Maritime Radio Historical Society

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THE KPH PROJECT

The KPH Project

In cooperation with the Point Reyes National Seashore, part of the National Park Service, the Maritime Radio Historical Society (MRHS) has taken on the job of preserving the historic ex-RCA coast station KPH and returning it to the air.

Bob Schrader W6BNB writes:

To all of you nice MRHS people:

I hope you know how much your bringing back the sound of old KPH to those few of us who are still around from the 1930s Sparks ship days and how much it means to us. I worked KPH almost every day on six trips around the world and for a dozen or so trips over to Manila and back to SF, plus a few others trips... I even had the pleasure of seeing old Marshall and Bolinas in operation in 1932 when only a ham (althouh already with a Radiotelegraph Second license) at Central Trade School with old Fred Mangelsdorf and most of his class. While KTK was my home station for four of my six years. I almost daily received passenger messages from KPH and KFS and would also send them our TR reports.. KPH was one of the first and last stations I worked from shipboard. That was from 1933 to 1939. Real fond memories!

Thanks.

Bob Shrader "RS" W6BNB

COAST STATION KSM

Coast Station KSM

KSM is the coast station of the MRHS. Our goal is to honor and commemorate the men and women who made the profession of radiotelegrapher one honor and skill. We feel that the best way to do this is to preserve their skills and traditions through actual use at a real coast station. Somewhat to our surprise, the FCC granted our application for a full, commercial, common carrier public coast station.

Coast Station KSM

AMATEUR STATION K6KPH

K6KPH

K6KPH is the amateur station of the MRHS. Here's full information about operating times, frequencies, equipment and purpose.

Amateur Station K6KPH

MRHS PROJECTS

MRHS Projects

MRHS members are involved in other radio projects around the San Francisco Bay area as well as projects directly connected with the MRHS program. Here's information about some of these.

MRHS EVENTS

RADIO ARCHAEOLOGY

Radio Archaeology

The sites of historic radio stations surround us, especially along the coasts. As part of our project to record and preserve our maritime radio heritage, MRHS members try to locate these sites and document what is there now. Armed with maps, GPS navigators, historic records and, at least in one case, the plank from a shipping crate, we've had some remarkable success.

INCREDIBLE RADIO TALES

Incredible Radio Tales

When radio officers hit the beach in San Francisco they went immediately to "the Dog House", a rooming house in Powell Street that, for reasons lost to time, was the home away from home for seafaring brass pounders. There were probably similar places in every port around the country if not the world. And what must these Sparkies have talked about at table? Why radiomen, radio conditions, and radio equipment of course!

Ah! What one would give to sit in on one of those bull sessions. These were men who could coax a sweet note from a decrepit quenched gap transmitter, copy through static and interference (using their own personal Audion detector smuggled on board) and look the Radio Inspector straignt in the eye when he strode self importantly into the shack.

Our time machine is out of service at the moment due to a shorted power transformer. So we won't be able to join the boys at the Dog House tonight. But we can preserve and present some of our own radio tales, all of them true, for your enjoyment.

As you read, let the sounds of static on 600m at midnight and the dim light of glowing tubes in a dark room become real. Imagine the silence and smell the dust in the abondoned transmitter gallery of a once great station. And above all remember the men and women who came before us and made the profession of radiotelegrapher one of honor and skill.

REPORTS FROM NMO

Reports From NMO

Jeffrey Herman was a radioman at Coast Guard station NMO Hawaii during the glory days when Morse was king and 500kc was alive 24 hours a day. For the benefit of those of us who were not so fortunate as he, Jeffrey has written this account of what it was like to stand watch on 500kc, what the proper procedures were and what it was like to receive his first SOS. He has kindly agreed to allow us to post his reports here.

HISTORIC COAST STATIONS

"I'd like to get a job sending Vs"

Historic Coast Stations

During the golden age of maritime communications the globe was populated with hundreds of coast stations, each with its own area of coverage, call sign and personality. Many of us remember tuning across the marine bands and hearing these stations, standing shoulder to shoulder with hardly any space between them, calling out for traffic or working ships. Recordings of some of these stations were preserved and are posted in the Coast Station Recordings section of this Web site. But what did these stations actually look like? We here at the MRHS have collected as many photos of these historic stations as we could find and posted them here for your enjoyment. They range from many photos showing the big, well documented to a single photo for a small station that was in operation for only a few years.

Do you have photos like these you'd like to share? Please let us know. We'd be honored to post them.

POINT TO POINT

Point to Point

It was Marconi's dream to bridge the oceans and provide intercontinental communications as a rate that undercut the cost of the undersea cables. His signals first bridged the Atlantic in 1901. Only a little more than a decade later his international system was in place and functinging - and earning money. Soon competitors followed, creating the point-to-point industry - first using giant spark and arc transmitters, then magnificent Alexanderson alternators and finally short wave tube transmitters. Often the elite point-to-point service was co-located with the marine service which often had to make do with a corner of the operating building and antennas that the point-to-point service no longer needed. Here is the story of some of these point-to-point stations.

