KLC Galveston, TX
KLC was a privately owned coast station offering service to ships in the Gulf of Mexico and across the globe. In the photo showing operator Paul Dustin at the key (thanks to Paul’s brother in law Charles Miller/N0NC for the identification). Note what appears to be a stack of three NRD-515 receivers to his left, topped by what is probably a Drake R-7 or R-7A receiver. These apparently replaced the stack of Hammarlund receivers shown with their tuning controls connected by a ball chain drive. This allowed operators to manually scan two calling bands at once. The paint is worn away from the panel surrounding the most used controls. Directly in front of Paul is the well-worn transmitter control panel. To the right, directly above Paul’s head, is a HRO-500, the first commercial grade solid state receiver. The Creed keying head next to the “Klein” perforator is most likely being used to send the KLC wheel. Note the two other tape loops on the hook ready for use. The different loops most likely contained information about the different bands being monitored throughout the day.
Here’s some additional information about OM Paul Dustin contributed by Charles “Chuck” Miller: Paul was a Radioman (RM) in the navy in the 50s. He told me when watching old war movies on TV, that he could still copy the Morse after all those years. I got my ham license in 71, which got him interested in radio again, and led to him getting a 2nd Radio Telegraph license and a job at KLC when he moved to Alvin Texas.
