[GreenKeys] 232 COM port to TTY - Mighty-Mite to the rescue!

[Bob McConnell]

Duncan M. Brown wrote:
>> [Original Message]
>> From: Bob McConnell <rmcconne at lightlink.com>
>> To: greenkeys at mailman.qth.net <greenkeys at mailman.qth.net>
>> Date: 21-Feb-09 19:13:29
>> Subject: Re: [GreenKeys] 232 COM port to TTY - Mighty-Mite to the rescue!
>>
>>
>> You know, I never did find the "Made by Mattel" label on any of those 
>> things. But that's what I always thought about them. A few were 
>> installed on my destroyer (NFIT) during the last overhaul I was involved 
>> with. I was glad I didn't have to repair them.
>>
> Do you remember what year that was?

1973, the same year I got married. The ship was in dry dock most of that 
summer and fall. I spent that time plus much of the winter TDY to the 
Pearl Harbor supply depot. They pulled all of the spares inventory off 
the ship and put it in a warehouse. A dozen of us went through it 
multiple times writing and verifying inventory cards. The handwritten 
cards were shipped to NSC San Diego where they punched up a set and sent 
back a copy. We then verified those against the actual parts on the 
shelves and sent them a corrections list.

Finally, they sent back the deck split into three parts. First was the 
parts we had to pack up and ship to other units scattered around the 
Pacific. Most of our M28 parts were in this set. This and the next set 
were for systems and equipment removed during the overhaul. Second was 
the parts to cart over to the surplus facility. Finally there was the 
deck of parts we were going to keep. That was the smallest of the three. 
There was also a big printout of the new parts we were going to get. 
Most of that was due to new systems installed on the ship during the 
overhaul. I understood we were the smallest ship to have the Naval 
Tactical Data System (NTDS) installed. Digital RADAR, computers and 
radios, all in one fell swoop.

When I got back to the ship, I was the senior radioman left. The Chief 
and RM1 had each retired, and both of the other RM2's had been 
discharged at the end of their single enlistments. There were only a 
handful of RM3 and RMSN left. I spent the rest of the overhaul and shake 
down rewriting the SOP manual. They had literally torn out our radio 
shack and installed a whole new one. Right at the end of the sea trials 
another RM2 reported aboard, but I was transferred out just a few weeks 
after he got there, on April 19, 1974. After 3 1/2 years, two WestPac 
deployments and the trauma of that overhaul, I was ready for some 
quieter duty. Lualualei fit that bill pretty well.

Bob McConnell Ex-RM2, NFIT, NLM
N2SPP