UNITED STATES COAST GUARD CUTTER NORTHWIND (WAGB-282) MEMORIAL RADIO STATION (NRFJ).

HISTORIC CALL SIGN OF UNITED STATES COAST GUARD ICEBREAKER NORTHWIND.

" The finest icebreaker that ever sailed the Polar Seas ". RADM R.E. Byrd Jr USN, Ret.

Veteran Icebreaker of OPERATION NANOOK 1946. OPERATION HIGH JUMP 1946-1947. OPERATION DEEP FREEZE 1956-1980. BERING SEA PATROL 1946-1988.

TRANSMITTING FROM U.S. COAST GUARD SECTOR PUGET SOUND, WESTERN WASHINGTON.

K7IWH / Maritime Mobile / Region 2 is the historic call sign of the United States Coast Guard Cutter NORTHWIND (WAGB-282), in the 1950's, 1960's and 1970's. The USCG call sign of NORTHWIND was NRFJ. This photograph shows NORTHWIND on Bering Sea Patrol, 20 August 1963 (Official U.S. Coast Guard Photograph). NORTHWIND, homeport Seattle Washington, was a veteran of scores Arctic and Antarctic operations. NORTHWIND was commissioned 28 JUL 1945, was decommissioned 20 JAN 1989, and scrapped in 1999. My father (SK) was CWO3 Eng. (CHMACH) Thomas James "Tom" Lynn, (USCG, Ret) Assistant Engineer in NORTHWIND: 13 OCT 1967 to 02 SEP 1969. CAPT Donald J McCann (USCG Ret) (SK) was Commanding Officer. From our farm in Svensen, Clatsop County, Oregon we worked NORTHWIND many times via phone patch.

Full many a sailor points with pride
To cruises over the ocean wide,
But they cannot compare with me,
For I have sailed the Bering Sea.

While though you have weathered fircest gale
And every ocean you have sailed,
You cannot a salty sailor be,
Until you have sailed the Bering Sea.

By an Unknown Coastguardsman.
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Down sank the baleful crimson sun,
The northern-light came out,
And glared upon the ice-bound ships,
And shook its spears about.

The summer went, the winter came,
We could not rule the year,
But summer will melt the ice again,
And open a path to the sunny main,
Whereon our ships shall steer.

A Ballad of Sir John Franklin. By George Henry Boker, May 1850

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Read more about the fearless NORTHWIND at http://www.uscg.mil/history/webcutters/Northwind1945.pdf

http://www.en.wikipedia.org Search word: USCGC NORTHWIND

See the film The Secret Land (1947) here:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7262418157399663454

NB: der Bordfunker K7IWH spricht Deutsch.

Telsizci K7IWH Turkce biliyor.

Operator K7IWH speaks Strine.

dera Gebirgs-Funka'le K7IWH redet Oberfraenkische un a bisl Boarische aa.

>> wemmer Fraenkisch redn koo, dann wass mer aa, wos gmannd is <<

Memberships: ARRL. W2USA. Third Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment Corporation, Brisbane QLD AUS (Associate). Marine Corps League, Pierce County Det 504, Dept of WA (Life Associate). AMVETS, Alvah R Dravis Post No 1 Tacoma WA (Life). Scottish American Military Society (SAMS) Post 1882 Seattle WA (Life). Loeschgruppe 1 (Bamberg Ost) Freiwillige Feuerwehr Stadt Bamberg (Ofm aD) Leistungsabzeichen Silber. Lee Grant Rogers Lodge No 61 F&AM The Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Washington and Its' Jurisdiction, Tacoma WA (Secretary Emeritus). National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians NREMT (Ret). Old Antarctic Explorers Association (OAE Life).

Military service: Staff Sergeant, US Army, Retired, and currenty Sergeant First Class, Washington State Guard HQs (J-3) Camp Murray WA. My assignments have included Infantry, Field Artillery, CENTAG (NATO), Military Intelligence (USASA), Air Defence Artillery, Corps of Engineers (US Army Fire Dept Bamberg FRG), Quartermaster Corps (Army Food Service/Catering Corps). During my tour of service I was guest in no less than 15 countries, and still have friends there !

My CONUS postings included: Ft Ord CA, Ft Devens MA, Ft Knox KY, Ft Jackson SC, Ft Lewis WA, YFC Yakima WA, Ft Wainwright AK, Cp Rilea OR, Ft Drum NY, and Cp Murray WA.

If you are in any of the following wonderful places I have visited, I would enjoy a contact with you: Australia, Canada, Belgium, France, Switzerland, New Zealand, Germany, Korea, Japan, Romania, England, Dennmark, Norway, Turkey, and Austria.

