Prepper #1 ~ Powering your Prepper 20W SSB Transceiver

So, you have in hand the Prepper 20 Watt SSB/CW transceiver and 12V, 10 Amp LiPo battery. Now you need a charging system for the battery. I turned to Copilot and specified a location and typical operation.

When sizing a charging system you have to know stuff. So, before you simply rush in and flash the plastic first flash the brain. Things you have to know include the load (20 Watts PEP with a 50% duty cycle), how much you will operate on a daily basis (1 hour per day) and your location. 

The location is a key factor like Yuma; AZ has 4000 hours of sunlight a year which is more than 10 hours a day every day. Port Townsend in WA, I swore had 4000 hours of rain a year. Location also plays a part in the tilt angle that you set the panels to garner the most energy generation. Solar panels are terribly inefficient like maybe 20% so every bit counts. Panel direction is also paramount. Find your old Cub Scout Compass and face the panels SOUTH.

In a apocalyptic scenario operating times may be limited but you also want the system sized so you get more than 15 minutes per day. You also must figure in the charging of phones and laptops.

Realistically I invoked the Chu Lai standard: MRE's, no lights at night and warm beer. Thus a 10 Amp battery was OK. You might think about building a crystal set as no power is required and you can run that 24/7 without batteries.

In my system I have included a small inverter to intermittently power devices that need 115V AC but no more than 70 watts. The inverter is good for 150 watts and has a single outlet and a USB charging port... get an adapter for USB B to USB C.

The answer was astonishing and the price was less than $50.

Solar Powered Charging System

🌄 Best Specific Model for POTA/SOTA

Topsolar 30W 12V/24V Monocrystalline Solar Panel Kit

Why this is the right choice for portable ham ops:

🏕️ Field‑Ready for POTA/SOTA

• 30W panel is the ideal size for backpack/portable ops — enough to recharge your 12 V 10 Ah LiPo after a day of SSB activity without being bulky.

• Lightweight and compact, easy to strap to a pack or deploy on a summit.

• Weather‑resistant for coastal or mountain environments.

🔋 Perfect Match for Your Load

Your 20 W SSB radio uses:

• 4A peak, 50% duty, 1 hour/day → 2Ah/day (≈24Wh/day)

A 30W panel in SoCal coastal sun produces:

Even derated, that’s 5–6× your daily consumption, giving:

• Fast battery recovery

• Margin for fog, shade, or short winter days

• Ability to operate longer if needed

⚡ Controller Included

• Comes with a charge controller suitable for 12 V LiFePO₄/LiPo systems.

• Protects your pack from overcharge and keeps things simple in the field.

🧰 Practical Advantages

• Works great with Powerpole adapters or ring terminals.

• Easy to mount on a tripod, lean against a rock, or lash to a pack.

• Affordable and widely used by portable operators.

10 Amp Battery and Inverter

For my location I point it South and set the tilt angle to 35 Degrees.

My actual radio is a KX3 @ 15 watts so the system will be loafing along. 

This brings up another key point and that is the radio power output level. The siren's song is the $250 Xiegu or a Usdx. That is like the blonde with fake boobs. Nice looking but still not full bodied. The minimum power is 15 watts with 20 watts a better choice. Likely in the apocalyptic scenario the hex beam didn't survive the negative peak air overpressure, and you have a wire in a stump. You will need a bit more than 5 watts to be heard with a wimp of an antenna.

Them that know... survive.

73's

Pete N6QW

It is time to get into the Prepper Mode!

A story to illustrate a point. In 1980 I left McDonnell Douglas as I had a boss who was simply ignorant. He resisted new ways of thinking and doing things. I had an MBA and some of the organizational problems we had were well studied and had remedies. He simply was risk averse to changing anything and so I left.

Late in 1981, out of the blue, I was contacted by McDonnell Douglas with a job offer to come to work in St Louis. The person making the call apologized and said we should have never let you leave. It was my electronics background, and facilities experience that was key. They wanted me to be the project manager to build a microelectronics fab. Also, key was 10 years at McDonnell Douglas, as I intimately knew the work processes. The bag of money was big enough and in January of 1982 I moved to St. Louis. That meant snow, ice and dangerous driving.

The 1st day on the job I was introduced to a staff assistant whose job was to help me get up to speed. My 1st question was about the weather and driving conditions as I lived in the county some 35 miles from the plant. The staff assistant said don't worry when it is really bad, I will call you and let you know. I didn't think anything more about it and come April, we had a terrible snowstorm. At 3 AM the phone rings and it is the staff assistant, and he says just wanted to let you know... It is really bad.

[The following is hypothetical but does start to respond to the what if scenario. We are a divided nation, the economy sucks, there is a war going on, a major election in 7 months and it is a worldwide issue.] 

