The last Morse code maritime radio station in North America | Bartell's Backroads

Поділитися
Вставка
  • Опубліковано 23 лис 2024

КОМЕНТАРІ • 701

  • @A3Kr0n
    @A3Kr0n 4 роки тому +764

    Never turned it off. That's good.

    • @LoremasterRelomi
      @LoremasterRelomi 4 роки тому +2

      A waste of electricity XD

    • @LaffeyKentaro
      @LaffeyKentaro 4 роки тому

      What happen if theres a power cut

    • @seanjuth
      @seanjuth 4 роки тому +7

      @@kiwimerchant121 yeah unfortunately people like you are the reason people die in an emergency

    • @seanjuth
      @seanjuth 4 роки тому +1

      @@LoremasterRelomi so are the cell towers.

    • @kishascape
      @kishascape 4 роки тому +4

      Actually they did in 1998. This is just one of those heritage site showpiece type things done for fun.
      Typical poorly researched american reporting. Station is not commercial at all.

  • @MrCJNice
    @MrCJNice 3 роки тому +454

    I was crying because i remembered my dad, who was a marine radio officer, when he mentioned their last transmission was 1997 and that was also the year my dad forceably retired since his position on the ship was no longer needed. he was so depressed. we witness his struggle to survive depression. missed him. he passed away 2years ago.

    • @stavinaircaeruleum2275
      @stavinaircaeruleum2275 3 роки тому +14

      I'm sorry for your loss.

    • @MrCJNice
      @MrCJNice 3 роки тому +23

      @@stavinaircaeruleum2275 thank you. i rember him saying that the morse code can be very useful when all the latest hightech electronic devices fail. you can go back to simple way of communicating from a distance like: flashlight, manually tap a churchbell or any metal device, landline phone, and others.

    • @Farmboyzim
      @Farmboyzim 3 роки тому +14

      Sorry for the loss of your Dad, too! My Dad was pretty bummed out when forced to retire at 65. He was in the Navy as a Radioman since he was 18, so it was his life! Don't sweat it MrCJNice
      , They have the BEST equipment up yonder to work with, AND there is no limit on WATTS! ;-)

    • @joseprotacio5654
      @joseprotacio5654 3 роки тому +7

      i was one of those marine radio operators but i shifted to being ship electrician before they completely dissolve the job of a marine radio operator

    • @663rainmaker
      @663rainmaker 3 роки тому +4

      I Salute You Sir and Your Wonderful Father! I appreciate this videogate and us old school radio operators

  • @Farmboyzim
    @Farmboyzim 4 роки тому +1707

    That's my Dad, on the left, Harold F. Zimmer, W6AOY, at 2:43 in the video, back in the 30's... :-)

    • @TusharGaurav
      @TusharGaurav 4 роки тому +96

      Wow, that's awesome!

    • @richardbrobeck2384
      @richardbrobeck2384 4 роки тому +48

      that is really cool I still have a few morse code keys and even a practice set up for kids

    • @AnimeBee25
      @AnimeBee25 4 роки тому +11

      Whoa 😃🙏🤩

    • @HimanshuSharma-oy9ss
      @HimanshuSharma-oy9ss 4 роки тому +20

      Its cool to know. You must be proud !

    • @dao7329
      @dao7329 4 роки тому +10

      hope his doing fine

  • @dhavlena
    @dhavlena Рік тому +187

    Unusual use of Morse code:
    We rushed to the hospital when we heard my brother had been in a horrible car accident. There he was, over 40 broken bones, neck back included. He was completely “wired up” with tubes, ventillators esticking out of every orifice! Completely unable to talk, I asked if he still remembered Morse Code (he had a ham license once) and he shook his head yes. I put my hand in his and he tapped out “What Happened?” in Morse code. … he had question after question, including asking if anyone else was hurt….I couldn’t bring myself to tell him then that the drunken teenage girl who hit his car head-on had died.
    As he tapped away on my hand, the Nurses and Doctors were intrigued…to the point where one Doctor asked him if there was any pain in a certain area, my brother replying to me through code. The Doctor had a few other questions of this sort and he explained to me that this otherwise unavailable information was quite valuable as they set him up for surgery. Morse code to the rescue!
    Ps I was the last Telegrapher ever hired for Great Lakes marine service, at shore station WLC in Rogers City, Michigan. Dennis Havlena W8MI
    PS… 20 years later my brother recovered wonderfully!

