Historic CW Transmission from KPH July 12/13 @0000Z
from
The ARRL Letter / ARRL
on
July 11, 2000
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http://www.arrl.org
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HISTORIC KPH SETS COMMEMORATIVE MORSE TRANSMISSION
Dick Dillman, W6AWO, at the KFS/KPH
key, sending a farewell message from the Maritime Radio Historical
Society last July 12. [Tom Horsfall, WA6OPE] |
To mark the first anniversary of the last commercial Morse code transmission
in North America, one-time Marconi and RCA Morse code station KPH will make a
commemorative broadcast Wednesday, July 12. Dick Dillman, W6AWO, of the Maritime
Radio Historical Society says the station will operate on 4247.0, 6477.5,
8618.0, 13002.0, and 17016.8 MHz and on 426 and 500 kHz. Transmissions will
begin at 5 PM Pacific (0000 UTC July 13).
Dillman says KPH began life at the dawn of radio. "Its first home was
the Palace Hotel in San Francisco, from which it derived its first call letters,
PH," he says. "When the Palace Hotel was destroyed in the 1906
earthquake and fire the station moved to several different locations, eventually
finding a permanent home on the mesa west of the small California town of
Bolinas." With the onset of federal licensing and regulation, the call sign
became KPH.
On July 12, 1999, KPH's new owner Globe Wireless sent the last commercial
messages in Morse code from KFS, their master station near Half Moon Bay. Today
the former KPH facilities are part of the Point Reyes National Seashore. Dillman
says the Maritime Radio Historical Society has been working with the Point Reyes
National Seashore to preserve and restore KPH with the goal of eventually
creating a museum.
The July 12, 2000, transmission will be from the original KPH location using
its original frequencies. Commemorative messages will be sent by hand by the
operators who once stood watch at the station. They then will listen for any
calls from the few remaining ships at sea with Morse capability.
"While this event does not signal the return of KPH to commercial Morse
service, we intend it to acknowledge and honor all the radio operators who have
'worn the earphones' and played a role in the history of maritime radio,"
Dillman said. For more information, contact Dick Dillman, W6AWO, Maritime Radio
Historical Society, 415-512-7137; ddillman@igc.org.
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Pretty soon...
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Anonymous post on July 17, 2000
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Mail this to a friend!
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Hams will also set aside one day each year to have a few QSOs with this ancient, charming mode. I think the December 31, which already hosts Straight Key Night, would be a logical candidate.
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RE: Pretty soon...
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by N8CPA on July 26, 2003
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Mail this to a friend!
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I suggest several other possible dates.
April 1. 1995 the Coast Guard and Navy ceased all CW operations, including the 500KHz watch. We could commemorate the "foolishness" of dropping code.
April 15. It's the anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, a major event in the history of Morse. And the speed required for every US HF Amateur License dropped to 5WPM on the same date 88 years later.
May 24. That was the date in 1844 that Morse sent the "What Hath God Wrought!" message between Baltimore and DC.
Certainly no shortage of dates.
de Steve N8CPA/20
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Historic CW Transmission from KPH July 12/13 @0000
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by K8MHZ on January 3, 2005
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Mail this to a friend!
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I heard on our net last night the OSCAR 51 is being used for support for the Tsunami relief effort. I was told that there were parts of the orbit that had so much interference they HAD to use CW to bust through it. Perhaps we are underestimating our old friend CW.
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