One evening, while sitting the 500 kc watch and daydreaming of those lucky ops onboard their ships scattered about the Pacific, my pleasant thoughts were shattered by a broadcast from a Soviet ship:

TTT TTT TTT CQ DE UBEX UBEX UBEX BT 170930Z ALL SHIPPING WITHIN 200 KM RADIUS 030-060 DEG FROM 37.42N 174.11E USE CAUTION DUE TO MISSILE TESTING DURING THE HOURS OF ...

Oh gad, he was going to send the entire text on 500 kc - that's a no-no for just a safety broadcast. Okay, time to earn my pay as the Central Pacific 500 kc policeman - I'll just break in by sending a couple:

BT BT

He kept right on going. Okay; I'll hold my key down for a few seconds but not too long because long dashes will activate auto alarms aboard ships.

Ah, silence at last. It will be nice:

UBEX DE NMO NMO GE OM PSE QRT ON 500 PSE QSY 512 OK IMI K

After a few seconds of silence he proceeded to send:

TTT TTT TTT CQ DE UBEX UBEX UBEX BT 170930Z ALL SHIPPING ...

Oh geez, this guy gets the 'Lid-Of-The-Night' award. Now I'm not happy. The Cold War comes to 500 kc. I send another:

Silence results. Let's try it again:

UBEX DE NMO QRT ON 500 QSY 512 K only to be followed by:
TTT TTT TTT CQ DE UBEX UBEX UBEX BT 170930Z ALL SHIPPING ...

Now, with only 30 seconds until the silent period ends, my concern for his unlawful broadcast is quickly growing. 15 seconds, 10 seconds, 5 seconds; my log:

BEGIN SILENT PERIOD................500........0945Z
OPNOTE: UBEX CONTINUING TO SEND SAFETY BCST DURING SP. SPVR NTFD. 0945Z

Having told my supervisor, I proceeded to send:

QRT QR  SP SP

The 'lid' kept right on sending! Now my mates on the West Coast were losing their patience too - first up is NMC (San Francisco Coast Guard):

UBEX DE NMC QRT SP SP

He stops! A few seconds later (still during the silent period):

TTT TTT TTT CQ DE UBEX ....

Oh man, this nut's got seaweed instead of brains. In jumps NMQ (Long Beach CG):

DE NMQ QRT SP SP

Even NOJ up in Alaska jumps in the brawl:

DE NOJ QRT SP...............followed by a powerful:
DE KPH QRT SP SP

The kook kept right on sending his broadcast. Finally, at minute :47, and still within the silent period, he finished. I, of course, logged everything. One thing I didn't log was my 'QSL' to him after the silent period:

UBEX UR A LID

Without my callsign, and in A1 mode (I always kept our 500 kc transmitter in A1), no one would know it was me. So much for diplomacy with the Soviets.

For the most part every, ship and shore station worldwide followed the international procedures. The discipline on 500 kc around the world was amazing. During Coast Guard Radioman school we were reminded that what was being taught to us were not Coast Guard or U.S. Government policies, but rather international rules set forth by the United Nations, and the International Telecommuications Union. Every shipboard operator, spanning many decades, had been taught the exact proceedures being presented to us. This instilled in us, an unbroken chain of tradition with those ship's radio operators right from the start. All of us felt a deep respect toward 500 kc. There was a sense of mystery felt towards this frequency - very difficult to put into words.

End of Part 5.