Friday, July 04, 2008

Night of Nights IX

From Richard Dillman and the UDXF newsgroup:

At the transmitting station in Bolinas, CA, the MRHS transmitting staff has been busy tuning up vintage transmitters from the 1940s and 1950s, allocating keying lines and connecting antennas for stations KPH, KFS and KSM. The operations staff is getting the logs in place, preparing commemorative messages and making sure everything at the receiving station at Pt. Reyes, CA, is in order.

Stations WLO, KLB, NMC, NMF and NOJ have all checked in and declared their intention to be on the air.

What's it all about? Night of Nights IX of course.

On 12 July 1999 commercial Morse ended in the US - or so it was thought. Just one year - and one minute - later, the Maritime Radio Historical Society had returned KPH to the air. Every year since KPH has returned to the air to maintain the traditions and preserve the skills of radiomen and radiowomen everywhere. Their finely honed skills and unquestioned courage in time of peril upon the sea made the profession of radiotelegraph operator one of honor.

Now many other stations have joined KPH on the air. Each year the marine bands are once again populated with signals as they were during the golden age.

July 12 is drawing near. And once again ships at sea and listeners around the world will wait with their earphones pressed close to hear those famous call letters rise up out of the static.

DETAILS: Times, frequencies, QSL information and more are all available on the MRHS Web site at:

http://www.radiomarine.org

Click on the "Night of Nights IX" button.