Riccardo Memeo (Italy)

Born in Bari on 1945, but I am living in Holland since many years because my wife is dutch. After completing the Radio Officers school, I obtained in april 1964 the International Certificate of 1st class. In august 1964 I got my first job as R/O on the liberian vessel Calypso, c/s 5MIK. She was an american type Liberty ship. The radio room equipments were not the usual Mackay Marine or RCA console but had been refitted with a Marconi station. Main receiver Atalanta and main transmitter Oceanspan VII with an output of 100W. Since then I have been serving on many types of vessels: general cargo, bulkcarriers, tankers also VLCC, lpg tankers, OBO, ro/ro and full containers. The radio stations on these vessels were also of many different types and makers. In the course of the years I have witnessed personally the development of maritime communications and had to keep up with it: from the simple station of my first ship up to the latest computerized Inmarsat terminals. Of course CW could not compete with the velocity, versatility and reliability of these modern systems. However using them is no fun as it was with CW and even Sitor. Anyone, after a brief training, can operate them, just as well millions of people everywhere use daily their computers without really understanding anything about. Well, in few words, I have been a Radio Officer for all my working life until retirement on february 2007. In 1996 I had obtained my GMDSS GOC. Actually as from 1999, when CW was discontinued, I was on board a GMDSS operator with many additional duties, we were also the ship’s purser. I am now moderately active on ham bands with my dutch c/s PA5MX, but I am not interested in contests, awards etc. I just enjoy operating the radio and making a nice qso mainly in CW.