So here is your 3 AM call... It is bad. The world situation is tenuous, so this is a good time to get prepared. Call up your favorite AI program and ask about the Trump 2.0 Iran War and what it's doing to stability in the world. It is headed past its 3rd week, and we have already spent Billions on the war.  As it is now, this is not a one and done event. Any plan that existed is now on some new course. As we can see on TV, the Straits of Hormuz does need a big cork to stop the flow of liquid gold. 

 

Some of the things that should be done are easy and involve very simple process changes.

Maybe you might remember the Odd Even gas days of the 1970's. We are so dependent on our autos and so the 1st simple change is to keep your gas tanks full and battery charged. Keep in mind that an EMP can wipe out the use of automobiles and EV's.

Find, build or buy a 20-Watt HF SSB radio so you can communicate when all the cell towers go toes up. A 10 Amp LiPo Battery with a solar charger will keep you on the air and connected for any communications from the government. Xiegu, Elecraft, Yaesu and others have these radios. Get a small inverter (about $15) so you can charge your cell phone from the battery should there still be cell service. 

Collect two changes of clothing including a warm jacket and Boonie Hat. Pack it away for emergency use only. (So, you don't routinely touch it.) Ditch the flip flops and invest in a quality pair of hiking boots. Put a Space Blanket in the pack and purchase a cheap plastic poncho to keep dry.

Name me one person who is not on Meds... Oh, that is right they don't live in the USA. You should always try to have a two-week stash of critical medications. A First Aid Kit is another item.

Cash will be king. Have several hundred dollars in smaller bills and stash these inside your underwear. A check with any lap dancer can tell you the how it is done.

A small bag of tools could be on the critical path. Six in one screw drivers, multi-tools sold by Gerber and others plus add in a solid knife with a 4-inch blade. A WWII Kabar is perfect. (I have one I carried in Vietnam.) Include flashlights and spare batteries. Fire Starters, signal mirrors and flares round out the tools. If you can find some para cord and fishing hooks throw that in the kit. 

Weapons is a big question and when it comes down to it may be more dangerous to have one as not. That said you may want to consider purchasing the AR-7 Survival Rifle for hunting small game and warding off wild animals. This rifle comes apart and the receiver and barrel plus magazines fit inside the waterproof stock. It shoots 22 Cal LR. Henry Arms now makes the AR-7. (About $400. Check Bass Pro Shops / Cabella's)


Critical documents that you will need should be amassed and secured such as passports, birth certificates, naturalization documents, drivers licenses, property ownership and marriage certificates. For veterans, your DD214 is the E Ticket. A waterproof pouch is a must to contain these documents. It might be a good idea to get fingerprinted and have your prints in the pouch. Also prepare a contact list with phone numbers, email addresses etc. Get with your family and have a prearranged contact plan for when there is an emergency there is a communications central. 

 

AR-7 Survival Rifle

Become familiar with your local area (maps, guides, etc.) and locate a safe area that can be accessed on foot. If you are going to run away from home, you better have a place to run to in an emergency.

Last but not least is food. Purchase a stock of 20 MRE's per person (2 meals for 10 days). They are packed with calories and easily cooked in the field. In lieu of extensive water storage, have water purification kits. 

This is a lot to absorb but it is the reality and not a perception. Hope for the best but be prepared for the worst.

This was a hypothetical brain dump, but you might want to find and watch the following three movies: Red Dawn, The Day After and Independence Day. Cheesy, yes but they all have a common theme... it can't happen here. But it did and for the most part they were unprepared. A critical solution in Independence Day was the use of Morse Code. Oh yeah, no longer a ham license requirement.

Them that know... survive. This is your 3 AM wake up call.

73's

Pete N6QW

A Who Done It Mystery

When I am home growing a new rig I like to first "noodle" the expected result. When I use one of the standard FOAM modules (Filter Oscillator Amplifier Mixer), in advance I have a calibration that a properly operating IRF510 RF Final should produce more than 100 milliwatts on 40M. This process works pretty well for non-SDR radios. Throw that out the door when you add a single board computer to the hardware set.

From time to time, I drag out my home grown 20M SDR transceiver. There was such an event yesterday. The main SDR board can be interfaced with a variety of SBC's including an RPi3, 4 and 5 as well as a Windows 11 machine and the ASUS Tinker Board. All of these computers are running QUISK from N2ADR. This is where the mystery starts.

Home Grown SDR

R Pi 5

No contest as the Linux based machines performs much better using QUISK than anything Windows. The only reason I have QUISK on the Windows 11 Machine is that I can now operate the Hermes Lite 2.0 which is 100 feet away from the shop computer with five different software programs including QUISK.

Prior to Python 3, the ASUS boards were better than the R Pi Boards. But I have been unable to update the Tinker Boards with Python 3. The latest versions of QUISK require Python 3. So as a class the R Pi Boards work with Python 3.