    • @DevoutFollowerofYeshua
      @DevoutFollowerofYeshua Рік тому +8

      Ty for sharing this wonderful story.
      Morse Code saved many military lives in many wars.
      I wish we were taught this in schools.

    • @kayalizzie
      @kayalizzie Рік тому +5

      What a lovely story, thanks for sharing. Glad to hear your brother recovered ❤️

    • @dhavlena
      @dhavlena Рік тому +1

      Thank you
      @@kayalizzie

    • @lorenheard2561
      @lorenheard2561 Рік тому +3

      20 years to recover!! ? What a tough,and enduring,brave guy!!! How good it is that you were there for him!! God bless you both❤❤❤

    • @dhavlena
      @dhavlena Рік тому

      Yessir Much thanks @@lorenheard2561

  • @umsol
    @umsol 4 роки тому +517

    As a child I learnt how to say "SOS" in Morse code. Fortunately I never had to use it, but at the time I believed that only good people would understand the message and help me. It seems that I was right.

    • @karenweems5221
      @karenweems5221 4 роки тому +3

      Haecceity Channel this is wholesome (I think)

    • @XHUIZU
      @XHUIZU 4 роки тому +2

      S= dot dot dot O= dot dot s= dot dot dot. I know boring but ive learned just in case😉

    • @umsol
      @umsol 4 роки тому +31

      @@XHUIZU SOS = three short, three long, three short (or, to respect the proper terminology, three dots, three dashes, three dots).

    • @kaiserhhaie841
      @kaiserhhaie841 4 роки тому +4

      I'm pretty sure most people can identify an sos in Morse, three dots, dashes and again three dots. Pretty iconic I think

    • @umsol
      @umsol 4 роки тому +2

      @@kaiserhhaie841 I agree it's iconic and yes, perhaps in your country most people know. Where I live, however, I guess that only the military know.

  • @thatrecord5313
    @thatrecord5313 4 роки тому +472

    But Morse code never did die in the end, did it? Hundreds of thousands of ham radio operators still use it, myself included! -KJ7LEQ

    • @sq5ebm
      @sq5ebm 4 роки тому +20

      Military still uses it. French, ex USSR

    • @marknesselhaus4376
      @marknesselhaus4376 4 роки тому +6

      Same for me :-) de WA4JAT

    • @tc1uscg65
      @tc1uscg65 4 роки тому +21

      I think the point is, CW is no longer used commercially (i.e., to make money). Last Coast Guard Radioman class to learn code (a "C" school) was in Dec 94. The Navy still teaches it as a specialty from my understanding. Even though every Coast Guard Radioman had to learn CW (minimum sending, 16wpm, minimum receive was 18wpm to graduate), they didn't use it at every unit either.

    • @abwo47
      @abwo47 4 роки тому +5

      Roger KJ7LEQ vy 73 fm PA5ABW, ex merchant marine radio-operator in het late sixties and early seventies

    • @soldatnrvier5816
      @soldatnrvier5816 4 роки тому +7

      I had to learn it onboard of a German frigate in the last months, since Warships still communicate in morse code - although it is by flashlight.

  • @1framistan
    @1framistan 4 роки тому +921

    I know Morse code, and I have noticed it is still used in some modern appliances. When my microwave oven is finished heating coffee , the oven beeps 4 "dots". That's the letter "H"... which stands for "HOT". When my wife walked into the door of one hairdresser... their door-buzzer beeped a "DASH-DOT".. That's the letter "N" which means someone came "IN." One day while sitting in the waiting area of an office.... one of the copy machines said, "DA-DA-DA-DA-DA" That's 5 dashes... which is the number "ZERO." It kept saying that every ten seconds. I wondered... "Why is that copy machine saying "ZERO..... ZERO..... ZERO." Then one of the secretaries walked over to the machine and pulled a drawer open and refilled the paper which had ZERO paper in it. When she closed the drawer full of paper, the machine said, "DAH-DIT-DAH." Which is the letter "K". I knew the machine was saying "OK!". This week, I finished building a replica of the Marconi Morse key used on the R.M.S. Titanic. It's a beautiful thing. There are some good videos on youtube about replica Titanic keys, if anyone is interested.

