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

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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