Changing nothing with the Analog hardware, the results with the various R Pi's is not predictable and therein lies the mystery. I have always had difficulty with the R Pi 4 to work with QUISK, and my home grown SDR. No problem with the R PI 3 or R PI5. The issue with the R PI 4 is the external USB sound card. Remove that device and it works FB but install it and the spectrum literally bounces all over the screen. 

I thought I might have a faulty R Pi 4 and a 2nd purchase resulted in the same issue. The R Pi 4 and R Pi 5 are running in the 64-Bit Mode. Taking the SD Card out of the R Pi 4 and swapping into an R Pi 5 and it runs without the jumping of the Spectrum. So, the problem must exist with the R Pi 4 system architecture. 

I have two R Pi 5's and swapping the same SD Card between the two results in different performance. The problem du jour is that I see a trace of a recurrent spike on the received spectrum. 

Noise Spikes

Now, I have a desktop machine running Linux Mint 20 and I spotted the same type of spike, even with the machine off. As I found out many of the desktop machines even though off have a Wake on LAN capabilities, so, they are not really off. When I unplugged the Mint 20 machine the spike at that time disappeared as you could hear the spike in an adjacent KWM-2. So, I am suspecting something new in my home is the culprit. I replaced the Mint 20 Computer power supply with a quality low noise unit and that seemed to fix that problem.

[I seem to recall friend N2CQR had a recurrent noise spike issue traced to a new tread mill.]

But using different SD Cards in the R Pi 5 has variability in the presence of the recurrent spike with one SD Card only showing a slight trace and the other is much more apparent. The awful truth just like blondes versus redheads, all SD Cards are not the same. Plus, we all know blondes are "spikey". Likely you really need a premium SD card to exact the best performance overall. It follows there are blondes and there are blondes!

Them that know at times may not know.

73's

Pete N6QW

A Lot Happening in the World Today.

Well, if your son or grandson gets drafted or has to go to war, it is a short distance to who is responsible and it is not Joe Biden.

One surely has to wonder about the decision process to engage in another Mid-east war such as the ongoing one in Iran. I can just visualize a voice in the room that said it will be over in one day and don't worry about the oil supply. It been 17 days and gas prices suck.

Here is what I see as radio with a pedigree for being a top-of-the-line main station radio. This is the first radio for all of those 45 Minute Extra's as nothing differentiates just any old driver from one who drives a Ferrari. I await a You Tube video showing the   YL ham radio newcomer as they unbox this jewel in the crown,

ANAN-G2 Ultra HF & 6M 100W Ultra High Performance SDR

For about $4500 (above) you can have the Apache Labs 100-Watt High Performance SDR that will make you the envy of anyone who can hear you. This radio stands up and barks!

ANAN-G2-1K 1000W+ HF & 6M SDR Transceiver

For those seeking the ne plus ultra meet the Apache Labs ANAN-G2-1K, (above). This is all you will ever need for contests and operating and it can be had for a mere $7500. 

Just think, you can put all that extra cash sitting in your pocket, a gift from Trump 2.0, and finally get a real station. All the money from the booming economy, the tariffs and the dwindling gas supply finally has made you wealthy. Soon AI will give you even more time for contests and operating. 

When you yell CQ POTA you will be heard with one of the world's finest radios. No warmed-over home grown Bitx40 even comes close.

Those of us who know are telling you about the best radio to make you the envy of every ham op worldwide. Order one today! (Yeah right!)

73's

Pete N6QW

    

 

3000 sailors and 6 single women. Chapter 10

This is a final chapter of my Midway adventures, and this ties up some loose ends. I know the blog readership has dropped dramatically and I understand that fact. But this is a historical account, and it was important for me to document my being 21 years old and starting my adult life with an assignment to a small, remote Pacific Island.

I hope to have the last laugh when my adventures result in a movie. I have been encouraged to carry this forward with that as a goal. Maybe its star will be Brad Pitt as an old N6QW and reflects on his Midway adventures.

 

Old BOQ complete with many Gooney Birds.

I wanted to share a few more words about the Gooney Bird abatement project. As you can see the Gooney's are everywhere. The Bird Abatement project involved the extermination of 22,198 birds and this is how it was done.

We took a dump truck and fitted the tail gate with a spring-loaded trap door that opened inwardly. The open top of the truck was covered with two layers of heavy canvas which was secured to the truck, so it was solid. A 2-inch pipe port was fitted to the tail gate, and a hose connected this port to the truck exhaust pipe. In effect a portable gas chamber. 

