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Contact: Richard Dillman
Contact: John A. Dell'Osso, 415-464-5135
Point Reyes Station, CA -- Morse code. It's just beeps in the air. Yet on July 12, 1999, some very tough-looking grizzled old radio pioneers had tears in their eyes as the last commercial Morse code radiogram was sent. It was the end of an era. And as the last beeps faded away, they witnessed the end of the career to which they had devoted their lives.
These men—and some women—had stood watch over the airwaves on shore and at sea. Theirs was mostly the business of maritime commerce. But, when their ship was in peril, they were called upon to send the most electrifying three letters in radio, S O S, knowing that all their fellow radio operators would press their earphones close to get every scrap of information and bring aid to their stricken ship.
Once, our coasts were dotted with great Morse code radio stations, all communicating with ships at sea. They're all gone now...all except one, the one they called the Wireless Giant of the Pacific, located at Point Reyes.
On that sad day in 1999, another event took place. The Maritime Radio Historical Society (MRHS) was formed. MRHS made it their life's work to honor the men and women of wireless by restoring that wireless giant. One year and one minute later the giant's voice once again spanned the oceans as they picked up the thread.
Every year since, in an event that became known as the Night of Nights, West Marin's own Morse code station, call letters KPH, has returned to the air in July.
This is a global and local event. Hundreds of listeners around the world will be waiting with their earphones on, waiting for the signals of the great station to once again arc over the dome of the Earth to their receivers. And dozens of people will join the MRHS at the RCA receiving station in the Point Reyes National Seashore to watch as the signals are transmitted by hand using vintage telegraph keys.
None of this would have been possible without the trust and vision of the Point Reyes National Seashore. The only reason these facilities were spared the bulldozer that visited all the others is that they are on park land. And the only reason they have been restored to operation is that the Point Reyes National Seashore staff understood their importance and trusted the MRHS to restore them to life.
Date: Wednesday 12 July 2017
Location: RCA receiving station, 17400 Sir Francis Drake Blvd., Point Reyes National Seashore (directions from Bear Valley Visitor Center to Historic RCA Coast Station KPH)
Time: Doors open at 3 pm, first transmission 5:01 pm (0001gmt)
Refreshments: Served
Photographs: Encouraged
Tours: Given
-NPS-
Last updated: May 5, 2020