{"id":483,"date":"2013-12-05T20:20:20","date_gmt":"2013-12-05T20:20:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/w6sg.net\/site\/?page_id=483"},"modified":"2016-07-23T17:52:29","modified_gmt":"2016-07-24T00:52:29","slug":"uscg-camspac-station-nmc","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/w6sg.net\/site\/history\/uscg-camspac-station-nmc\/","title":{"rendered":"USCG CAMSPAC Station NMC"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tour of Coast Guard Master Station NMC – July 1, 2003<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/a>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\"\"<\/a><\/h3>\n

On July 1st, 2003 a special event was held at the Coast Guard radio station
\nNMC located at Point Reyes, CA (in West Marin County). This is the reception and control site. The transmitting site is at 482 Mesa Rd., Bolinas, CA<\/p>\n

This station is\u00a0one of two master stations that handle all long-distance radio communications
\nfor the Coast Guard. (This station serves the Pacific hemisphere, the\u00a0other serves the Atlantic hemisphere.)<\/p>\n

The event was the retiring of a specialty or rating that designates a\u00a0US Coast Guard man as a qualified radioman.
\nThe rating was commonly known\u00a0as “Sparks”.<\/p>\n

In the past one unique skill of a radioman was mastery of Morse code.\u00a0For this special event, messages were sent and received using Morse code
\n(CW). The use of Morse code by the Coast Guard was previously discontinued\u00a0on August 16th, 1994.<\/p>\n

The first Coast Guard communicators were known as Radiomen but earned\u00a0the nickname Sparks because of the electrical nature of early wireless
\nequipment. “Sparks” also became the term to describe the lightning\u00a0bolts that became the emblem of the Radioman rating designator. In 1994,
\nthe Coast Guard changed the name of the Radioman rating to “Telecommunications\u00a0Specialist”, in order to better reflect the job being performed by
\nthe communicators operating in the digital era. Although the rate had\u00a0undergone a significant change, the traditional sparks remained the symbol
\nof the Coast Guard Communicator for another decade.<\/p>\n

Today Coast Guard Communicators face a new change, as the Telecommunications\u00a0Specialist rating becomes incorporated into two new ratings, Information
\nSystem Technician and Operations Specialist. Along with the passing of\u00a0the TC rating, we are also witnessing the retirement of the long held
\ninsignia for the Coast Guard Communicator – the “sparks” rating\u00a0designator.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

No one was wearing the actual “Sparks” rating
\ninsignia, but an officer still wears a similar insignia on his shoulder
\npads.This is Warrant Officer Potter with shoulder insignia.
\nHe was the person who sent the last official Morse code message from
\nCAMSPAC (using the Guam transmitter) in August 1994<\/p>\n

At Noon a commemorative message was transmitted using CW on two frequencies:
\n448Khz and 8574Khz. Here’s the message that was\u00a0sent<\/a>.(PDF format)<\/p>\n

The actual transmitters and transmitting antennas\u00a0or NMC are remotely located in Bolinas, CA. The receivers and receiving
\nantennas are at the CAMSPAC site in Point Reyes where these photos were\u00a0taken.<\/p>\n

After the commemorative message was sent, messages were exchanged by\u00a0several current and former marine commercial stations using morse code.
\nStations included: KPH<\/a>,\u00a0KLB, and WLO<\/a><\/p>\n

USCG Website<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tour of Coast Guard Master Station NMC – July 1, 2003 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 On July 1st, 2003 a special event was held at the Coast Guard radio station NMC located at Point Reyes, CA (in West Marin County).…<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more ›<\/a><\/div>\n

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