The pick team developed a process where they used welder's gloves to grab the bill of the Gooney and with the other hand grabbed the wings at the shoulder to immobilize the bird. The next step was insertion into the chamber via the spring-loaded trap door. We had a counter person so that a load of 50 birds was done at one time. We kept precise records. The gas time for an average load of 50 birds was 2 minutes and 17 seconds. After that time, we had a skip loader at the ready and put the dump mechanism in play and the transfer was made. A second truck collected the dead birds and when full went to the garbage scow for subsequent dumping at sea. 

The garbage scow had a full load of 10,000 birds and went out to sea. A storm came up and it didn't quite make it to the dump area but dumped anyway. The next day 10,000 dead birds washed up on the shores of Midway and had to be picked up a second time.

The junior officers invariably get the rotten jobs.

I wanted to share why I had a 13-month tour of duty on Midway where the norm is 12 months. The Civil Engineer Corps Officers frequently are on detached duty as a ROICC. (Resident Officer In Charge of Construction.) Say the Navy has contracted a civilian company to build a ship drydock. Then the CEC Officer is an on-site rep for the Navy during construction. Other billets would be like I had on Midway in Public Works but many of these billets often have a total civilian work force. The third billet was assignment in the Construction Battalions.

Near the end of my regular tour on Midway, (September 1964) it was evident to the Navy War Planners that Seabees would be going to Vietnam. I had a particular skill set since for my year on Midway I was essentially in the Seabees as I worked with and had Seabees report to me. The plan was to find Officers who already had experience with the Seabee enlisted personnel be assigned to the battalions who would be 1st to go to Vietnam. Short story: wrong place at the right time. There was a detachment on Midway of MCB 10 and in effect MCB 10 would be the 1st in country... and we were. So, my 13th month was spent as a part of Detachment Alpha, MCB10.

Shortly after arriving in Vietnam, we got a new CO. This new CO spent a lot of time in DC and was well known to Congress and the Navy. He was also the detailer who put me in MCB-10. After his arrival in Vietnam, he interviewed all of us individually and asked a few probing questions. He was a Naval Academy grad and had a different view of regular versus reserve officers. I happened to be a regular USN officer. At our interview he asked what was a looking for. I simply said a fair shake as I now had two hardship assignments back-to-back and would like some duty stateside. He told me that I was put here because it would be good for my career as a regular officer

He then said do a good job for me and I will see you get assigned stateside. Fair enough. At this time, I was the Admin/Personnel Officer, Battalion Adjutant and my other job was Intelligence Officer. 

Our work relationship started with the CO saying draft me a letter to Senator XXX telling him we need his support for new equipment. Fortunately, I did attend Admin/Personnel school and knew the FDR method for Naval Correspondence. Facts, Discussion, Request or Reply. After one or two letters he signed all following letters as written. Two months after the Battalion returned stateside, I had orders to a stateside billet. 

A final experience with Midway was not so good and it was when I was in MCB 10. In October of 1965 I was chosen as the Officer in Charge of the Advanced Party to arrange for the main body to return home in time for Christmas. 

The night before I was to leave Chu Lai, I was asked to turn in my side arm as we were short of guns. I did that but had a personal .357 magnum. We got attacked that night with VC running through the camp shooting up the place. Go figure, I am going home, no .45 and we are under attack. The raiding party was subdued and three of the dead (women) worked in the camp doing cleaning tasks.

So, all my uniforms are in my B5 Bags and essentially, I am in Seabee Green Fatigues. Our first stop was on Midway for refueling and I couldn't wait to go to the O Club and get a cold beer and a steak. I walk into the O club (it was a Saturday afternoon) and was asked to leave as now they did not allow officers in the club in flight suits or fatigues. I tried to explain this is all I had and less than 24 hours ago was being shot at. No Dice. So, then I went to the general mess and asked if I could get a meal which I would pay for. No problem. I have fond memories of the Midway General Mess. 

In true Navy tradition if you consider Midway and Chu Lai as join the Navy and see the world then I guess I did. In my last duty assignment at Port Hueneme (1966-1967), I did have a great job, a fast car and I met my wife. But I also had to make a short second trip back to Da Nang on TDY.

My Midway Adventures provided me an invaluable life lesson. In true form, there is The Right Way, The Wrong Way, The Navy Way and then there is Midway. It will always be in my mind and heart... 3000 sailors and 6 single women.

It should be required that all future Presidents serve in the military as one of the qualifications to be President. With such a grounding there is a better understanding of any action taken has consequences. Regrettably most recent presidents did not serve, and we can see today why the lack of service... well, you can finish that sentence.

73's

Pete N6QW

3000 sailors and 6 single women. Chapter 9

December 1963, no we are not talking about the Four Seasons song but the real year. [Hang in there only two more chapters and this series is over.]

December 1963

I had been stationed on Midway for about 4 months now and making fewer mistakes as I learned that there is The Right Way, The Wrong Way, The Navy Way, and then there is Midway.

