Keeping the blogosphere posted on the goings on of the world of submarines since late 2004... and mocking and belittling general foolishness wherever it may be found. Idaho's first and foremost submarine blog. (If you don't like something on this blog, please E-mail me; don't call me at home.)

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Watching The Super Bowl Underway

I've seen three Super Bowls underway -- on USS Topeka (SSN 754) in early '92 and '93, and on USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) in 2000. On the submarine, we surfaced, and the RMs were able to tune the Type 18 'scope to pick up the station in Tijuana as we were steaming off the coast of San Diego; on the carrier, we normally got the Armed Forces network by satellite.

Navy Times is reporting that the military now has a better way now of getting live TV out to remote locations. Excerpts:
On Super Bowl Sunday, about 300,000 deployed troops nearest to civilization — or what passes for it — will be able to easily tune in to the American Forces Radio and Television Service to watch the NBC broadcast of the big game.
But thanks to modern technology, as many as 50,000 service members deployed to the most remote and rugged locations — think the mountains of Afghanistan, or a submerged submarine — also will be able to catch the big game.
The remote-areas feed comes courtesy of the same Raytheon system that carries classified big-bandwidth operational and intelligence data and, to some locations, distance-learning classes. Raytheon has partnered with the Air Force, which manages daily operations of the Global Broadcast Service, to carry the Super Bowl on its fast-growing third satellite channel that provides morale services, such as 24-hour access to CNN.
And before you ask: The game broadcast won’t interfere with the transmission of vital live unmanned aerial vehicle imagery or any other intelligence data on the GBS.
“It’s a multi-channel broadcast,” said Guy DuBois, vice president of operational technologies and solutions for Raytheon’s intelligence and information systems directorate. “So we will use whatever channel is available without disturbing the operations mission.”
For the old timers out there -- when was the first time you watched live TV when you were underway?

22 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Super Bowl 38 in 2004, at PD for 5 hours doing local ops off Hawaii. The only time the Dive lost depth control and scrambled the broadcast was during the halftime show - yes, the one with Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake.

1/15/2009 7:11 AM

 
Blogger J120 Bowman said...

Got out in 1996. No underway TV much less e-mail!

I think it was 1993 or 1994 we were "lucky" enough to be near Puerto Rico doing an op with a bunch of NATO skimmers pinging the crap out of us for days and occasionaly we would get a score update via the "telephone."

1/15/2009 8:41 AM

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Off the West Coast, Army-Navy game. Mid 80's

1/15/2009 9:03 AM

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Our duty crew could pick up TV in port (early 70s). Underway? Never.

1/15/2009 9:30 AM

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Got out in 1990 and never saw a live broadcast of anything.

1/15/2009 10:35 AM

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

1976 MLB All-Star Game off San Diego. Gig was up about the 4th inning when CO questioned extended duration of PD trip.

1/15/2009 11:12 AM

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

In mid Oct 1976, while transitting the Panama Canal on USTAFISH, I remember seeing a couple of innings of a World Series game on the TV in the crews mess.

1/15/2009 1:26 PM

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Super Bowl underway?

Our radiomen wouldn't even query for News & Sports without a direct order from the conn (even though it was in the COSO's). I don't think they'd take the time to attempt this line-up.

1/15/2009 2:25 PM

 
Blogger Gnomeself Be True said...

Never.
Heck, we were still burning film based movies.

1/15/2009 2:39 PM

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

1999 pulled into PCAN to fix a leaking tube. Got a car and drove to local radio shack to get an antenna before pulling back out. Rigged it on the sail & the skipper let us stay on the surface for the entire Daytona 500.

1/15/2009 5:55 PM

 
Blogger Bryan Lethcoe said...

Second what last anonymous above said - USS TN on the surface so our NASCAR fans could watch the race - not the best signal if I recall correctly, but at least it was live...

1/15/2009 6:14 PM

 
Blogger blunoz said...

The first time I watched live TV while underway was after we got the EHF install on HELENA and we were testing out the GBS. We had CNN on while we ate dinner in the wardroom. That was pretty cool.

1/15/2009 8:16 PM

 
Blogger FT2(ss) said...

I remember when we had an evolution that coincided with the Steelers game one year. It was the first and only time I ever saw live TV out at sea. Its amazing how things just happen to occur at the same time when the Capt. is a Steelers fan.

1/16/2009 12:34 AM

 
Blogger Unknown said...

I just got out a few months and never once got the chance to watch anything live underway. I don't think we ever near enough to any real cities when there was something going on that would be worth watching. Then again a year in the shipyard did help me catch up on a lot of tv.

1/16/2009 12:52 AM

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Off Kona, in 1977, on good ship Haddock

1/16/2009 7:07 AM

 
Blogger Patty Wayne said...

The only time was in 1986 when we were being tugged from Bangor over to PSNS. CO was from Oklahoma State and they were playing Oklahoma. Once we were 'underway' he was only on the bridge when passing through the Hood Canal Bridge. I was the Electrical Operator when it happened, and afterwards I took a break, went to the head and on passing back through the mess deck (biggest TV) gave the CO a quick status of the battery in-between plays.

PW

1/16/2009 10:19 AM

 
Blogger wtfdnucsailor said...

Never watched TV underway but do remember spending five hours at periscope depth in 1972 to listen to Rogar Staubach and the Dallas Cowboys win one of their Superbowls as we returned from a deployment.

1/16/2009 12:13 PM

 
Blogger Bigbill said...

Pulled in to fix the DG on the good ship 728 just in time to watch the superbowl. Spent some time at PD and we finally just surfaced off the coast of California to watch the playoffs. Watched the superbowl two weeks later at the Horse and Cow.
Watched the superbowl in 2001 in hangar bay 2 of the USS D D Eisenhower. We had the Miami Dolphins cheerleaders on board.

1/17/2009 10:05 PM

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

We also bought a Radio Shack TV antenna and rigged it to the sail.

Halfway through the 3rd quarter the signal faded - the CO was watching in the wardroom and call the OOD and had him reverse course. We then did circles until the game was over.

1/19/2009 11:25 AM

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

We didn't have a TV ....we had Peravis a black white feed off the scope of the live skimmer or some far off countries coast line. Most of my WESTPACS we didn't even get family grams until we were doing the surface transit into a liberty port.
But, We DID have a movie Projector and even a back up sound bulb. I saw Blazing Saddles and Stripes over 100 times, well and anything Western with Clint Eastwood or John Wayne. It was nice changing the big reels because it gave us a chance to run to our rack for another pack of smokes or a quick head call :)

1/22/2009 9:08 AM

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think it was 93 or 94 we were on the surface transitting to our dive point. But by half time the feed was getting rather fuzzy. Another hour later it was "Secure surface ventilating, Recirculate" and another patrol was commenced onboard the USS Nevada.
The Old Boat Poet

1/25/2009 9:48 AM

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Great blog, check out mine sometime. You can get cheap tickets under $100.00 plenty left but not for long!!

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1/25/2009 7:39 PM

 

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