    • @OrwellianHellhole192
      @OrwellianHellhole192 4 роки тому +67

      wow thats very interesting

    • @TheCyborgCast
      @TheCyborgCast 4 роки тому +70

      That's very interesting... It seems like morse code is never going to die.

    • @nafismunandar4275
      @nafismunandar4275 4 роки тому +38

      Just like droids communicating in starwars

    • @edrianangeloko911
      @edrianangeloko911 4 роки тому +7

      Its RMS Titanic or SS Titanic not HMS Titanic

    • @1framistan
      @1framistan 4 роки тому +7

      @@edrianangeloko911 I fixed it. I thought it was "His- Magestie's-Service" but i guess it is R for Royal. thanks.

  • @w9alk744
    @w9alk744 4 роки тому +410

    Proud to be a code HAM. We will always keep it alive.

    • @k6aaq64
      @k6aaq64 4 роки тому +2

      ZUT

    • @sureshaalborg
      @sureshaalborg 4 роки тому +1

      Sure we will

    • @rafaelrodriguez1029
      @rafaelrodriguez1029 4 роки тому +9

      73 from KC4KU.
      Long live Morse Code!

    • @bloggerccc
      @bloggerccc 4 роки тому +11

      I wish I could learn it. Dyslexia. When FCC dropped the code requirement in 2007, I tested two days later. Walked in as a Tech, left as an Extra. de KD6VKW

    • @xfire6443
      @xfire6443 4 роки тому

      What are these random letters

  • @R.O.K.SimGameEnjoyer
    @R.O.K.SimGameEnjoyer 4 роки тому +216

    One more maritime morse code station in seoul city. Operating by KT. Name is Hwaseong radio center(화성무선송신소).

    • @joshjosh6526
      @joshjosh6526 4 роки тому +2

      한덕상 frequency?

    • @R.O.K.SimGameEnjoyer
      @R.O.K.SimGameEnjoyer 4 роки тому +19

      @@joshjosh6526 sorry current name was KT Seoul Radio Center
      I don't know frequency but i can give you grand son(he's rescue team crew. And he's also amateur radio user) of retired worker's blog address and e-mail address. Maybe they knows frequency.
      m.blog.naver.com/PostView.nhn?blogId=morningsix&logNo=221334451133&proxyReferer=https:%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F
      E-mail address
      morningsix@naver.com

    • @o6734
      @o6734 4 роки тому

      그게 ㄹㅇ 유일임?

    • @R.O.K.SimGameEnjoyer
      @R.O.K.SimGameEnjoyer 4 роки тому +4

      @@o6734 현재 국내 초수평선 상용선박통신중 모스부호로는 KT가 유일인걸로 압니다.

    • @파랑보관소
      @파랑보관소 4 роки тому +6

      @@joshjosh6526 Not sure but the internet says the HLG Seoul Radio, South Korea Coastal Radio Station use 8.484MHz frequency. Last identified in 2009.
      Link: www.swl754.it/files/radio-morse-code-from-3-to-60-mhz.pdf

  • @flagmichael
    @flagmichael 4 роки тому +225

    I have doubts Morse will die before I do. We still had morse identifiers on our trunking radio transmitters when I retired a year ago. I doubt anything can cut through noise like CW and a very good receiving filter.

    • @barry3612
      @barry3612 4 роки тому +6

      @Benjamin Tjaa bruh

    • @randomnessx3597
      @randomnessx3597 4 роки тому

      agreed i still need to learn it however lol

    • @WolfangStudios73
      @WolfangStudios73 4 роки тому

      Fixed systems still use CW as their callsign Callsign/ID announcement. My local PD uses P25, but an FM reciver might let you hear: -•- ••- --•• ---•• ••--- •----

    • @fim-43redeye31
      @fim-43redeye31 2 роки тому

      Probably the only things that outdo CW for bad SNR are synced things like JT9 and JT65, as well as specialty encodings like OLIVIA and THROB. Even so I don't know if they would do so properly, since I'm not a radio technician.

