David Ring, Jr., N1EA, will talk will be about being a radio officer in the United States Merchant Marine and about commercial radiotelegraphy. He’ll describe the famous SOS in which he was involved in 1980—the fire and abandoning of passenger cruise ship MS Prinsendam. The Prinsendam was on fire and burning out of control when James N. Pfister, NS1L, and David J. Ring, Jr., N1EA, both Radio Officers on the USA flagged ‘super-tanker’ Williamsburgh (Call Sign WGOA), picked up her SOS.
David Ring was first licensed in 1965 as WA1DRS, upgraded to Amateur Extra in 1967 to avoid the necessity of relearning all the subdivisions, obtained secondary call N1EA in 1978, and when the FCC dropped secondary call sign assignments, kept N1EA. He holds FCC First Class Radiotelegraph, and First Class Radio Telephone Licenses and worked in broadcast and at Marine Coast Stations. He also holds a U.S. Coast Guard license as Radio Officer, and sailed from 1980 until 1993 as a Merchant Marine Radio Officer. He also worked at maritime coast station WSC in West Creek, NJ and at various broadcast stations in the Boston, MA area. In 1988, Jim Pfister and David Ring were awarded the VWOA “Marconi Gold Medal” for their work during this rescue.