[GreenKeys] KPH Panoramic Pix

[Richard Dillman]

>    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. 

Absolutely correct, Richard.  Except that the Boehme was also called the "dotter" as illustrated in a very funny cartoon we have on the wall here drawn by a ship's R/O who had very low opinion of KPH.  It shows the dotter as an arcane steam driven device that trips a hammer that hits the key and a steam whistle that says "toot".

The ops are shown as being asleep.  And there are bottles all around leveled xxx.  Also there are fish bones on the operating tables, presumably from lunch... may a lunch eaten weeks ago!

In the foreground there are two cats.  One says, "I hear we're going back to the Palace Hotel."  The other answers, "Naw, they won't take us until we pay that bill from 1910!"  On the floor there a hopscotch game with the squares labeled MSG, SLT, NRT, etc.  There's a deer sticking its head in the window and eating an urgent telex.  There are many more inside jokes.

As you mention we have a Boehme here (as well as a Kleinshcmidt punch) and yes, I do use it on the air for KSM.  I occasionally let the tape run out precisely so the dotter can be heard on the air again.

Early photos show the KPH wheel being sent on a Creed head but we have yet to acquire any of those.

> 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.

Yep.  I suggested to our Senior Transmitter Engineer, who prepares and sends our press transmissions from the transmitter site, that we use CP in our call up.  But stickler that he is, he quite rightly pointed out that we are sending free press, not subscription press, so CQ is appropriate.

>    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...

Thanks for that.  I grew up on the east coast so I didn't get to hear KSE/KTK/KOK etc.

VY 73

RD
(Standing watch on 500kc and HF as I type)

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Richard Dillman
Chief Operator, Coast Station KSM
Maritime Radio Historical Society
http://www.radiomarine.org
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