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Communications United States

Nation's Last Morse Code Station Comes Back To Life On Annual 'Night of Nights' In Point Reyes (mercurynews.com) 20

On July 12, 1999, the last Morse code message was sent from a Bay Area radio station, marking the end of an era. Every July 12, the Historic KPH Maritime Radio Receiving Station in Point Reyes revives the golden age of maritime radio, with volunteers exchanging Morse code messages worldwide. The Mercury News reports: Friday's "Night of Nights" event, which commemorates the long-gone stations and the skilled radiotelegraph operators who linked ships to shore, starts at 5:01 p.m. -- precisely one minute after the 1999 message ended. Operators will keep working until 11 p.m. "We're carrying on," said historical society president Richard Dillman, 80, who learned Morse code as a boy. "Morse code is not dead."

The event, based at KPH's stations that are now part of the wild and windswept Point Reyes National Seashore, northwest of San Francisco, is not open to the public. But amateur radio operators around the world can participate by sending messages and exchanging greetings. The operating frequencies of the historical society's amateur station, under the call sign K6KPH, are 3550, 7050, 14050, 18097.5 and 21050. Radiogrammed messages arrive from as far away as New Zealand and Europe, rich with memories of rewarding careers or poignant tributes to lost loved ones. "Dear dad, we love you and we miss you so much," said one. The station uses the original historic KPH transmitters, receivers, antennas and other equipment, carefully repaired and restored by the society's experts. [...]

All over the Pacific coast, stations closed. KPH's receiving headquarters -- an Art Deco cube built between 1929 and 1931, its entrance framed by a tunnel of cypress trees -- was acquired by the National Park Service in 1999. Its transmission station is located on a windswept bluff in Bolinas. [Historical society president Richard Dillman] and friend Tom Horsfall resolved to repair, restore and operate KPH as a way to honor the men and women who for 100 years had served ships in the North Pacific and Indian Ocean. "It was a brotherhood," said Dillman. "There was camaraderie -- a love of Morse code and the ability to do a job well." [...] They pitched their ambitious plan to the National Park Service.

"At first, I was skeptical about their proposal," said Don Neubacher, the Seashore's former Superintendent. "But over time, I realized the Maritime Radio Historical Society, led by Richard Dillman, was a gift for the National Park Service." "I was impressed by the overwhelming knowledge of early wireless and ship-to-shore communication," he said, "and their lifelong commitment to saving this critical piece of Point Reyes history." With a dozen society volunteers from all over the Bay Area -- all over the age of 60, self-described "radio squirrels" -- they went to work. They meet on Saturday mornings over coffee and breakfast "services" dubbed "The Church of the Continuous Wave," sometimes ogling over radio schematics. Then, for a few hours, they broadcast news and weather.

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Nation's Last Morse Code Station Comes Back To Life On Annual 'Night of Nights' In Point Reyes

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  • by Anonymous Coward
    I tried to post something in Morse Code but is says too many junk characters... *sigh*
  • Yeah well (Score:4, Informative)

    by JustAnotherOldGuy ( 4145623 ) on Monday July 15, 2024 @05:24PM (#64627945) Journal

    "We're carrying on," said historical society president Richard Dillman, 80, who learned Morse code as a boy. "Morse code is not dead."

    Well it kinda is, considering the point of the article is that Morse code is being kept alive only by enthusiasts.

    • "We're carrying on," said historical society president Richard Dillman, 80, who learned Morse code as a boy. "Morse code is not dead."

      Well it kinda is, considering the point of the article is that Morse code is being kept alive only by enthusiasts.

      It's dead in the US, with our culture of fuck old tech, even if it's still useful, on to the next shiny thing!, but Russia actively maintains a whole series of morse stations that they regularly use for maritime traffic. It's an automated system as well. It's a damn good idea to have older technologies as a backup (we never should have killed of LORAN, for example).

      • You do need quite a bit more bandwidth to send voice than text - around 10 kHz vs about 150 Hz. But it is not exactly hard to come up with a radio that will do that any more, so the lack of Morse code proficiency is not a significant detriment.

      • "Russia actively maintains a whole series of morse stations that they regularly use for maritime traffic."

        That's not the brag you think it is.

        If there's ever a need for it here it could be revived overnight, but for day-to -day use in 2024 it's just a pointless affectation.

        If your battle or mission was lost because you couldn't use Morse code, you were already destined to fail.

  • but it's on life support.

  • by GFS666 ( 6452674 ) on Monday July 15, 2024 @06:52PM (#64628213)

    It is quite alive in the Amateur Radio Community and has seen significant growth and is currently undergoing a surge in popularity (Link: https://moonrakeronline.com/us... [moonrakeronline.com] and https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sc... [dailymail.co.uk] ). It is now being re-taught in Military schools because it is a very simple way to communicate efficiently using relatively low power transmitters.

    For all you "it's dying" people, the story is about the Last Maritime Radio Receiving Station, NOT Morse Code in General.

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by MacMann ( 7518492 )

      It is now being re-taught in Military schools because it is a very simple way to communicate efficiently using relatively low power transmitters.

      The fine article you linked to says Morse code is being taught to cryptologist, likely so they can listen in on what the enemy is transmitting. Morse code isn't being taught to the communicators, it's being taught to the "spooks".

      Up until the 1990s the US military had a job/rating that would be called "radioman" or some variation on that name, these would be people trained in both the operation and maintenance of radio equipment. This was largely a holdover from the World War Two era when the radios were

      • "The fine article you linked to says Morse code is being taught to cryptologist, likely so they can listen in on what the enemy is transmitting. Morse code isn't being taught to the communicators, it's being taught to the "spooks"." My 'Gi-Joe' walkie talkie had a Morse code symbol table printed right on the front of the device, so I guess that would make me a "spook" able to listen in on "enemy communications". I think it's much more involved than that and the Morse code is just a wrapper for the encoded
    • by Owza ( 867856 )
      Indeed, I'm currently learning it. In order to use it for low power (QRP) operating
  • by hoofie ( 201045 ) <mickey@[ ]se.com ['mou' in gap]> on Monday July 15, 2024 @09:52PM (#64628647)

    Morse (or CW for Continuous Wave) is alive and in rude health in Amateur radio. It's enjoying a real upsurge thank to lockdown and the rise in electronic noise in the suburbs - it's easier to go outside somewhere with a tiny low power radio and get some contacts.

    There are a number of free morse courses online and there is a waiting list to get onto them at the moment.

  • If you are in the area, worth a visit. It's really pretty. Here are some pics, including a peek thru the door of the station. https://imgur.com/gallery/hist... [imgur.com]

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