  • @webtely
    @webtely 3 роки тому +32

    My dad was a Post Master General in India in the 1970's, wherever he went on inspection he visited the telegraph offices and I can still recall those nostalgic sounds, for me it was hi tech and I watched in awe as hundreds of messages were transmitted to distant lands in seconds.

  • @johnmodlin7028
    @johnmodlin7028 4 роки тому +23

    I ran WFE Maritime Radio Station in Houston for Western Geophysical Oil Company 1975. I contacted their ships at sea around the world. Most fun job.

  • @hughsegrave3979
    @hughsegrave3979 4 роки тому +31

    Was an R/O in mid 70,s and would just like to say how much I enjoyed myself on long sea journeys, ships engine, bit of static and few distant signals on 500khz. Thanks all operators sea and land for this wonderfull experience.

  • @elund408
    @elund408 4 роки тому +69

    I love the clock on the wall at 332 at 15 minutes and 45 minutes of the hour all maritime stations went silent to listen for emergency traffic the red areas on the clock were quiet times.

    • @josiassparkyboy571
      @josiassparkyboy571 4 роки тому +2

      Sparks, that's one of the amazing thing on Wireless Telegraphy Radio Room during those days .... Love It

    • @elund408
      @elund408 4 роки тому +2

      @Siebenstern google marine distress frequencies.

    • @desmondsharpe5397
      @desmondsharpe5397 3 роки тому

      Looks like there was no link to the site. Here it is now www.radiomarine.org/

    • @zoolkhan
      @zoolkhan 3 роки тому +1

      red for morse code , green for phone - both were silence periods.

    • @ZonaJim
      @ZonaJim Рік тому +2

      @@zoolkhan Yep. The international distress frequence for CW (morse code) was 500 kHZ. For voice, it was 2182 kHZ. I sat many radio watches with my ears glued to the receiver during the "Silent Periods".

  • @bills.1390
    @bills.1390 3 роки тому +15

    Holy cow ! I saw my old shortwave radio on the top right shelf 3:50. It is a Hallicrafters SX-28 Skyrider. It was my Dad's, but he gave it to me when I was 14 in 1962, talk about being in hog heaven :) It covered everything from long wave (marine), AM, shortwave, and even Citizens band. Great radio, remember one of the vacuum tubes went out, a 6L7, mowed a lot of lawns to buy a new one :)

    • @stargazer7644
      @stargazer7644 7 місяців тому +1

      At 1:18 is my first shortwave rig. A Kenwood TS-440. About 45 years newer than yours.

  • @mikegross6107
    @mikegross6107 3 роки тому +10

    I didn't realize it would be so emotional to watch this video! I was a radioman for around three years on the USS Essex (1956 to 1959) and not only learned morse code but also how to type (although only upper case). I STILL know the code and practice it mentally with different words, license plates etc. Really enjoyed my tour as a radioman and sorry to realize there is no more use of the code!

    • @kevinduffy80
      @kevinduffy80 Рік тому

      I know what you mean. I was a Royal Navy sparker (1981-1986). Still find myself reading morse code and flashing light on every war film etc. Shame it's all but gone. 😢

  • @barryf5479
    @barryf5479 3 роки тому +9

    When I was a teenager, I knocked on the door of maritime station KOK in La Palma, California. They guys there gave me and my ham radio friend a tour. They were using semiautomatic keys and they could send fast and accurately. Quite a site to see. I've been licensed since 1968.

  • @flyoverkid55
    @flyoverkid55 4 роки тому +8

    My dad was a radio operator in WW II. He used to sit and tap out Morse code at the kitchen table.

  • @foundation806
    @foundation806 3 роки тому +17

    I started to teach myself morse code. It's good to know that morse code has a lot of history behind it.

