[ILHam] HISTORIC MORSE CODE RADIO STATION TO RETURN TO AIR

[George Sieverson]

Reposted with permission from the author....
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HISTORIC MORSE CODE RADIO STATION 
                             WILL RETURN TO THE AIR

                  Station KPH To Be Heard Once Again 

In the third annual event that has become known as the Night of 
Nights historic Morse code radio station KPH will return to the air in 
commemoration of the last commercial Morse message sent in 
North America.  

KPH, the ex-RCA coast station located north of San Francisco,  will 
return to the air for commemorative broadcasts on 12 July at 1701 
PDT  (13 July at 0001 GMT), 3 years and one minute after the last 
commercial Morse transmission in North America. These on-the-air 
events are intended to honor the men and women who followed the 
radiotelegraph trade on ships and at coast stations around the 
world.  Transmissions are expected to continue until at least 
midnight PDT (0700GMT).  

For this third annual Night of Nights one frequency for equally 
historic coast station KFS will also be activated.

Veteran Morse operators, including many former KPH and KFS 
staff members, will be on duty at the receiving station at Point 
Reyes, CA listening for calls from ships and sending messages just 
as they did for so many years before Morse code operations were 
shut down.

The transmitters are located 18 miles south of Point Reyes in 
Bolinas, CA at the transmitting station established in 1913 by the 
American Marconi Co.  The original KPH transmitters, receivers 
and antennas will be used to activate frequencies in all the 
commercial maritime HF bands and on MF as well.   

KPH will transmit on 4247.0, 6477.5, 8642.0, 12808.5, 17016.5 
and 22477.5kc on HF and on 500 and 426kc on MF.  KFS will 
transmit on 17026.0kc.  These frequencies have been made 
available through the generous cooperation of Globe Wireless, the 
current owner of the KPH and KFS licenses.   

Many of the transmitters will be 50s vintage RCA sets.  Power 
output will be 4 to 5kW.  The transmitting antennas include a 
Marconi T for MF, double extended Zepps for 4, 6 and 8Mc and H 
over 2s for 12, 16 and 22Mc.  

Operators will listen for calls from ships on 4184.0, 6276.0, 8368.0, 
12552.0, 16736.0 and 22280.5kc on HF and 500kc on MF.    

KPH and KFS will send traffic lists, weather and press broadcasts 
and commemorative messages, many of which will be sent by 
hand.  At other times the KPH and KFS "wheel" will be sent to mark 
the transmitting frequencies.  

Reception reports may be sent to:

Ms. DA Stoops
P.O. Box 381
Bolinas CA  94924-0381
USA  

Members of the public are invited to visit the receiving station for 
this event.  The station will be open to visitors beginning at 
1500PDT (3:00pm).  The station is located at 17400 Sir Francis  
Drake Boulevard and is on the route to the Point Reyes lighthouse.  
Watch for cypress lined driveway on the right about a mile past the 
entry to Coast Guard station NMC.  

KPH is operated by the Maritime Radio Historical Society in 
cooperation with the Point Reyes National Seashore, part of the 
National Park Service.  

Further information may be found on the Maritime Radio Historical 
Society Web site at http://www.radiomarine.org or by contacting 
Richard Dillman at +1 415-990-7090 (email: ddillman@igc.org) or 
Tom Horsfall +1 510-237-9535 (email: wa6ope@hotmail.com).

VY 73,
RD
            
                        Richard Dillman, W6AWO
            Member of the Maritime Radio Historical Society
                        http://www.radiomarine.org
                          Collector of Heavy Metal:
                  Harleys, Willys and Radios over 100lbs.

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Last update: 6/29/02
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