[GreenKeys] KPH Panoramic Pix

[Richard Knoppow]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "David Ross" <ross at hypertools.com>
To: <greenkeys at qth.net>
Sent: Friday, August 05, 2011 5:54 PM
Subject: Re: [GreenKeys] KPH Panoramic Pix


> Steve & the gang -
>
>   They are paper tape punches -  they punch 1/2" paper 
> tape with the
> Wheatstone code.  Once the tape is punched, it can be read 
> by one of the
> variable-speed tape readers to the right of the punches. 
> The punch &
> reader setup is used to key the transmitters.
>
>   The paper tape can be spliced together end-to-end to 
> make an endless
> loop, so that the transmitter will continually send out 
> the same Morse
> Code message.
>
>   The Wheatstone code dates back to the mid-1800s -  the 
> spacing of the
> holes in the tape yields proper dot-to-dash and 
> dot-to-space timing as
> long as the tape is moved through the reader at a constant 
> rate.
>
> 73
> Dave Ross    N7EPI

    KPH used to transmit press for subscribing ships. It was 
one of my main sources of code practice material years ago. 
When silent periods came up the tape would run out and a 
continuous series of dits would start until the wheel for 
the SP was put on. I heard that so many times I can probably 
type it out now. The keyer was a Bohme (Sp?) head and was 
known as the "ditter" because of this phenomenon. KPH was 
also the only station who I ever heard use the abbreviation 
CP meaning _press call_. Its hard to find it now in lists of 
CW abbreviations.
    The same press was sent on the East coast by WCC (RCA) 
and WSL (MRT) and three hours later from West coast stations 
KPH and KFS. There were also press transmissions from WNU, 
TRT in New Orleans, but they were interspersed with traffic 
and I think were hand sent. I heard them only a few times.
    All of the coastal stations has wheels and usually at 
least two different ones. The most elaboate one, other than 
the press preamble, was from KSE here in Los Angeles, it 
went "QRA RCA LOS ANGELES RADIO DE KSE KSE KSE, etc. This 
came on in the evening and may have been the wheel asking 
for weather observations. It was either KTK or KFS, in San 
Francisco that had another elaborate wheel, I will assume it 
was KTK:  CQ CQ CQ DE KTK KTK KTK  NOW ACCEPTING TFC 
ADDRESSED OBSERVER SAN FRANCISCO QSX, etc...
    The MRHS has a Boheme keyer at the KPH site, not sure if 
they ever use it on the air. Its NOT the original.



--
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles
WB6KBL
dickburk at ix.netcom.com