MISCELLANEOUS AND UNKNOWN

Miscellaneous and Unknown

We at the MRHS spend a lot of time trolling flea markets and eBay for historic radio photographs. When we get extra lucky, the photos show new views of historic stations we know about. These we post in the Historic Coast Stations section of this Web site. But often the photos exist on their own, without explanation or provenance. We present a collection of these photos here - with a request. If you can provide any details about these photos please let us know. Your information will add to the the growing collection of knowledge about our maritime radio heritage.

Miscellaneous and Unknown

PERSONAL COLLECTIONS

Personal Collections

Many of us at the MRHS maintain personal collections of vintage radio gear connected with maritime radio communications. Here's a look at some of those collections.

Radiomarine CRM-R6A

COAST STATION RECORDINGS

Coast Station Recordings

Maybe you're one of those who remember. Late on a winer night night... tubes glowing in the darkened radio shack... earphones on... And one after another they rolled in, the great coast stations of the world. Maybe you listened to improve your code speed. Or maybe you listened for the thrill of it. Once the marine bands were filled end to end with the signals of coast stations from around the world. Twenty four hours a day the skilled operators at these stations carried the messages of maritime commerce. And they were there to lend immediate assistance to mariners in peril at sea. We thought it would never end. But the golden age of Morse code marine communications has passed and now the marine bands are either silent or occupied by digital transmissions. Luckily, recordings of many of that golden age exist. Listen to them here and travel back in time, a time not so long ago, when Morse was king.

Listen

Help the MHRS keep these historic treasures on the air! Your generous donations are greatly appreciated.

EVENT REPORT:

INTERNATIONAL MARCONI DAY SPECIAL EVENT

23/24 APRIL 2010

See photos below…

We’re pleased to report that the MRHS special event in celebration of International Marconi Day was a great success.

The event was held in cooperation with the Marconi Conference Center in Marshall, CA, site of the original 1913 Marconi trans-Pacific receiving station. Two days of presentations and demonstrations were held in Buck Hall, originally the power house for the Marconi station.

For information about the Marconi Conference Center please see:

www.marconiconference.com

Operations:

On Friday 23 April the event was open to students from the local schools. Some attended the presentations in Buck Hall while others visited the Liberty ship SS JEREMIAH O’BRIEN/KXCH at Pier 45 in San Francisco. MRHS member Denice Stoops, the ship’s R/O, was aboard to demonstrate the restored WWII Radiomarine radio console.

MRHS member Steve Hawes was aboard the Victory ship SS RED OAK VICTORY/KYVM in Richmond, CA, at the controls of the Mackay radio console he has restored.

At Buck Hall MRHS members Bill Ruck, Paul Schinn and Richard Dillman set up dual operating positions using vintage equipment. A remote control console built by Steve Hawes allowed the transmitters at the 1913 Marconi transmitting site in Bolinas to be keyed and controlled.

Coast station KPH was on the air on 426kc and 500kc in the MF band and on 4247kc HF. The KPH “wheel” was sent on 4Mc using a Boehme keying head and paper takes punched using a Kleinschmidt perforator

Both ships were in contact with KPH using strict commercial procedure including going UP to the 425/426kc working frequencies. Messages on correct commercial format were exchanged in both directions.

Amateur station K6KPH was also on the air later in the evening on both days for general contacts and to allow stations to log the contact toward an award issued by the Cornish Amateur Radio Club for the International Marconi Day event. For information about the Cornish Amateur Radio Club and International Marconi Day please see:

www.gb4imd.org.uk

The receiving equipment at Buck Hall included a RCA AR-88LF for MF and HF, a National SW-3 "Thrill Box" for 3.5mc amateur work and a National HRO-5T for 3.5 and 7Mc amateur work.

The receiving antennas were a doublet for HF and a shielded loop for MF.

Transmitters on both days were the original KPH units. On Friday these were Henry HF-5000D for KPH and K6KPH HF and MF-5000D for MF. On Saturday classic transmitters were placed on line.

On Saturday 24 April the event was open to the public. There was good attendance on both days with standing room only on Friday.

Presentations:

Event organizer Bill Ruck proved himself to be more than a transmitter engineer by arranging for excellent presentations on both days. Bill himself gave his history of KPH while Richard Dillman gave his "Incredible Radio Tales" presentation, both illustrated with photo shows.

Denice Stoops organized a panel of ex-KPH operators including Jack Martini, last station manager, Ray Smith, senior Morse operator and the man who sent the closing message KPH message and "Rick" Wahl, ace Morse operator. They gave an inside view of what it was like to work at one of the premier coast stations in the world.