  • @bigjohnproductions9760
    @bigjohnproductions9760 3 роки тому +19

    0:30 poor man :( I would call him back that’s so sad

  • @princessmarlena1359
    @princessmarlena1359 4 роки тому +95

    “...’Haywood U. Cuddleme’? I’m looking for a ‘Haywood U. Cuddleme’? ‘Haywood U. Cuddleme’?”
    *hears laughing, realizes it’s a prank*
    “Why you...! ‘I’m gonna drive a Golden Spike where your Union meets your Central Pacific’!”

  • @joeschmoe4968
    @joeschmoe4968 4 роки тому +53

    Every time I see people texting on their phones instead of speaking directly with someone, I think of these old machines. Seems like we've gone backwards in communication. I thought we would all be talking face to face on our phones by now like in Star Trek.

    • @Vitorruy1
      @Vitorruy1 4 роки тому +7

      Frontal cameras for phones were invented for that, but now they are mostly used for selfies haha

    • @pepepistolaxx9820
      @pepepistolaxx9820 4 роки тому

      @@Vitorruy1
      SOCIAL..........DISTANCE!
      Video call....nowadays !

    • @muhammadhanifkurnaen6689
      @muhammadhanifkurnaen6689 3 роки тому

      But front camera sucks when dark

    • @Marg1312
      @Marg1312 3 роки тому

      @@Vitorruy1 They're not used for selfies... trust me.

    • @Vitorruy1
      @Vitorruy1 3 роки тому

      @@Marg1312 what do you mean

  • @TheWareek
    @TheWareek 4 роки тому +64

    i was a radio operator in the RAN in the late 70's morse code was still used. Not so much to send messages but to establish communications. Have to admit it was not my strong point.

    • @zoolkhan
      @zoolkhan 3 роки тому

      you operated a russian station?

    • @TheWareek
      @TheWareek 3 роки тому +1

      @@zoolkhan no the Australian navy

  • @lewdutoit7630
    @lewdutoit7630 4 роки тому +25

    So sad, end of an era. Thanks for all still involved keeping the memories alive and equipment in order. Love n God bless on your hard work and sacrifices, 73; 88 de ZA

    • @randomnessx3597
      @randomnessx3597 4 роки тому

      cw is widely used on ham radio though. it'll be hard to make a digi mode that cuts through the noise as well as cw and convey as much information as quickly

    • @richardcallihan9746
      @richardcallihan9746 3 роки тому

      sad they muted the end of the last transmission, ie; (73/88 DE KPH SK)

  • @patrickwall8517
    @patrickwall8517 4 роки тому +9

    I really enjoyed this. I had an uncle who was a radioman in the navy and later a telegrapher on the railroad.

  • @ces4399
    @ces4399 4 роки тому +15

    I have to visit that museum when I have the chance. I've heard it on the air when I lived in California. I even know the docent being interviewed. I'm also proud to be a ham who got his license back in the day when CW was a requirement. 73.

    • @barryf5479
      @barryf5479 3 роки тому

      Same here. Licensed since 1968. I recall driving to the FCC building on Spring St. in Los Angeles to take my General exam.

  • @paulsmith6184
    @paulsmith6184 4 роки тому +7

    As a ships Radio Officer (BP Tankers 1969 to 1974) I have never got used to hearing (in my opinion) the rather "mechanical" sounds of the paddle key.
    We never used one - it was always the straight-up-and-down version which allowed you to include your own character in the morse. We were trained to lengthen the dashes very slightly to keep the listening station/operator awake. The longest message I ever had to send was a 1440 word (plain language and code combined) stores order to the ships agent in Capetown. Capetown radio was not impressed at all. Back then, there was no way to prepare, for example, on teleprinter. It was all manual. S

    • @gordslater
      @gordslater 4 роки тому

      QTB :)

    • @kmooney1954
      @kmooney1954 4 роки тому

      Hurray, a purist!

    • @josiassparkyboy571
      @josiassparkyboy571 4 роки тому +2

      Its more than the morse codes that connect Sparks, but the camaraderie apparently built in between through your tapping ... one can feel and recognize as to whom in the other side is tapping if you knew each others .... and yes ... the character that every R/O has .... greetings + va

    • @mariusbezuidenhout3371
      @mariusbezuidenhout3371 Рік тому

      . Marius
      I worked at capetown radio/ZSC for 29 years.

