 What was the issue with having Pinov on the communication system?
[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from Worlds of If Science Fiction, September 1962. General Finogenov notified Major Winship that the underground blast was scheduled for the following morning. Major Winship, after receiving the message, discussed precautions with the three other Americans. Next morning, before the sunlight exploded, the four of them donned their space suits and went and sat outside the dome, waiting. Major Winship attempted unsuccessfully to communicate with Base Gagarin. "Is Pinov," came the reply. "Help?" " Nyet ," said Major Winship, exhausting his Russian. When—boom?" "Is Pinov," came the reply. "When?" "Boom—boom!" said Pinov. "They've got Pinov on emergency watch this morning," he explained to the other Americans. "He's done it deliberately," said Capt. Wilkins, the eldest of the four Americans. Ultimately, Lt. Chandler said, "This is a little ridiculous. "Ah, it's all Russian. "I'll try again," Major Winship said and switched to the emergency channel. "Base Gagarin? "Is Pinov. "Pinov's still there," Major Winship said. He crossed with the floating moon-motion to the airlock and entered, closing the door behind him. The darkness slowly filled with air, and the temperature inside the suit declined steadily. His foot was lifted for the second step when the floor beneath him rose and fell gently, pitching him forward, off balance. "Is Pinov," came the supremely relaxed voice. Air currents whisked it away and plastered it against a riveted seam of the dome. It pulsed as though it were breathing and then it ruptured. Major Winship moved quickly to cut out the emergency air supply which had cut in automatically with the pressure drop. It's on your right side, midway up. Major Winship said, "they should have made these things more flexible." Electrical cables trailed loosely along the walls and were festooned from the ceiling, radiating from the connections to the outside solar cells. The living space was more restricted than in a submarine, with the bunks jutting out from the walls about six feet from the floor. "You did this deliberately," Major Winship said testily. "I'll be damned surprised," Major Winship said, "if they got any seismic data out of that shot.... Capt. Lawler ascended. Squeezed in front of the massive transmitter, Capt. Wilkins had energized the circuits.
 He didn't speak English
 He rarely paid attention well enough to handle the communications.  He didn't speak English  He didn't know how to work the system properly.  He always selected the wrong communcations channel