Other interests: Genealogy, Wikipedia, Philately, Boy Scouts, Geology ,and Veterans' Advocacy.

I am also retired from the US Postal Service.

If you wish to add me to MSN Messenger Live, please do so: tjlynnjr@hotmail.com Skype: tjlynnjr.

My Echolink node number is 423035. I can often be found on *IRELAND* Conference,node number 2605, please join us !

I monitor 146.440 mHz on my handy, the Echolink there is N3KPU-L, node number 224941. Deutscherfunkstellen, bitte, NUR deutschsprachig rufen !

My QSL Card guy is KB3IFH. Randy Dorman. www.kb3ifh.homestead.com Randy is a gentleman and a 4-O operator, his products are highest quality and very affordable. My QSL card is featured on his site. Please check him out. Tell him I referred you.

Visit www.scarlettpoint.com Coast Guard Station Scarlett Point, Isle of Man. Streaming cams at station. See the vigilant Manx Coastguardsmen on watch ! Call "MB7IOM. Manx Coast Guard Station Scarlett Point" on 145.2125 mHz, CTCSS 110.9 Hz, or Echolink node number 6465. Swap sea stories with my good shipmates CAPT Ronnie 2D0RLA or First Officer Darrell 2D0IOM. NB: Should MB7IOM-L be "in conference Ireland" (in blue letters) you cannot access the link, go to *Ireland* conference node 2605 and call for MB7IOM.

K7IWH is a "First Country" GEO-PARK (GB6GEO) station. See http://www.tars.org.uk

A Coast Guard Family Since 1957.

My gear: All ICOM. Main set: IC-761. Transmatch: IC-AT500. Microphones: Heil Pro Set IC and IC-SM6. IC 2KL amplifier. IC 2KL PS power supply. IC SP 20 speaker. Lafayette HA225 General communications receiver. Antenna: Alpha-Delta DX-CC parallel dipole at 35 ft (10,5 m). Handy Talkie: Motorola EX500 (136-174 MHz) 3-5 w 16 channel POP. Mobile rig is ICOM 2200.

*** K7IWH LAST MAN CLUB ***

I have found only two men living who remember K7IWH in the old days, they are JA1LZ who worked K7IWH, and N7DM who operated K7IWH. Another man sat in the K7IWH chair aboard NORTHWIND in Spring 1968. He is William F "Bill" Jessee K7KSO, who was a guest operator from RV ALPHA HELIX. Bill used his call W6CJT/MM then. Bill has no recollection of the call sign K7IWH. My father who is SK since 1998brought home 4 original K7IWH QSL cards from the 1968 patrol. One has notes on the reverse written by Himself. These cards hung on the wall of the shack at the farm for years. I only discovered the notes on the reverse in 2008, when I applied for this vanity call sign.

Below are emails and excerpts thereof:

Jiro Kimura, JA1LZ
Yokohama City, Japan

11 SEP 2008. Re: 1961 QSO with K7IWH

Dear Mr.Thomas James Lynn Jr:

Thank you very much for you e-mail, I received this morning
Yes, in the 9th of September, 1961, I had a QSO with K7IWH/MM sailing at North Alaska.
From my logbook: Callsign K7IWH/MM, Time 07:00-07:10 UTC, dial 14.3meg/c, His RS 57, His name Russ
My rig then: home built SSB rig with 100 watt amp, cubical-quad antenna 5 meters upgrade.

I'm a 1937 model operator, retired for 10 years, and interested in ham radio very much now.

You have very nice father.
I wish you success in the examination and getting the K7IWH callsign.

73,
Best regards,
Jiro Kimura, JA1LZ
ja1lz@jarl.com
http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~ja1lz/index.htm

K7IWH OPERATOR WAS RMC. RUSSEL "RUSS" DOWELL, USCG .

I RECIEVED JA1LZ's QSL CARD FOR THIS QSO ON 16 APRIL 2012. ON 03 MAY 2012 JA1LZ RECIEVED K7IWH's QSL CARD FOR SAME, 51 YEARS LATER.

N7DM
William F Hiller, USCG, Ret.
Port Angeles, WA USA

03 JUN 2010
RE: N7DM de K7IWH.
6/03/10 Reply Reply
Old Grouch Old Grouchtesting123@olypen.com
To 'Thomas J Lynn Jr'

Yup….OM….Not a whole lot to report on I.W.Harper history… from my perspective. I was in NORTHWIND from ~ May 1959 to around June 1960. Made one Bering Sea Patrol, pulling into either Kodiak or Adak…. I honestly don’t remember which… I’m thinking Adak, the more I think of it, and yes… I was operating K7IWH as per my posting. The Fone I.D. would have been K7IWH…. ‘Maritime Mobile Region Two’… until later that day, Mobile KL7, followed by simply Portable KL7, when tied up. I operated a little CW… my favorite…underway, but phone patches on CW are a little tricky…HI HI… so most of my Ops was on SSB. But on CW I was‘K7IWH/R2'.
As I was only aboard for a little over one year, I did not have the experience that others probably have had. I know for certain… as per his statement… that a fellow that went from ET3 to ET1, aboard, operated K7IWH from KC4 land… though, to my understanding, no LICENSED ham was aboard!