    • @PaulSmith-bb7lv
      @PaulSmith-bb7lv Рік тому

      @@mariusbezuidenhout3371 Hi. ZSC was always very efficient and a pleasure to talk to. Even though they were usually very busy. As an aside, due to thermal ducting in the atmosphere, I heard ZSC on the VHF while we were off the coast of Sudan. The operator in Capetown wouldn't believe me at first when I gave the ship's position. Good old days.

  • @stridermt2k
    @stridermt2k 4 роки тому +1

    Wipes away a tear at they never turned it off.
    I love radio so much.

  • @whatzupmomoland9377
    @whatzupmomoland9377 4 роки тому +8

    My heart feels hurt watching this sad historical moment to an end . :(

  • @bootmender
    @bootmender 4 роки тому +5

    I worked at one of these stations in 1968 across the River from the United States Naval Academy on the Chesapeake bay at Annapolis Maryland. I was a US Marine Gard, there to protect the facility. Severn River Radio Station. For all naval ships in the North Atlantic.

  • @Swoop180
    @Swoop180 4 роки тому +20

    Real radios glow in the dark and code is music to my ear!
    May Neil Peart rest in peace, Y Y Z _._ _ _._ _ _ _ ..

  • @levynkhs8820
    @levynkhs8820 4 роки тому +58

    It should still exist because malfunction can happen and only morse code can save someone 's life

    • @donraptor6156
      @donraptor6156 4 роки тому

      How? Punch all the code you want! Needed to 96% of any amateur operator!

    • @zoolkhan
      @zoolkhan 3 роки тому +1

      shipping lines gladly got rid of the expensive radio-officer .. they dont care about the lifes of the crew.. evey year ships sink ... and nobody on board with the ability to operate a more serious radio than the VHF box on the bridge. Sure automated systems are in place, and the marketing goes its much more reliable blabla.
      Yet, there is no investigation about the lack of interactivity, inability to respond to coastguard/SAR unit clarifying questions ... with a dedicated pair of operators on board, the station would be permanently manned, and questions and statuses would be going back and forth until the water ends the powergeneration.... while the bridge crew focusses on the situation
      now there is no dedicated person on the comms, at best a helmsman on VHF ch 16 who is needed in 5 places at once in that situation. And VHF is short ranges comms anyhow.

  • @Pittsburghestatesale
    @Pittsburghestatesale 3 роки тому +6

    I learned Morse Code in the boy scouts and can still send and receive 35wpm without aid of a computer or any other device. Although the time has passed for Morse Code in commercial radio, it is still very healthy and active on the ham radio bands where I use it to communicate every chance I get ... Of course its time has passed but it is still fun and amazing. No one is riding horses to work any more, but people still love to go horse back riding on the weekend or as a leisure in the country ... The only thing that never changes, is that everything changes. Peace!

  • @michaelquillen2679
    @michaelquillen2679 4 роки тому +9

    My brother was a radioman in the Coast Guard (1976-1980). Used Morse code every day.

    • @hughsegrave3979
      @hughsegrave3979 3 роки тому +1

      Great morse men the were too..

    • @ZonaJim
      @ZonaJim Рік тому +1

      I was a CG Radioman from 1973 - 1977. It's still ingrained in my head.

  • @nicolaspaglione
    @nicolaspaglione 4 роки тому +23

    Beautiful technology high quality, still works

  • @mfbfreak
    @mfbfreak 3 роки тому +2

    So what about that south korean coast station mentioned at the beginning?
    Some folks on forums say that they still transmit a traffic list, every so often. But some also say, for 20 years it has been the exact same traffic list.
    Anyway, here are the south korean callsigns and frequencies in kHz: HLF 8484 HLW 8636 17130 HLO 12843 16990 HLF 12916.5 22611.6 HLW2 12923 HLG 12935 HLJ 16910
    If you are on a ship, i would absolutely love it if you'd try calling them, even if it's just for a radio check, to confirm someone over there is actually listening.

  • @buddyd1069
    @buddyd1069 4 роки тому +7

    I was an O5C20 in the Army 1971. I still have a Key on my desk.

