Free Republic

Radio Buffs Lobby to Make Historic 500 kHz a 'Memorial Frequency'For almost a century, 500 kHz was a lifeline for ships worldwide. Better known as 500 kilocycles, it was the spectrum reserved for ships and the shore stations that communicated with them in Morse Code (sometimes referred to as CW, for continuous wave). If you're a real radio old-timer, you might refer to the frequency as 600 meters. "To ensure that SOS calls were always heard, all ship and shore stations were required to monitor 500 kHz at all times," said Richard Dillman, secretary and chief CW operator of the...

The Maritime Radio Historical Society, in cooperation with the Marconi Conference Center, will return historic Morse code radio station KPH to the air from its original Marin county, CA location on Sunday, 26 February. KPH, once called the "wireless giant of the Pacific", arrived in Marin county in the early 1920s. With its receiving station at Marshall, CA and transmitters at Bolinas, CA, KPH provided telegram service to ships at sea via Morse code. Operation at Marshall continued until the beginning of WWII when KPH was shut down for the duration. After the war the receiving station was moved to...