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4U shipstation "Muiderkerk"
The largest part of the 4U implements low-frequency radio operations.
This is, operation on frequencies below 500 KHz, the frequencies used almost exclusively by ship radios before and during World War II.
For this purpose the 4U includes two transmitters: a 200-watt main transmitter and a 50- watt emergency transmitter.
Both can transmit on the frequencies between 400 KHz and 500 KHz that are allocated for ship radio communications. Complementing them is a TRF receiver that can receive signals on all frequencies between 16 and 600 KHz.
High-frequency communications ("short wave") are supported by the 4U with a 200-watt transmitter and a superhet receiver that can operate on frequencies up to about 22MHz.
Of course, both the low-frequency and the high-frequency units implement only telegraph communication since voice communication was almost unheard of when the shipd were new.
The 4U also includes an Auto-Alarm (a device that can detect distress signals and raise an alert when the Radio Officer is off-duty) and even a classical crystal set, with its "cat's whisker." Internal motor-generators convert the ship's 110 volt DC power and battery power to the high voltage needed by the transmitters' tubes - there were no transistors in 1945!
This original radio equipment has been maintained and serviced, is fully operational and has passed the mandatory annual Federal Communications Commission and Coast Guard inspections. The current license still specifies the ship's original call-sign: KECW, the same call-sign assigned to the ship during its service in the WWII, Korea and Vietnam conflicts.
Associated with the 4U Radio Unit is the ship's radio direction finder (RDF), located in the Chart Room. The RDF assists navigation by enabling the ship's officers to determine the direction of remote radio stations.
4U shipstation "Muiderkerk"
The largest part of the 4U implements low-frequency radio operations.
This is, operation on frequencies below 500 KHz, the frequencies used almost exclusively by ship radios before and during World War II.
For this purpose the 4U includes two transmitters: a 200-watt main transmitter and a 50- watt emergency transmitter.
Both can transmit on the frequencies between 400 KHz and 500 KHz that are allocated for ship radio communications. Complementing them is a TRF receiver that can receive signals on all frequencies between 16 and 600 KHz.
High-frequency communications ("short wave") are supported by the 4U with a 200-watt transmitter and a superhet receiver that can operate on frequencies up to about 22MHz.
Of course, both the low-frequency and the high-frequency units implement only telegraph communication since voice communication was almost unheard of when the shipd were new.
The 4U also includes an Auto-Alarm (a device that can detect distress signals and raise an alert when the Radio Officer is off-duty) and even a classical crystal set, with its "cat's whisker." Internal motor-generators convert the ship's 110 volt DC power and battery power to the high voltage needed by the transmitters' tubes - there were no transistors in 1945!
This original radio equipment has been maintained and serviced, is fully operational and has passed the mandatory annual Federal Communications Commission and Coast Guard inspections. The current license still specifies the ship's original call-sign: KECW, the same call-sign assigned to the ship during its service in the WWII, Korea and Vietnam conflicts.
Associated with the 4U Radio Unit is the ship's radio direction finder (RDF), located in the Chart Room. The RDF assists navigation by enabling the ship's officers to determine the direction of remote radio stations.