We were still reeling from the JFK assassination and what could have potentially happened beyond that tragic event. It also was the time of my 22nd birthday and kind of a sign of maturity. (I also continued to avoid being dessert.) Christmas was a time for celebration, but this is the 1st time in my life that I wouldn't be spending Christmas with the family.

But the 1st huge problem is just like in the movie Operation Christmas Drop, here was a remote pacific island, no indigenous Christmas trees and so what do you do? Literally hundreds of plastic Christmas trees were shipped into the Navy Exchange. 

Then I looked at the Officer of the Day watch list... I was, the most junior officer on the island, therefore had the watch on Christmas eve. I could have made book on that. Well, it was an eventful watch and a lot happened that evening. I did make my final tour at 11PM and stopped by the General Mess for a final inspection, only this time it was not donuts, but a small bag of Christmas cookies. Nice.

About 2 AM the phone rings and there was a break-in ongoing at the Officers Club. I hustled down to the OOD station picked up the .45 and sped to Officers Club. I arrived just in time to see two male figures in civilian clothes running down the beach with what appeared to be was two cases of beer. I gave chase but they disappeared into the night. The 1st thing I did was contact the O Club Officer to apprise him of the break-in and that he needed to take an inventory of what was missing and we could arrange for some help to secure the facility. Groan, I now had to spend hours creating an after-action report. I didn't get back to bed until after 5 AM for about 1 hour of sleep. Merry Christmas, Pete! 

We not only had an OOD but also had a Command Duty Officer and when I returned the next morning to turn over the watch he was waiting for me and was pissed that someone had the balls to break into the O Club. He further questioned me regarding could I identify them, did I try to have them stop as they were running away, was I armed and did I try shooting at them.

I answered as follows: It was pitch black and I couldn't provide detailed info like clothing, ethnicity plus they were fairly far away when I arrived on scene. Yes, I did yell for them to stop at least four times and yes, I was armed. But I did not discharge my weapon as I would be shooting blind in the dark and there was a high risk of collateral damage. True it was a robbery, but the value of the goods taken would likely not justify discharging my weapon in a situation where there was no visibility. He simply grunted.

Our Departmental XO invited several of us over for Christmas Dinner at 4PM. He was an interesting guy as he was in his early 40's and was on his second marriage to a cutesy blond who was my age. They had a young baby about 2 years old.  He must have had a great pickup line and just scratched my head but did think he was a sly fox. What a great December 1963, yeah right.

Them that know can make things go.

73's

Pete N6QW

BTW I was KM6DD on Midway.

3000 sailors and 6 single women. Chapter 8

[I don't drive very much these days with the twice daily trips to the Board and Care Facility no longer a norm. But I do go weekly to the cemetery to visit with the XYL. It is a 40 Mile round trip. I gas up the car about once every two weeks. Yesterday I paid $6.10 a gallon. I want to thank the majority of Americans who put in office the man who caused the gas spike. My only consolation is the majority is paying the premium too and are responsible. Surely everyone is seeing with gas and tariffs, the food and medication budgets are on life support.]

So, what was there to do on Midway aside from work?

Our normal 5 day a week work shift was from 8 AM until 4:30 PM. Quarters were at 8 AM but my arrival at 7AM gave me a chance to organize things and get ahead of any problems. A Saturday may involve a base inspection or other military ceremony. Often, I would have OOD duty on the weekend.

Midway was like being a trustee in a minimum-security prison. You pretty much could go anywhere except you couldn't just leave. I put in an employee suggestion that we erect a small gate so you could at least say I went out the front gate. It was rejected!

We had a commissary, Navy Exchange, movie theater, bowling alley, library, a small golf course, a beach area, fishing off the beach and of course snorkeling. There were three service clubs one for the Enlisted, another for the Chiefs and one for the Officers. I always joked that Navy Exchange carried two sizes of clothing... Too Small and Too Large.

Protocol was always in play. Only Officers could use the Officers Club, but if you were an Officer and OK guy, you could be a guest at the Chiefs club. I was invited as a guest on several occasions. One only had to realize that the Chiefs ran the Navy, and it was good practice to always ask their input and to respect what they had to say.   

For the Enlisted troops they would like to have weekend picnics on the beach. There was a process where a request was made in writing to the Division Officer (me). I would sign the form, and the party organizers would provide that form to the General Mess, and they would be given hot dogs, hamburgers, buns, condiments, potato salad, chips and soft drinks for however many were approved on the form. I was always happy to do that.

But these were Seabees and so one more item not on the list I signed and that was beer. I'll be damned our division hand built a special vehicle made out entirely of scrap materials. It was a trailer that could be towed by a bike and on that trailer was a salvaged refrigerator installed horizontally and at the far end a small gasoline powered electric generator. The refer was a large beer "cooler" box. Wow, Can Do.