Paul Shinn conducted a class in Morse code for the school kids, teaching them just enough to copy his message: EAT A RAT. This went over very well with the kids.

David Navone of Navone Engineering did a fascinating presentation on the Branley/Marconi coherer, one of the earliest detectors of radio waves. As a physicist, Dave was able to determine the operating principle of the device. But not being satisfied with that, he went on to manufactire replica coherers! That's when he discovered what precision it takes to make a coherer that will work at all. This device that seems crude to us today was actually at the cutting edge of technology at the time. At the end of the event Dave presented one of his finely crafted coherers to the MRHS. For information about Dave's coherers please see:

www.davidnavone.com

Archirtect Steve Murch, who has done much research on the grounds and buildings of the Marconi site and was in charge of the restoration of several buildings, gave an excellent talk on the history and construction of the receiving station. He followed this with a walking tour of the site.

The MRHS wishes to offer special thanks to Kathy Wippert and her staff at the Marconi Conference Center for inviting us to participate in this event. It could never have happened without them. We also want to thank all the presenters who took time to be part of this event and to Denice Stoops who organized the KPH panel and the visit to SS JEREMIAH O'BRIEN. Steve Hawes stepped up to activate KYVM and be on duty at the transmitter site on Saturday. Bill Ruck did outstanding work organizing the event for the MRHS. And of course thanks to all those who made a special effort to attend this event at one of the most beautiful and historic radio sites still existing.

View all images as a slideshow

This special QSL card for reception reports or for contacts with K6KPH.	Opening slide of Bill Ruck's "History of KPH" presentation. Jack Martini photo	Denice Stoops conducts a panel of ex-KPH operators. L to R: Jack Martini, last station mananger, Ray Smith, senior Morse operator, Denice, "Rick" Wahl, ace CW operator.	Wide view of the operating setup with the kids in the foreground on Friday.
Operating position 1 in Buck Hall. L to R: RCA AR-88LF used for MF and HF, control console, SW-3 for 3.5Mc. Note the radio room clock on the console.	RCA AR-88LF receiver used for KPH MF and K6KPH 7Mc work.	National SW-3 "Thrill Box" at the K6KPH 3.5Mc position. This outstanding regenerative receiver once again demonstrated the level of performance that can be obtained with excellent engineering and construction.	Operating position 2 with HRO-5T receiver, used on 7Mc.
L to R: Vibroplex cases, land line telegraph sounder in resonator as shown in 1930s KPH photo at Marshall (the sounder is original KPH), Boehme paper tape keying head, Kleinshcmidt perferator with the essential bottle of mucilage and original KPH scissors atop.	L to R: Boehme keying head, Kleinschmidt perferator. The KPH "wheel" was sent by the Boehme on 4Mc.	Denice Stoops meet her public as Richard Dillman handles the traffic chores. Jack Martini photo	The shielded loop for MF reception was placed on a tripod just above Buck Hall. The wire of one leg of the HF doublet may be seen above.
Richard Dillman takes the dictation of a radiogram to be seent to SS JEREMIAH O'BRIEN. Kathy Wippert photo	The kids were fascinated by the mill. Best quiote: "Wow, it prints right when you press the key! Awesome!"	Students approach SS JEREMIAH O'BRIEN Pier 45 San Francisco. Kathy Wippert photo	Students ascend the gangway of SS JEREMIAH O'BRIEN at Pier 45 San Francisco. Kathy Wippert photo
Denice Stoops, RO aboard SS JEREMIAH O'BRIEN/KXCH, before the WWII vintage Radiomarine console used to communicate with KPH, KSM, KYVM and other stations in the MF band.	SS RED OAK VICTORY/KYVM, part of the Richmond Museum of History/Rosie the Riveter WWII/Homefront National Historical Park, Richmond, CA	MRHS Transmitter Supervisor Steve Hawes, RO aboard SS RED OAK VICTORY/KYVM, before the Mackay radio console he restored to operation. The console operates on the MF and HF maritime bands and on the 3.5Mc and 7Mc amateur bands under the call K6YVM.	Richard Dillman reads out messages received from SS JEREMIAH O'BRIEN and SS RED OAK VICTORY. Bill Ruck to the left, Paul Shinn seated. Kathy Wippert photo
David Navone's superbly engineered and constructed coherer. (c) Navone Engineering, Inc.	Architect Steve Murch (center, in dark baseball hat) conducts a walking tour of the Marconi receive site. Kathy Wippert photo	Paul Shinn's Morse code class in progress. Paul wisely taught them just enough to receive his special message: EAT A RAT. The kids went wild when they decoded it.	Kids busily learning the Morse code on Friday, awaiting the fateful message EAT A RAT.