port. Midway was surrounded by a Coral Reef which affords it some protection except for the port opening.

We routinely had General Quarters Drills, and I remember what seemed like an unscheduled drill. On November 23, 1963. Early in the day we had the GQ sounded and the normal drill was to go to a designated location and pick up my side arm. This was different as not only did I get my weapon but 4 magazines of .45 Cal ammo. Oh, oh this was a war action not a drill. I was at my GQ station for three hours before we found out JFK was assassinated.

Them that know can make things go.

73's

Pete N6QW

3000 Sailors and 6 Single Women Chapter 2

Back to our attractive over 40 not quite sober schoolteacher and the Dentist. 

But 1st some housekeeping things. The schoolteachers and other civilians like Scotty who managed the Bank of America branch on Midway and Art Rossinette who was the Red Cross Representative were assigned quarters in the BOQ. So, we would see these folks in the dining area, and they also had Officer Club privileges.  

Art also sponsored a club function, Toastmasters International and I was encouraged to join (encouraged meant that's an order). It actually was fun and later was critical training for later civilian jobs. The Toastmaster's club was designed to improve one's public speaking skills. It wasn't long before I was on the speaking agenda and I was to give a persuasive speech.

My regular job assignment was Base Maintenance Officer, (BMO... nothing to do with BM's) and we had a serious problem with littering. It seems the usual practice was using the big garbage can on the ground. Our regular trash crews would daily pick up large bags of empty beer and coke cans simply thrown on the ground. 

Thus, my persuasive speech was to engage the other department heads on Midway to help abate the littering. In a persuasive speech, the 1st trick is to get the audience's attention and the close is a commitment to a call to action. How to do that? 

Not knowing any better I reasoned "I need a sit up in the seat opening". I opened by having a small bag of empty coke cans which I carefully aimed at and threw at the audience. The opening line was this is a problem. The close was raise your hand to show commitment to discussing with their troops the need not to litter. We need to keep Midway Clean and Green. Later on, Art asked if I had done any public speaking my answer this was a first for me. That experience served me well.

Back to the semi-sober schoolteacher and the Dentist. October was here and it was decided that the Officers Club would sponsor a dress up (optional) Halloween Party. Still being new to the base, I chose the optional. 

The Dentist showed up in a Toga and Tennis shoes. He had absolutely nothing on under the bedsheet toga which would often open up to show his well you know what. That confirmed his Midway assignment. 

The schoolteacher came dressed maybe like a Lady of the Night. I do know she had a full shot glass stashed in her cleavage. I spotted her accessing the stash and she saw me looking at which point she said to me... it saves a trip to the bar. BTW shots were a quarter a piece. For $2 you could get one hell of a buzz. 

Midway actually had two BOQ's with one being a wooden building dating back the WWII and a much newer one made out of concrete block. Yes, my 1st billet was in the old BOQ. The building smelled of old wood and cigarette smoke. At that time, I smoked and I noticed after a couple of nights there that my cigarettes were chewed up. Oh, Oh mice. Since I was the BMO, I asked my chief to get me some mousetraps. His reply was we only have large RAT traps and that is what you need. I set the trap that night and caught a 13-inch rat. 

I had a bit of a chat with the BOQ officer about a move to the new BOQ and sweetened the deal with whatever you need fixed will get a priority. I was moved in 10 minutes. Wow, I was learning how the Navy operates. 

The chief means of transportation on Midway other than walking was by bicycle. I had my very own official bicycle assigned to me as the BMO. Now a unusual situation occurred on Midway and that was as a Staff Corp Officer I stood OOD watch for the whole base. On larger Navy bases the OOD is carried out by Line Officers.

Standing OOD meant two things: I got to drive a pickup truck to carry out my duties, and I also would carry a loaded side arm on certain occasions. About a half an hour on the range qualified me to use the .45. Then there was the huge problem while I had a civilian driver's license, I did not have a government license and did not know how to drive a stick shift. A second-class Petty Officer spent a whole morning with me teaching me how to drive a stick shift out on an abandoned runway.  He was also the license examiner. I passed. That was invaluable training as I was able to teach my kids how to drive a stick. 

That is where I learned them that know can make things go.

73's

Pete N6QW

Three thousand sailors and six single women

Three thousand sailors and six single women, a life's experience.  

The following story is true and happened to me personally when I was assigned duty on Midway Island.

Yes, the population demographic was 3000 sailors and six single women all of whom were schoolteachers. In a Navy WWII era movie entitled Operation Petticoat, Cary Grant describes women as those under 16 are protected by law and those over 60 by nature and anything in between was like a minefield. One of the six was over 60, two were past forty and the rest as they say were fair game. No teacher was under 16.

One soon concludes that the 6 single female schoolteachers must have issues. Possibly it was running away from something or in the case of two or three, always toward something. One, past forty, but decidedly at one time beautiful was never sober on the weekends. Her drinking buddy was a Navy Captain, on an unaccompanied tour, and the Dentist. 