One of my activities was snorkeling. The Midway Islands are surrounded by a Coral reef, and the beach gradients are such that you can go 200 feet away from the shoreline and the water is only waist deep. There are so many amazing fish to be seen like the Parrot fish. One of the Officers was an official Navy diver, and he helped me order flippers, booties, a mask and diving knife. 

One more piece of gear which I made and was taught how to make by the Hawaiian civilians was a Hawaiian Sling spear gun.

The video is an uptown version and the one I built was made from a broom handle, a small hinge, some surgical tubing and a 1/4-inch steel rod fitted with a barb. You drilled a slightly larger than 1/4-inch hole through the broom handle and then drilled a 3/8-inch hole through both sides of the hinge and the affixed the hinge to one end of the broom handle. You then cut a notch in the spear so when you had the spear gun armed the movable part of the hinge snapped into the notch on the spear. Quite effective and deadly at close range. You fired it by moving the hinge out of the notch and away she flew.

The library on Midway was quite excellent, and I read over 50 books in my time on Sand island. I actually went back and read some books that I had to read in college. While in school I just sort of breezed through them and then of course were The Cliff Notes. The books made much more sense when I actually read them.

Then of course was ham radio where I was custodian of KM6BI. I didn't do much operating as such but did run a lot of phone patches. One notable operation was the Alaskan earthquake in 1964. I put the station on the air and for about a 4-hour period ran emergency traffic from Anchorage to the Red Cross in Washington DC. The Alaska to DC circuit was not open and so I was a relay station. It was an amazing time to be a ham. But I marveled that on the Anchorage end came a call for specific recovery supplies, but the Red Cross kept asking and seemed only interested about causalities. Everything is political! In time the circuit opened up and they were direct

The O Club showed 1st run movies and typically I would see two or three movies a week. I really enjoyed seeing the John Wayne movie The Fighting Seabees which of course was about the Seabees and taking place on an island just like Midway. 

Often guest lecturers would pass through Midway and we had mandatory attendance. On November 2, 1963, an Army Colonel passed through Midway to give us a briefing on what was happening in South Vietnam. As he was speaking, he was handed a note about the assassination of President Diem in Vietnam, that very day. 

He said the cork is out of the bottle and his concern was history could repeat itself. He suggested we get really familiar with a book entitled The Street Without Joy. The author was Bernard Fall. It was about the French in Indochina and how they lost the war to the Viet-Minh.

In a sense the visiting Colonel's presentation was prophetic. Count the months from November 2, 1963, to May 7, 1965. The answer is about 18 months and that was how long it took me to go from Midway to Chu Lai.

Them that know can make things go.

73's

Pete N6QW

3000 sailors and 6 single women. Chapter 7

[Just spotted a new ham radio term for the 1% of us hams who can actually totally build all of the gear in their station. I am now shifting from homebrew to "home grown rig".]

We have all heard the expression: It's for the birds! So was Midway! The islands are most famous for the Gooney Birds which are actually two species of the same bird one being the Laysan and the other being the Black Footed. Talk about segregation these birds never mixed! 

For reference purposes a Gooney bird is an Albatross and has the following dimensions: About 2 feet high, weighing 6 to 7 pounds and a wingspan of 6 to 7 feet. Like an airplane they have to run a distance before they can become airborne. Their landings appear uncontrolled which is the norm. See the later video on how they are graceful in the air and terrible on the landing!

From Copilot on the birds of Midway.

There are many species (about 20 in total) that either live on Midway or nest there. One particular nesting species is the Adrenna Pacifica commonly known as "the moaning bird". This bird nests in holes in the ground and walking around at night without a flashlight is hazardous as many a sprained ankle was the result of stepping in a nesting hole.

I previously shared that I moved from the Rat-infested old Bachelor Officers Quarters [BOQ] on the second floor to the new concrete BOQ on the 1st floor. The 1st night in the new room I had the window slightly open and it was about midnight I heard this distinctive loud moan. My brain quickly assumed it was one of 6 teachers. Later that day I found out it was the Adrenna Pacifica.

You can only tell the sex of the Gooney Birds by autopsy, neither can the birds tell and it is believed that their ritual mating dance is part of their finding out if the bird on the bottom is a guy.

Take Off, Landing and Mating!

The Gooney birds are large, and many nest near the runways. Read danger to aircraft from bird strikes and so a plan was hatched to remove the birds from near the runways and use California soil cement to prevent further nesting. You can read about that here. The actual number was 22,198 and I should know as I had that project assigned to me. Daily I would send a bird report to an office in the Washington DC, Navy Office. The operation was officially observed by the Audubon Society. These Audubon guys wore khaki uniforms with a red cardinal patch on their left sleeve. In the final analysis it didn't work too well. Gooney birds are on a 7-year nesting cycle, so you have to do the pickup for 7 years not one.

