Coast Guard question
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Home Page - Coast Guard CW Operators Assn. ZUT - CW Forever
ZUT
As stated on the banner of the first edition of Comm-One, the new organization was "ZUT RESURRECTED." ZUT was the forerunner of the CGCWOA, and the organization upon which it was built.
ZUT (formally, "Zeta Upsilon Tau") was subtitled the Fraternal Order of Coast Guard CW Operators
It was founded in 1962 by Radioman Bill Gulledge (ZUT1) and a small group of his fellow radiomen at the long since closed Coast Guard Radio Washington (NMH), geographically located in Alexandria, Virginia. They adopted an unused military Z-signal for its primary name, and in reaction to the increasing use of radio teletype (RATT) over CW, assigned it the meaning of "CW FOREVER."
Over the sines of radiomen George Datz, Bill Gulledge, George Neitz and Ron Harburg, an organizing letter was sent to all Coast Guard ships and stations having RM billets. In under a year the organization grew to over 700 radiomen who requested ZUT membership cards, and were assigned a ZUT number.
ZUT was disestablished in late 1963, but arose again in 1964, continuing to mail out sporadic copies of its official "ZUT-REP" newsletter. But even after the demise of the newsletter in 1967, the tradition of ZUT at least lingered on. Many of the 1100 or so RMs who were issued a numbered "ZUT Card" hung on to them through the years. One member kept his in his wallet (and still does) just so he would have a way to explain to people why he had a ZUT tattoo on his left arm.
BACK TO THE PRESENT
Finally, the organization experienced a second reincarnation as the now flourishing Coast Guard CW Operator Association.
The "code" may be gone —— and now even the Sparks —— but the tradition moves forward.
Scattered throughout this web site, you will find many of the cartoons and poems of CGCWOA's founder, Ralph Davis, as well as the tales and travails of other contributors. We hope you will take the time to explore the information we have accumulated over the years, as well as the history we have made.
One of Ralph's poems seems to best capture the feeling of what it meant to be a Coast Guard CW operator, especially during the days of Ocean Station Vessels back in the 1950s and 60s:
A Radioman's Dream
You awake with a start to the Bosn's shake
Feet hit the deck before you awake
Out of your pit and into your dungs
Then up the berthing ladder, rung by rung
Onto the mess deck with lights too bright
For a horse cock sandwich to last the night
A cup of Joe, a butt or two,
Then off to the shack, your duty to do
You climb to the Oh one deck, through salty spray
Dark clouds above march past in their dress grey
White water amidships, bow goes under green
Water swirls aft, sweeping decks clean
You enter the hatch, fresh coffee you smell
Along with stale smoke and the new man's pail
Transmitters emit a hot bees wax odor
Aging capacitors sound like outboard motors
Two weathers are pending and NMH is not here.
We lost him on twelve, they faded into thin air.
Eight was tried with out success,
Four is no better. Comms are a mess.
Five hundred is still alive and noisy with code.
NRUS tried to relay but lost her M.O.
The Chief will be up at quarter till three.
Copy press and publish the Daily.
With the watch relieved and gone below
I adjust my key, sending real slow
Searching for a station to rid us of traffic
Finding nothing there but that darn static
You have braced yourself, wedged into position
Fired the FRT23 up and started transmission
She suddenly rolls to port, lurches ahead
Bangs into a wave and seems to stop dead
Shuddering up, shaking her prow
Ridding herself of the water somehow
Through all of this with a coffee cup balanced
Not a drop spilled to foul the Chief's palace
On eight a tone, five by the signal comes through
You get rid of weathers, another message or two
The OBS period over, no AMVERS to steal
Quite proud of yourself is the way to feel
Your watch starts drawing to an end
You think of wife and family, start to grin
For it is day twentyone on station for you
No more watches, it's over and through
Underway watches leave little to be done
You are homeward bound from Delta, "Ole Son"
But suddenly you wake up and it is all a dream
Of Ocean Station days, your youth's past seen
No more station in the middle of a grid square
Nor a Radioman to found, not anywhere
A key of br**** an Underwood mill
Are of the past, are over the hill
The mission is still there, waiting to be done.
The challenge laid down, accepted by younger ones.
Radioman are gone, the code also you see.
Tradition carried on by computers, remotes and TCs
Home Page - Coast Guard CW Operators Assn. ZUT - CW Forever
ZUT
As stated on the banner of the first edition of Comm-One, the new organization was "ZUT RESURRECTED." ZUT was the forerunner of the CGCWOA, and the organization upon which it was built.