The year was 1963, and I was ripe old age of 21 and here I was a newly commissioned Ensign and about to face an interesting experience on a remote postage-stamp sized island. The cast of characters were an eclectic mix of weird, strange, far out and left out. The Dentist, a full Captain, was on Midway not for his dental skills, but his assignment was a form of unofficial Navy banishment. 

While I was commissioned in early June, the Navy sent me to the Civil Engineer Corp Officers School (CECOS) at Port Hueneme, CA. I didn't have to report in until July but would have to take advanced leave or just report in. I chose to report in and that created a minor problem of what to do with me for 30 days. CECOS not only trained the newly commissioned but also conducted classes for more senior officers in new/advanced construction techniques.

So, I got stuffed into a class on the Radiation Hardening of Facilities.  To this day I still know that one over the protection factor is the reduction factor. I watched some interesting movies on what actually happens in a nuclear detonation. The negative peak air overpressure creates a vacuum that literally sucks in already damaged buildings.

But the tough part was some movies were classified secret, and my secret clearance hadn't come as yet so I could not watch the movies and when there were classified class discussions, I had to leave the room. That was really weird. Later on, I will tell you about what happened when I had a Top-Secret Clearance. 

School lasted until September when I was sent to Midway Island. That was a tough trip as I had a four day lay over in Honolulu awaiting transportation to Midway. In case you are wondering Midway is a part of the Hawaiian Island chain and located 1000 miles NW of Honolulu. The logistics flight takes almost 5 hours.

 
I arrive on Midway about 1400 and check in with the OOD and then to the BOQ. It was about 1800 and my 1st stop was the Officer's Club. 

I sat at the bar and ordered a cold beer. The bar tender says I am sorry, but we don't serve underage dependents. I told him I was an Officer and he asked to see my ID. He turned pale and apologized. He was even a shade paler the next morning at quarters when in the ranks there was that bar tender and I was his Division Officer. I was having fun with his discomfort.

To be continued. You will read what it really means to be the most junior officer on the whole island. Then there were the encounters with the 13-inch-long rat and a collision with a flying Gooney Bird.

See Donald, you missed all the fun.

73's
Pete N6QW

From Copilot Negative Peak Overpressure

in a nuclear explosion ~ the impact of the destruction from the negative peak overpressure

The negative peak overpressure in a nuclear explosion does contribute to destruction, but its role is very different—and generally much smaller—than the positive overpressure phase.

What the negative peak overpressure is

After the initial positive overpressure blast wave (a sudden, intense compression of air), the pressure behind the wave briefly drops below normal atmospheric pressure. This is the negative phase, also called the suction phase.

It happens because the blast wave pushes a huge volume of air outward, leaving a partial vacuum behind it. Air then rushes back toward the center.

How much destruction the negative phase causes

The positive phase is responsible for the overwhelming majority of structural damage. The negative phase:

• Is weaker than the positive phase (typically 30–50% of the positive peak pressure).

• Lasts longer, but with much lower destructive force.

• Causes damage mainly to already weakened structures.

Typical destructive effects of the negative phase

• Pulling debris inward after the positive phase has blown it outward.

• Collapsing walls or roofs that were cracked or partially detached by the positive phase.

• Increasing the danger to people by drawing in dust, glass, and debris.

• Affecting lightweight structures, such as:

  • Sheet metal

  • Wooden sheds

  • Utility poles

  • Light roofing materials

What it does not do

• It does not cause the primary shock damage.

• It does not topple intact reinforced buildings.

• It does not significantly expand the radius of destruction.

Why the negative phase matters in blast physics

Even though it’s weaker, the negative phase is important because:

• It doubles the impulse (total energy delivered over time), which matters for:

  • Bridges

  • Towers

  • Long-span structures

• It can reverse-load structures, meaning they get hit from one side and then the other, which increases the chance of failure.

• It affects blast-resistant design, since engineers must account for both phases.

How the negative phase compares to the positive phase

Feature	Positive Overpressure	Negative Overpressure
Pressure direction	Outward	Inward
Peak magnitude	Very high	Much lower
Duration	Short	Longer
Main effects	Structural destruction, shattering, collapse	Secondary collapse, debris suction
Contribution to total damage	Dominant	Minor but non‑negligible

The bottom line

The negative peak overpressure contributes only a small fraction of the total destructive power of a nuclear blast. Its main role is to worsen damage to structures already compromised by the positive phase and to create additional hazards from debris.

Final PC Board Cuts

We are now at a point of having the two PC Boards fabricated using the CNC Mill. The actual Regen Board is shown below. 

The next following photographs show the stages of construction from completing the regen board to fabrication of the coil that's used in the tank circuit for the regen receiver.

This has been quite a project in the sense that you have to do a lot of thinking ahead of time to come up with the pieces that you need to do the job. 

I won't go into a lot of detail, but the pictures are self-explanatory. The coil form is a piece of heavy-duty three-quarter inch PVC pipe, and I made a couple aluminum brackets that will affix that particular coil to the PC board. 