    • @randomnessx3597
      @randomnessx3597 4 роки тому

      i have a key i got from my ham radio mentor somewhere

    • @carlhuffman454
      @carlhuffman454 4 роки тому +2

      Ah yes, an ASAer from way back. 98J30 here. When I went through J school at Devens in '69, there were a lot of guys learning ditties in the old WW1/2 buildings on post. Most of them wound up in Nam, to the best of my knowledge. Frankly, I don't know how anybody could take ditties quickly. I have good hearing to this day, but that's a whole different world than the one I worked in. Hats off to you, sir, and keep the faith.

  • @CBTman99
    @CBTman99 4 роки тому +5

    Love the RO Extel TTY terminal where the last message was printed. I worked with them from 1973 to 1975, Very good teleprinters, even the ones with the keyboard. In fact, it seems that they also had a lot of traffic using Baudot code, not just Morse.

  • @ricsanders69
    @ricsanders69 4 роки тому +4

    I'm 50 and just starting to learn Morse Code...as a Ham Operator it seems really kewl to know that I could send and receive a message to someone on the other side of the globe using only a watt or so of power, no infrastructure, and all the bandwidth of a human hair! :-D de KN4FTT

  • @pmchamlee
    @pmchamlee 4 роки тому +4

    I'm a new guy [1973- WB5ZAF (now N4MKX)] but I love my ability to communicate in Morse Code! 🤠

  • @fiddlersgreen11
    @fiddlersgreen11 4 роки тому +23

    Nice Video; Greatings from Germany - a radio amateur.

  • @mgbeck98
    @mgbeck98 4 роки тому +4

    I worked for Globe Wireless the company that took over the Callsign KPH when they took over the transmitters for KPH. The
    Bolinas site was where the receivers were not transmitters. The transmitters were/are in the Davis area and were controlled by telephone line.

  • @allanbrown5435
    @allanbrown5435 5 років тому +14

    Have wked K6KPH a couple of times. Gud ops. Always like to hear them on the air. Reminds me of the old days hearing WSL, WCC, etc on 500 kc while standing Cw watches in the Coast Guard.

  • @MrDANGitall
    @MrDANGitall Рік тому +1

    I tuned-in to this vid because I wanted to see if I could still copy MC. I was a Coast Guard Radio Operator for three years (1975-78) at CG Radsta NMN, in Pungo, VA, which was the go-to station for the entire east coast. I talked to many shipboard operators on a daily basis. Loved it!
    I was certified at 37 wpm back then, but I wanted to test myself again, just for giggles. I recertified myself at 10 wpm, which, considering it has been 45 years of NO practice, ain't so bad.
    Thanks for this vid!! 🙃👍

  • @LePepo
    @LePepo 4 роки тому +29

    0:05 i can hear Dutch telling me to stay calm

    • @jmbjeboybiboy670
      @jmbjeboybiboy670 4 роки тому +1

      Ahhahahah all i can think about is that haahahhaaha RDR2

    • @seirbhiseach
      @seirbhiseach 4 роки тому +1

      “I have a plan, Arthur, all I need is a little faith, that’s all I ask from you”

  • @Jonegy
    @Jonegy 4 роки тому +3

    Worked KPH regularly in the 1960´s - KSF too (which ever had the shortest waiting list)
    MN Radio Officer. Nice surprise - I can still read it straight off in my head .
    Think I´ve still got my old WWII ex RAF type D key knocking about that came with me on
    every ship I sailed in. Great days

  • @bill4227
    @bill4227 4 роки тому +3

    My dad worked at WMH in Baltimore MD. Originally on the Baltimore City recreation pier at the foot of Broadway and later moved to the Dundalk marine terminal

  • @johndoyle1969
    @johndoyle1969 3 роки тому +9

    We never need to forget how to use Morse code. We may have to use it again some day.

    • @ZonaJim
      @ZonaJim Рік тому +1

      There are times when the narrow band width of a CW signal is the only comms that can get through.

  • @fourfortyroadrunner6701
    @fourfortyroadrunner6701 3 роки тому +1

    RIP, friend of mine used to work for Scripps Institute of Oceanography radio WWD. Big log periodics out E of (Now MCAS) NAS Miramar near Camp Elliott Spent time at sea on several of their ships as well as operating and maintaining the station at San Diego It's all gone now. I used to be able to find the site of the TX which was remote. I had only been to the receiver/ operating site once.