I picked up the birds, but the California soil cement was done by a Detachment (Detachment Alpha) from MCB Ten. Clever Navy, I was assigned to that Detachment, when it was time to transfer duty stations. That meant two things: I spent not 12 months on Midway but 13 months, and secondly two hardship duty station assignments back-to-back. This was not the norm. This was not good for me. I later found out why that happened.

Gooney birds had an amazing navigation system as I witnessed a test conducted while I was there. Six Gooney birds were captured, banded and flown to Seattle. Three days later they were all back on Midway. BTW Gooney bird's nest about 1/2 yard from where they were hatched. (The why 7 years was needed.) The burning question for the Navy... how is this possible?

I saw the famous movie "The Birds" shortly before arriving on Midway. There were above ground power wires stretching to the Officers Club which was located near the beach. Yep, birds would nest on those wires just like in the movie and it was scary.

It was asked of me prior to going to Midway, do you like bird watching. I answered not particularly and the response back was you will.

Them that know can make things go

73's

Pete N6QW

3000 sailors and 6 single women. Chapter 6

Humans often have a binary response like you either do something or you don't. Some can arrive at a decision rather quickly... like let's do it! But others while still getting an answer in a short time have a process to come to a conclusive answer.

An example, a man has an opportunity to cheat on his wife, and his answer is he does or he doesn't. But sub rosa the doesn't response actually has an underlying two choice aspect.

Those who don't cheat because they believe it is absolutely wrong are likely less than the majority. The majority who don't cheat, don't because they know they will get caught so they don't. Either way they don't but the majority fear getting caught.

As I had mentioned the Officer's Mess included both Officers and civilians who because of what they do are accorded the officer privileges. I had been on Midway less than about two weeks and was having dinner in the BOQ (Bachelor Officers Quarters) when who enters is one of the over 40 schoolteachers and she sat at my table which could accommodate four, but it was just me until she came. She is best described as a bit worn on the edges and certainly not svelte.

She said can I sit here and recalling my Navy training about being courteous, I said why of course. She then asks who are you and I introduced myself and explained I had been in the Navy about 4 months and before that college. She introduced herself and explained she taught several subjects in the school. The usual chit chat about how you like Midway so far and what is your job.

The meal was about over, and she says I teach Home Economics to the girls and today we baked a fresh batch of chocolate chip cookies. How would like to come over to my room for dessert. Gulp, there it was out in the open, was I being propositioned?

This goes back to our original opening, and do you say yes which opens up a huge issue that the Navy calls Moral Turpitude or you say NO because you just know you will get caught! A wrong move could be career ending.

My response is that I had to decline as I needed to run to observe an off-shift maintenance operation and being new I was overwhelmed with collateral duties (which was the truth). She looked pretty sad... so close but so far away. 

Mental note to Pete, change your dinner schedule and always sit with other officers. I had successfully escaped being dessert. 

Them that know make the tough decisions

73's

Pete N6QW

3000 sailors and 6 single women. Chapter 5

Most of the permanently assigned Naval personnel on an unaccompanied tour spent only a year on Midway. If it was an accompanied tour, then it was two years. Midway was considered as a hardship duty station. Always "done in" by the system, I spent 13 months on Midway under two different commands.

No Naval person is supposed to have two hardship duty stations back-to-back. Well folks, I did experience that joy. Yeah, from Midway to Vietnam!

Most of the Naval personnel in my assigned department (Public Works) were Seabees and their tour was short (most 12 months). The Navy had a core group of civilians who were there for a longer duration and provided continuity as the Seabees came and went.

Virtually all of the civilians were from the Hawaiian Islands and considering that in 1963, WWII was only over some 18 years and if they were in their 40's they witnessed Pearl Harbor 1st hand. I asked a lot of questions of these civilians and the common answer was terrible and the uncertainty was worse.

When I was the Base Maintenance Officer, I had a civilian secretary of Japanese ancestry, and her name was Sue Saito. Her husband Si was a top-notch Navy civilian machinist and could build literally anything. Si hand built a custom racing bike and always won the annual bike race.

After just a few days on the job Sue mentioned her brother fought in WWII and I almost blurted out which side. It turns out he was a member of the famous 442nd Nisei Regimental Combat Team (Motto, Go For Broke) and served with distinction... they all did!

The civilians loved music and even had an informal musical group. They often commented that Don Ho was a terrible craftsman (many knew and worked with him) and had to do music to live. 

The civilians were journeymen plumbers, electricians, millwrights etc. But since Public Works had a large budget, we were subject to constant audits. One of the audits turned up that one of the officer quarters had an unusually large number of pluming service calls handled by one of the civilian plumbers and a pattern emerged. The calls were on Tuesday and Thursday around 10AM and called in by the wife of one of the medical doctors. Seems like our plumber was always checking the piping... her piping.