Finally, there's some pictures in there that show you how the components are being arranged on the PC Board. 

Have fun and enjoy. I'll continue to post info as we do the actual building.

73's
Pete N6QW

PS The low view count suggests that there is little interest in a build project like this so this will be the last posting on the Regen. 

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Main Regen Board. That hole in the board is an oops!

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Audio Amp Stage Below




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Them that know can make it go. Seems like someone got replaced yesterday. It's a little late and two US Citizens died on her watch. It was reported she spent a lot of money on private jet flights. Wonder if she will keep her quarters at the Coast Guard Base. Does she pay for that or is that coming out of our pocket. I think we already know the answer to that. 

73's

Pete N6QW

March 5, 1942, A special Day

On this day in 1942, the United States Navy Seabees were officially established. Happy Birthday to all former and current Seabees. Our Motto "Can Do" translates into "Done"!

N6QW at the Seabee Museum 2025

In fact, there is a wonderful painting in the Navy Seabee museum located at Port Hueneme, CA. which shows a Cat D7, Bulldozer that has that very saying painted on a semi-razed blade. Can Do is scratched out and in its place is painted DONE!

I feel fortunate in witnessing Can Do firsthand and in many ways the Seabees inherently have the "knack" and are masters of making something out of nothing. 

Happy 84th Birthday Seabees!

MAPA

73's

Pete N6QW

Midway Island, MCB Ten, 31st NCR, 1963-1967

Next Step.

 From Graph Paper to PC Board

Using the coordinates from the graph paper for the 6BA6 Audio Amp, the data was entered into Carbide Create. The next two steps were the generation of the G-Code saved as a text file. This then resulted in the milling of the PC Board.

Now that was the easy one as it only involved but a few squares. The actual Regen contains more parts, and the layout is more critical.

Carbide Create Tool Paths

For those following along and use the super glue and Manhattan Pads, all of the Grid Squares are 1/4 inch. So yes, you will have to count squares, but this gives the location of the pads. The open space on the right side is for the large choke AKA small audio plate transformer where the primary side is used.

I have the G Code but didn't get a chance to cut the board which is 4X6. I made the pads a bit bigger to allow for cut material. The next posting will have the cut board.

An experimental element will be the coil. I am planning on a 3/4-inch HD PVC pipe for the form which will mean more turns as the W3IRZ design used a 1.25-inch design. Ascertaining the tap point is like access to the 1st set of knickers and will involve experimentation.

Them that don't know sure wished they did! I guess there is a lot of that in our Nation's capital. 

73's

Pete N6QW

Step 2 in the Regen Process

A Common Language separates many of us in the USA. Liberty to some means take all you can get when you can get it. While most of the sane, rest of us, believe liberty is sacred, is earned, must be maintained and at its root core is respect for the rule of law.

But a Common Language also means translating schematic diagrams to a form that can be described to a CNC Mill. At times schematics must be redrawn so that they are more readily adapted to CNC Milling.

The W3IRZ schematic was redrawn to reflect the reality of the actual pin positions on the 6BA6 tube sockets and a thought of position of the controls once it is built. Think of a front panel with the Tuning dial in the center, the regeneration control in the lower left-hand corner and the headphone jack in the lower right-hand corner. Confused... hang on.

Ground Pin #2, 6BA6 #1 -- it's missing in this sketch.

A subsequent step in the process is to take the above schematic and create island squares of the connection points of components, which generally follow that layout. This is an interim sketch and then those squares will be identified on 1/4-inch graph paper where coordinates will be identified, and this is what goes into Carbide Create to generate the G Code for milling. These same coordinates are a roadmap for the MePads/Manhattan crowd that use glue. 

Redrawn schematic to include island squares

Now that we have the approximate location of the island squares, we can go to our graph paper and with the actual parts move them around the paper to ensure a proper clearance but also to minimize actual component spacing. The 7 Pin shielded tube sockets will be mounted on pillars and elevated slightly above the PC Board base plate.

Next in this exciting discourse series, is the island squares for the 2nd 6BA6.

Further Refinement of the Layout

Our process by using the initial sketched pad layout and then using the actual components enables a smaller footprint with the actual components. We can now go to Carbide Create to get the G Code. You will note I have included some of the reference points if you were to take this to Manhattan Construction... you would be good to go. The coordinates are to scale. If getting the 1st set of knickers off could only be this easy.

Sometimes the most obvious approach is not the best approach. That is a hint to the success of this project. 

BTW a blog reader sent me a link and indeed Mike, W3IRZ is a SK, since 2003.

Them that know can make it go, the rest wished they could. 

Things in downtown IRAN don't look good. Pray any of you who have children or grandchildren who are of draft age that they may not have to serve. War is not fun and dodging death takes its toll. Was what happened over the weekend really necessary? But it does move the discourse away from the Epstein issues. 

73's

Pete N6QW