Traffic Lights Booster for Fire Missions

General Information:
We used this box which was made to help us keep a visual record of what each Gun Battery was doing. The boss could see it from the back of the vehicle and there was no need for him to keep asking the crew for the information.

The numbers at the bottom of the box represent the Call Sign for each gun battery. The lights with a switch located below each of them, represented the following:

Green: The glow means that the light is on, and that Call Sign 3 is ready to engage on fire missions. 
Orange: Call Sign 2 is moving to it's next location.
Red: Call Sign 1 is engaged on a fire mission.

The crew had to keep this box updated at all times, so that the boss knew what each Gun Battery was doing.

Story Line: 40^th Field Regimental Firing Camp in the 70's.

Photo below: Yellow Ring = Geoffrey & White Ring = Mal

Left to Right - Me & Mal Holmes

We were sitting in Zero Alpha our command post known as a Fire Direction Centre or FDC, when Doddy from 137 Battery stopped by and asked if we were in contact with Call Sign Two (137 Bty).

Scouse leant forward picked up the hand set and pretended to do a radio check but only actually transmitting once after switching the so called "booster" to full power which was the Green light. This is how it went down.

“Hello two this is zero radio check over”

Zero was our Call Sign and when he said over at the end of the message that means the transmission is open for Call Sign Two to respond. If Scouse had said out it would have closed the transmission. Not like you see in films were you hear them saying ‘over and out’. What that basically means is this. Over = I would like you to reply to me and Out = I do not require you to reply to me.

Anyway back to the story. 

“Hello two this is zero radio check over”

Scouse paused and of course there was no reply as he had not actually made a transmission. At this point Scouse decided to rack it up a notch. “Ok, I am not meant to do this but I think I will boost the radio’s power” and he flicked one of the switches on the box, lighting up the Red Light. Please note that this was just a light box and was in no way connected to the radios.Again Scouse called Call Sign Two.

“Hello two this is zero radio check over”

Again, no reply came. Once again Scouse said he would boost the radios power even more and he flicked the Orange Switch and did another radio check.

“Hello two this is zero radio check over”

Again no reply “OK”, said Scouse “if I do this next one you’re not to tell anyone Doddy, as I could be breaking the law, I will put it up to full boost now”. He flicked the Green Light on and this time he actually transmitted a radio check. 

“Hello two this is zero radio check over”

“Two OK over”

“Zero OK out”

Doddy was gob smacked; his Call Sign had replied with OK which meant that they had heard Scouse’s transmission. He wanted to know more about this new piece of kit and Scouse of course embellished it even more, by saying it was a new radio booster that we were trailing, but insisted he does not tell anyone.

Wrong, within the hour 137 Bty’s signals sergeant who is responsible for radio communications in his Battery was at our vehicle wanting to know more, as did a few other people, as the word spread around the regiment. Even the Old Man had heard about it. It was one of the funniest things I had seen, as the Chinese whispers ran riot throughout the regiment.