|
Portishead Radio
currently provides employment for 25 radio officers, and
is the last of the UK's maritime stations to provide a
Morse Code service. The use of Morse is declining,
although there remains a good number of third world ships
for which this mode of transmission remains essential. By
1st February 1999 event these ships will be required by
law to carry modern digital radio equipment (although
there is some doubt as to whether this date can be met)
and closure of the UK's morse service is inevitable.
Although radiotelex
and radiotelephone services still maintain a level of
traffic, satellite services have now taken their toll,
with the Portishead service becoming very expensive
relative to the equivalent keenly priced satellite
services.
Portishead Radio
remains the most famous maritime radio station in the
world, and the mere mention of its name is likely to
provoke fond memories by those radio officers who used
the service in its heyday. Whilst the days of receiving
weak radio signals from a passenger liner from the South
African coast are long since gone, Portishead Radio
continues to provide a valuable service to the world's
maritime community.
The highly-qualified and experienced
staff continue to handle calls and messages from all
types of craft, ranging from the large Royal Naval
aircraft carriers to the smallest yacht. In fact, ever
since the early days of yacht racing in the 1960's,
Portishead Radio has been providing a valuable service to
the leisure market, and despite the numerous
technological advances of recent years, is still in
demand.
Portishead Radio offers numerous
facilities for the leisure market. In addition to the
messaging and voice communication services described
above, the following facilities are on offer;
Radio telex communications and
fax delivery of messages;
One-day radiotelephone
familiarisation courses for yachtsmen/women with
General R/T certificates;
Free information sheets and radio
propagation charts;
Full customer service back-up
Portishead Radio was the recipient of the
1995 RYA Service to industry award, in recognition of its
services to the leisure market, so you may be assured
that your communications requirements will be in the best
possible hands.
A full 24-hour message delivery service
is provided, including an 'Emergency Contact Service' for
urgent communications.
Full information on the facilities
provided by Portishead Radio is available by contacting
the customer service office.
USEFUL CONTACT
INFORMATION FOR GKA:-
Phonetex/Radiotelephone bookings: 0800
378389 (24 hours)
Main Switchboard: 01278 772200
(24 hours)
The address for GKA is:-
BT Radio Station, Portishead Radio, Highbridge,
Somerset, TA9 3JY
The Future for GKA
As with all of the UK's maritime services, the future for
Portishead Radio/GKA looks very limited. Although it has
outlasted some of its competitors (Scheveningen/PCH -
Norddeich/DAN) the high cost of providing the facility of
a high power HF radio station make such services unviable
in today's world. Although nothing has been announced by
BT as yet, 1st February 1999 is a watershed in teh
history of maritime communications, with the official
changeover to the Global Maritime Distress and Safety
System. It is doubtful if GKA will continue very much
beyond that date. |