[CW] OT: Night of Nights from station KPH/KSM

[Jim Lowman]

Last Tuesday we were at the "Night of Nights," which commemorates the 
final Morse code transmission to ships at sea by station KPH/KSM at 
Point Reyes, CA, on July 12, 1999.  Each year thereafter, the station is 
activated and sends out a message.

An interesting bit of history:  Before sending the message, chief 
operator Richard Dillman sent "IE," which he said is an old spark-era 
abbreviation for "high-powered radio transmission to follow."  Like "72' 
vs. "73," should we QRPers send "EI?"  :-)

I'm working on getting some audio transcriptions of the full message, 
and will post them if there is interest.

Richard and the volunteers were great hosts, even providing refreshments 
for the guests.

They also hold the amateur callsign K6KSM, so it's possible for visiting 
amateurs to get on the air, using the 5kw transmitter that is limited to 
1.5kw, and the remaining antennas.  The station is otherwise open to 
visitors on Saturday afternoons.  Bring your own key or bug, or use theirs.

This is from the receiving site, with the transmitting site being about 
20 miles away:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FxuVquKP74

And this is the website for the Maritime Radio Historical Society:

http://www.radiomarine.org/

72/73 de Jim - AD6CW



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