VY 73, OM
‘DM’

RE: N7DM de K7IWH. 04 JUN 2010.
Photos | 6/04/10 Reply Reply
Old Grouch Old Grouchtesting123@olypen.com
To "Thomas J Lynn Jr'

No Problem, OM…. Nope, I don’t mind being ‘cussed around the Fleet’…………
*am* surprised there are no further ‘Op Inputs’ on ‘IWH… I suppose the Ship held the call for……. decades? I don’t remember when the Confused Group got her from the University of Southern Nevada, but I*do* know the ‘K’ calls started coming around in about 1954. A guy I knew was a K7 and took a lot of ribbing for that Funny Call. Yes………………………I know who operated K7IWH/KC4, but as The Lad is still alive and *was* bootlegging down there [however well meant] I am thinking it prudent to remain silent on him. Maybe there were others as well, I only know/knew, of HIM.

DM……………

RE: N7DM de K7IWH. 04 JUN 2010.
Photos | 6/04/10 Reply Reply
Hide details Old Grouch Old Grouchtesting123@olypen.com
To 'Thomas J Lynn Jr'

Regarding K7IWH ops from Antarctica, I cannot state nor confirm a thing, except what my shipmate, who was there, told me. They had a call [K7IWH]; they tuned up a main shipboard antenna and receiver to literally learn from listening, to know how to QSO and run phone patches. Without a doubt the transmitter was our AN/FRT-23 CW/MCW/AM rig capable of running DC input in the KW+ range, from below 160, up past 10. Fifteen meters was ‘ours’ then, but new.…. [single 4-400A in the final]. Obviously from both FCC and CG ‘rules’ none of That is… kosher. *I* operated 100% legal, with a legal Part 97 station [independent from Radio Central], and for the relatively short time and distance of Bering Sea Patrol ’59, it all did the job. KC4 is a long way from Pier 39, Seattle. I understand there were stops at Christchurch, ‘ZL’ on the way down, and Valpariso, ‘CE’… on the way back. A “White Arctic Glacier Breaker” is not fast, seems 12/14 knots or so was it, four engines [out of six] on line. Five or Six months………
Radio Central. I’m pretty sure the ‘white’ RM is still alive….Can’t remember name; didn’t have too much to do with RM’s. At first they didn’t know I was a Ham. They’d talk about me/us ETs on the code practice oscillator. I could only take it for so long, one day I asked if I could see how that Speed Key {bug} worked. I torched her off at 25 or so… as they stood slack jawed. I grinned and allowed as how that was a fair Speed-Key. They went QRT!
That’s about all I can tell you from experience and hear-say….DM.

IF YOU HAVE ANY HISTORICAL INFORMATION FOR THE LAST MAN CLUB, PLEASE CONTACT ME.

Below: Original QSL of K7IWH/MM/R2 circa 1950-1970.

Below: USCGC Northwind, May 1959-June 1960. Vertical antenna of K7IWH/MM/R2, port aft, atop reefer unit . ET1 William F "DM" Hiller USCG (N7DM), operator. Station was located in XO's office space on main deck. Gear was a 1st generation SSB Gonset XMTR and "DM's" personal NC-300.

Below: NRFJ Radio Room (AKA Radio Central) May 1959-June 1960. Radiomen unidentified,"DM's" (N7DM) shipmates.

Below: K7IWH/CG/AM working 17 metres SSB 18.138 Mhz. on 20 November 2011 13:09:47 Uniform Time (PST). Joint USCG-USAF-WSG Comms. Aircraft is a C-17 Globemaster 3, tail number 08-8193. Idling on tarmack at McChord Field, JBLM, Lakewood WA USA. This aircraft is operated by the 728th Air Lift Squadron. Photo by TSGT. C. Michael "Mike" Ping, USAF, Loadmaster, also my good shipmate and ham: N3KPU. Outstading radio, make unknown. 400 watts out. Aerial is in the vertical tail stabiliser. Worked 60 stations from 1300 to 1455 U (PST). My hand is on the stick because the PTT trigger is located there.

Below: Two photos of W. A. "Wil" Lynn (son) in YI land, "Green Zone", Baghdad, Iraq working K7IWH.