ZUT (formally, "Zeta Upsilon Tau") was subtitled the Fraternal Order of Coast Guard CW Operators
It was founded in 1962 by Radioman Bill Gulledge (ZUT1) and a small group of his fellow radiomen at the long since closed Coast Guard Radio Washington (NMH), geographically located in Alexandria, Virginia. They adopted an unused military Z-signal for its primary name, and in reaction to the increasing use of radio teletype (RATT) over CW, assigned it the meaning of "CW FOREVER."
Over the sines of radiomen George Datz, Bill Gulledge, George Neitz and Ron Harburg, an organizing letter was sent to all Coast Guard ships and stations having RM billets. In under a year the organization grew to over 700 radiomen who requested ZUT membership cards, and were assigned a ZUT number.
ZUT was disestablished in late 1963, but arose again in 1964, continuing to mail out sporadic copies of its official "ZUT-REP" newsletter. But even after the demise of the newsletter in 1967, the tradition of ZUT at least lingered on. Many of the 1100 or so RMs who were issued a numbered "ZUT Card" hung on to them through the years. One member kept his in his wallet (and still does) just so he would have a way to explain to people why he had a ZUT tattoo on his left arm.
BACK TO THE PRESENT
Finally, the organization experienced a second reincarnation as the now flourishing Coast Guard CW Operator Association.
The "code" may be gone —— and now even the Sparks —— but the tradition moves forward.
Scattered throughout this web site, you will find many of the cartoons and poems of CGCWOA's founder, Ralph Davis, as well as the tales and travails of other contributors. We hope you will take the time to explore the information we have accumulated over the years, as well as the history we have made.
One of Ralph's poems seems to best capture the feeling of what it meant to be a Coast Guard CW operator, especially during the days of Ocean Station Vessels back in the 1950s and 60s:
A Radioman's Dream
You awake with a start to the Bosn's shake
Feet hit the deck before you awake
Out of your pit and into your dungs
Then up the berthing ladder, rung by rung
Onto the mess deck with lights too bright
For a horse cock sandwich to last the night
A cup of Joe, a butt or two,
Then off to the shack, your duty to do
You climb to the Oh one deck, through salty spray
Dark clouds above march past in their dress grey
White water amidships, bow goes under green
Water swirls aft, sweeping decks clean
You enter the hatch, fresh coffee you smell
Along with stale smoke and the new man's pail
Transmitters emit a hot bees wax odor
Aging capacitors sound like outboard motors
Two weathers are pending and NMH is not here.
We lost him on twelve, they faded into thin air.
Eight was tried with out success,
Four is no better. Comms are a mess.
Five hundred is still alive and noisy with code.
NRUS tried to relay but lost her M.O.
The Chief will be up at quarter till three.
Copy press and publish the Daily.
With the watch relieved and gone below
I adjust my key, sending real slow
Searching for a station to rid us of traffic
Finding nothing there but that darn static
You have braced yourself, wedged into position
Fired the FRT23 up and started transmission
She suddenly rolls to port, lurches ahead
Bangs into a wave and seems to stop dead
Shuddering up, shaking her prow
Ridding herself of the water somehow
Through all of this with a coffee cup balanced
Not a drop spilled to foul the Chief's palace
On eight a tone, five by the signal comes through
You get rid of weathers, another message or two
The OBS period over, no AMVERS to steal
Quite proud of yourself is the way to feel
Your watch starts drawing to an end
You think of wife and family, start to grin
For it is day twentyone on station for you
No more watches, it's over and through
Underway watches leave little to be done
You are homeward bound from Delta, "Ole Son"
But suddenly you wake up and it is all a dream
Of Ocean Station days, your youth's past seen
No more station in the middle of a grid square
Nor a Radioman to found, not anywhere
A key of br**** an Underwood mill
Are of the past, are over the hill
The mission is still there, waiting to be done.
The challenge laid down, accepted by younger ones.
Radioman are gone, the code also you see.
Tradition carried on by computers, remotes and TCs
Like the police 10 code, CW (continuous wave) morse code operators use Q and Z signals to abreviate text. Q signals are used by all operators and Z signals are used by military only operatorsFor example ZES is the Z signal equvalent of 10-4, I have received your message.
The USCG recently abandoned the use of morse code in its communications and a group of three radio operators sent out the last CW message announcing the abandonment. The message ended in ZUT, the operator's way of saying the USCG isn't using morse but "CW lives forever"
Leo and the other HAMs on EO probably have a few QSL cards to remember the radio signals they've received over the years.
The USCG recently abandoned the use of morse code in its communications and a group of three radio operators sent out the last CW message announcing the abandonment. The message ended in ZUT, the operator's way of saying the USCG isn't using morse but "CW lives forever"
Leo and the other HAMs on EO probably have a few QSL cards to remember the radio signals they've received over the years.
