QUEEN MARY - PAST AND PRESENT The most luxurious ocean liner ever to sail the Atlantic, the Queen Mary is a piece of floating history. She played hostess to the rich and famous during the 1930's, transported more than 800,000 service men during WWII as the legendary "Grey Ghost", and served as a means of transportation for a bevy of European war brides coming home to America and Canada before resuming her status as a luxury liner. Today the Queen Mary is an elegant hotel, meeting place and family attraction on the water in Long Beach, CA. In 1993, she was honored with inclusion on The National Register of Historic Places.

Requested by Nate Brightman, K6OSC, for The Associated Radio Amateurs of Long Beach (ARALB) and the City of Long Beach for the Last Voyage of The Queen Mary, GB5QM is the only amateur radio callsign ever issued for operation aboard the RMS Queen Mary (while still under British registry), and the first time Americans were licensed to operate an amateur radio station aboard an active British ship. This callsign was used during the Queen Mary's Last Great Cruise from Southampton to Long Beach in 1967.  Operation of the reconstructed Wireless Room - now officially known as the Nate Brightman Wireless Room - by the ARALB, with support from radio amateurs from local area clubs, was officially commenced on April 22, 1979.

The ARALB meets at the Signal Hill Community Center on the first Friday of each month. Meeting time is 7pm. Address is 1780 E. Hill Street (just West of Cherry Ave.), Signal Hill, Ca. 90755-3799.

Please visit us when in the area. To visit the Nate Brightman Wireless Room aboard the Queen Mary, you will need to pay for parking and buy a ticket to board and tour the ship.  We are located on the Sports Deck just forward of the center funnel (smokestack).  Ask any ship's crewmember for directions once aboard.

Our ARALB Club Net is on Fridays except 1st Friday at 7:00 p. m. on 146.145, + offset, pl 156.7.

When you are in Long Beach you can call-in on 145.520 simplex or 449.780, -offset, pl 131.8 to try and reach some in the Wireless Room.

Mail address is W6RO, P.O. Box 7493, Long Beach, Ca. 90807

The web site for ARALB is: http://www.aralb.org .  The web site for the Queen Mary Hotel and Attraction is: www.queenmary.com . 

W6RO QSL Procedure

To receive the Queen Mary’s very popular QSL card, just follow these simple steps:

1. During your QSO with W6RO, be sure to copy your QSO number. Specifically ask for it during the QSO if necessary.

2. Send your own QSL card, or a report on a piece of paper if you don’t have a QSL card, to us. Be sure to include:

- Your QSL card or report (report the contact date & time as UTC)

- Your QSO number (preferably in the report area of your card)

- A #10 (business size) Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope. Our QSL card is a full 4” x 9” and we hate to have to fold it to fit smaller envelopes.
(* DX stations see below)

- Mail it all to:

W6RO – QSL

P.O. Box 7493

Long Beach, CA 90807

USA

3. Your W6RO QSL card should arrive in your S.A.S.E. in about 6 to 8 weeks.

* DX QSLs sent via the bureau will be returned via the bureau system. These do not require an S.A.S.E. Please allow the normal extended time for this process. DX stations wishing to QSL by direct mail must include:

- a self-addressed #10 envelope

- two IRCs – or two US ‘greenstamps’ if you have them.

“Greenstamps” are never required but always appreciated. Our QSL Team uses any greenstamps to help fund the QSL operation only. We thank you for your generosity!

We process a large number of QSL requests every month. If you have not fully complied with the above procedure, you may not receive your requested W6RO QSL card. Due to the workload, there is no avenue provided to check-up on a pending QSL request. If you did comply with all of the above and we somehow mishandled your request, we apologize. If you have not received your card in a reasonable amount of time, you can either:

- submit a second QSL request, including all of the above items, with info from your log

- work our station on the air again and submit a new QSL request.

Thanks for your attention.

The W6RO QSL Team