NMD USCG Primary Radio Station - Cleveland, OH

Most of the information and the images on this page were furnished by Bob Ballantine, W8SU

This station is known to have been operational as early as 1935, and had various titles over time. It ended up with CG Cleveland Radio, prior CG Chesterland Radio and even C.G. Gates Mills.

The photo above shows the extended directional antenna field at NMD. It had different directional needs. It appeared that NMP Chicago had more funds allocated than this station, thus its metal towers rather than the pine poles in this photo. There is another transmitter hut to the left at foot of the page left. You are looking westerly towards Cleveland. Pitcher Hall of Famer, Bobby Feller lived off in the distance at Gates Mills in a large mansion - not the home in the background. NMD had essentially the same compliment as NMP with a Warrant Officer In Charge. The location was on the east edge of Cleveland on the dead-end unmarked road leading west from about 414 County Line Road, Gates Mills, OH 44040. NMD was decommissioned in 1970, and today you would never know that there ever was a Coast Guard station located there. Aerial views of the place as it looked recently show nothing remaining but the black top road. There is a Horticultural school operated by one of the vocational schools just off the County Line Road entrance on the south side of the unmarked road.

NMD Primary Radio circa 1965 - Bob Balantine Photo

The QSL card is courtesy of B.L. Paterson. In the photo above left the barracks are on the right and the operations building is at the end of the lane. The little staff ham shack was located in the garage on the left.

Here's another NMD QSL card courtesy of Jeff Yates.

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