When we were off Viet-Nam on Yankee Station our radio men would set up several ham radios for phone patches back to the USA. Senator Barry Goldwater from AZ formed a group of ham operators around the USA to assist in the phone patches.
Basically ham radio operators would try and pick up calls from the ship to folks who lived near them and they would call them via home phone and then we could have a lengthy phone call with family or gal friend for the price of a local pay phone which was a dime back in the day. One side would transmit while the other would switch radio to receive once they finished they would say over and both would switch radio either to receive or transmit. Needless to say there was always a line to take part so calls were restricted to 15 minutes if memory serves me right. My neighbor’s kid was a ham operator and I would call him regularly via ham radio call signs to speak with my family. I wish I had met more of those folks who help us to thank them for their efforts and time. Thank You To All Who Helped & Gob Bless To Them All!
Basically ham radio operators would try and pick up calls from the ship to folks who lived near them and they would call them via home phone and then we could have a lengthy phone call with family or gal friend for the price of a local pay phone which was a dime back in the day. One side would transmit while the other would switch radio to receive once they finished they would say over and both would switch radio either to receive or transmit. Needless to say there was always a line to take part so calls were restricted to 15 minutes if memory serves me right. My neighbor’s kid was a ham operator and I would call him regularly via ham radio call signs to speak with my family. I wish I had met more of those folks who help us to thank them for their efforts and time. Thank You To All Who Helped & Gob Bless To Them All!
John:
We were assisted in calling home by a great group of HAM operators who were members of MARS as defined in this Wikipedia entry:
The Military Affiliate Radio System (MARS) is a United States Department of Defense sponsored program, established as a separately managed and operated program by the Army, Navy, and Air Force. The program consists of licensed amateur radio operators who are interested in military communications on a local, national, and international basis as an adjunct to normal communications.
MARS has a long history of providing worldwide auxiliary emergency communications during times of need. The combined three-service MARS programs (Army, Air Force, and Navy-Marine Corps) volunteer force of over 5,000 dedicated and skilled amateur radio operators provide the backbone of the MARS program. Their main benefit of MARS membership is enjoying the amateur radio hobby through an ever-expanding horizon of MARS service to the nation. MARS members work by the slogan "Proud, Professional, and Ready".
We were assisted in calling home by a great group of HAM operators who were members of MARS as defined in this Wikipedia entry:
The Military Affiliate Radio System (MARS) is a United States Department of Defense sponsored program, established as a separately managed and operated program by the Army, Navy, and Air Force. The program consists of licensed amateur radio operators who are interested in military communications on a local, national, and international basis as an adjunct to normal communications.
MARS has a long history of providing worldwide auxiliary emergency communications during times of need. The combined three-service MARS programs (Army, Air Force, and Navy-Marine Corps) volunteer force of over 5,000 dedicated and skilled amateur radio operators provide the backbone of the MARS program. Their main benefit of MARS membership is enjoying the amateur radio hobby through an ever-expanding horizon of MARS service to the nation. MARS members work by the slogan "Proud, Professional, and Ready".
"Proud, Professional, and Ready"
Terry & Andrene
You folks were every part of that quote.
Since I joined EO in November 2004 and got to know you via your posts, PM’s then we had the chance to break bread at Expediters Expo 2 in 2006 I came to believe you and your wife are very decent and respectable people that I’m glad to know. Now I find out you may have been one of the MARS folks who helped me speak with my family. Well as a result of this I now hold you in the highest of esteem and I’m deeply indebted to you.
Thank you for your efforts you and others like you were so important to many vets in need during those most difficult years.
God Bless You!
Terry & Andrene
You folks were every part of that quote.
Since I joined EO in November 2004 and got to know you via your posts, PM’s then we had the chance to break bread at Expediters Expo 2 in 2006 I came to believe you and your wife are very decent and respectable people that I’m glad to know. Now I find out you may have been one of the MARS folks who helped me speak with my family. Well as a result of this I now hold you in the highest of esteem and I’m deeply indebted to you.
Thank you for your efforts you and others like you were so important to many vets in need during those most difficult years.
God Bless You!
Whoa John. I said we (as in you and me in Vietnam) were assisted in calling home. I appreciate the accolade, but I am neither a HAM nor a member of MARS. I made many call to home thanks to these great folks.
I know about the Q codes but never heard of the Z codes prior to this. The MARS program is very much alive and well. The hams participating put in a significant amount of time and preparation to assist in traffic handling. When I eventually quit the road and am home all the time I hope to join the MARS program.