Speaking of doctors, Midway was not a place to get sick. While Midway, did have a hospital (Sickbay) and qualified surgeons there was a limit before you would have to be sent off island. 

One Saturday morning we had a pass in review and inspection, and I noted a pain in my chest. After the event I went to Sickbay and the duty Doctor (he was the spouse of the wife who was having her pluming checked) examined me and said the following. "Pete, I don't know what you have but by Monday you will either be dead or better." Let that sink in for a minute. Fortunately, I didn't die that weekend.

Them that know can make things go.

73's

Pete N6QW

3000 Sailors and 6 Single Women Chapter 4

The Midway Islands were small potatoes. Sand Island was about 1400 Acres at low tide and Eastern Island about 400 Acres also at low tide.

Essentially you couldn't pass gas without someone knowing about it. But it seemed only when I had OOD (Officer of the Day) duty that the really weird stuff would happen. Then too being the most junior officer on the whole island it seemed like my turn at OOD always fell on a weekend or holiday. I noted this and mentioned it to my superior who looked at me and said are you complaining. Sir, No Sir! Just an observation.

One Sunday afternoon I got a call about a domestic disturbance in the dependent housing area involving two females. Now I keep repeating there were only 6 single women, but there were a lot of other women who were dependents. That number was in the hundreds. It seemed like two women (wives of enlisted personnel) were physically fighting. I had the Master at Arms accompany me to the housing area.

Sure, enough the two women were having at it with fists and hair pulling. I had them disengage long enough to have them explain what is up. It seems one of the women borrowed a suitcase of the other woman to use on a family leave off the island. The owner claims the suitcase was returned in a damaged state and wanted compensation. Then they started at it again and the borrower said I received the suitcase like that. 

The owner said that is not my suitcase. The borrower rips off her shirt saying you think I am hiding it here... there was nothing to hide and there she was bare chested. Here I am a 21-year-old Ensign, and such a situation was never in my training. Adapt, Improvise and Overcome

The Master at Arms looked at me with a look of what are going to do now Ensign Juliano. Thinking quickly, I said STOP. Here is the deal... I am going to give you 3 minutes to resolve this and if you can't, both of you will be arrested. I had the power to do that. I also said the resolution is final as if you go at it again, I would have you thrown off the island. (I was not really sure I could do that, but it sounded official). They stopped and hugged each other and started crying and I heard I am sorry from both of them. I suggested the semi-naked woman get a shirt on and left.

The Master at Arms as we were leaving asked me how in the hell did you think of that? I simply said I was the authority and I could arrest them and likely get them thrown off the Island. It took me an hour to write the after-action report for the official log. When I turned over the watch, my replacement asked if anything unusual happened and I said a naked woman and left without saying anything more. Only on Midway.

The OOD had many duties aside from breaking up female cat fights. The Navy takes great pains to ensure their personnel are properly fed with high quality meals. Thus, one duty is for the OOD is to make a physical inspection of the cooking operations and mess hall area as well as eat a meal in the general mess. I took this responsibility very seriously and even filled out the comment sheet at the OOD table. The food operation at the general mess was impressive and I became good friends with the Mess Officer. 

The staff of the general mess checked the watch bill and always enjoyed receiving my reports on the mess. After about three times, the general mess Chief In Charge suggested I stop by the mess after my last physical drive around the base (11PM) ... to observe the preparations for breakfast. I did that and as I was leaving was handed a bag of two fresh glazed donuts. Boy did those taste good before I went to bed! Thereafter my final stop on the OOD base tour was the General Mess. (They always had donuts for me.) No question the Navy did take care of the men!

I mentioned that I became friends with the Mess Officer. The Navy compartmentalizes and the General Mess had several vehicles to deliver food to the Aircraft crews and to the Mike Boat that made trips over to Eastern Island. By now I was the Transportation Officer in charge of all vehicles on the island including maintenance and repair... and had a budget for that except the Mess Hall had a separate budget. The main delivery truck had a problem with its transmission and was inoperative. The Mess Officer asked for some help as he needed to make the deliveries with that truck.

I gathered the shop staff and asked if I could get some volunteers to work after hours to repair that important vehicle. Can Do and it was done, after all these were Navy Seabees! The Mess Officer asked how he could "scratch my back". I said have the truck show up at the garage during the week with two dozen donuts at 10AM. My crew had custom donut service 5 days a week. Nothing illegal here as they were enlisted personnel having fresh donuts from the General Mess. A Win and Win. Later on, I used a variation of the donut example in one of my civilian jobs. 

Them that know can make things go.

73's

Pete N6QW

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