  • @nityanandakabiraj7434
    @nityanandakabiraj7434 4 роки тому +4

    Very emotional Indeed... Please never turned it off !!! 73, 73, 73...

  • @timokiiski5912
    @timokiiski5912 4 роки тому +9

    Really nice and interesting site. I was hearing KPH etc. in 1960-70 but I worked regularly with East Coast / WCC and WSL. Many really good ham operators over there!
    73 Timo OH1TH / OH5TA /ex. MM

  • @muddrudder2656
    @muddrudder2656 3 роки тому +1

    Im glad that someone out there is still listening.

  • @hansgroenewegesr.7787
    @hansgroenewegesr.7787 Рік тому +1

    Once, I was an R/O in the Dutch Merchant Navy...what a thrill to make contact with a station like KPH from half the world away!

  • @moriver3857
    @moriver3857 3 роки тому +5

    Ironically, even today in 2021, all ground-based aviation navigational aids, are still identified by their ICAO name in Morse code that can be heard in the flight deck. So it's not completely dead yet. Amazing video. Thanks.

  • @miked7745
    @miked7745 3 роки тому +13

    for 2 year no one was like "whos paying the electric bill?"

    • @bbs5400
      @bbs5400 3 роки тому +1

      Soemone knew it was running, they left everything running on purpose, but guarentee it was illegal and they were preohibited of doing that, so of course "it was an accident"

    • @richardcallihan9746
      @richardcallihan9746 3 роки тому +1

      Bill had been paid on time-continuously for 6o + years

  • @norcaldeemichaels
    @norcaldeemichaels 4 роки тому +20

    “When he opened the door after two years, he heard something familiar”....It was just the Frankfurt asking why the Titanic has been silent lately.

    • @TheJames1912
      @TheJames1912 3 роки тому

      Yeah bro, she’s been silent for 109 years now

    • @Oberkommando
      @Oberkommando 3 роки тому

      @@TheJames1912 what are you talking about? It was just 6 years ago

    • @TheJames1912
      @TheJames1912 3 роки тому

      ​@@Oberkommando really? wow i never look at the calender

  • @allanegleston4931
    @allanegleston4931 4 роки тому +7

    such lovely morsecode . along with the grimton alexarnderson machine , these are the last.

  • @lorenheard2561
    @lorenheard2561 Рік тому +1

    Something Tells Me We MaybVery Well Need This "Old Tech" Again!!!!

  • @itsonlyme9938
    @itsonlyme9938 4 роки тому +7

    RCA AR88 Radios @ 2.47 most where exported to UK , Russia lend lease WW2 must be a rare radio in then USA.

  • @matambale
    @matambale 3 роки тому +2

    KPH can still be heard, once a year - see "Night Of Nights".

  • @Moroni108
    @Moroni108 3 місяці тому

    Awesome video. In the USAF, I was a morse system interceptor assigned to Elmendorf AFB from 1991 to 1995. (1N251 SIGNALS INTELLIGENCE PRODUCTION JOURNEYMAN) We learned Morse Code at the time, at Ft Devins Massachusetts. I trained with Navy, Army and Marine Corps there. I absolutely enjoyed it. Thank you for the video!!

  • @ianboard3555
    @ianboard3555 4 роки тому +9

    Morse code gets through when nothing else will.

    • @stargazer7644
      @stargazer7644 7 місяців тому

      WSPR gets thru when morse code won't.

  • @rexjolles
    @rexjolles 3 роки тому +2

    My great grandpa was the captain of 3 different merchant marine ships in the 40's and 50's, and he has one of the keys off one of his ships, MV Cinch Knot.

  • @MsLordenatas
    @MsLordenatas 4 роки тому +1

    Thanks for sharing this short but amazing video!!

  • @khalidjaved8565
    @khalidjaved8565 3 роки тому +3

    Gold day of my life when I was a Radio officer.

  • @BAKERAGUSTINIANO
    @BAKERAGUSTINIANO 11 місяців тому +1

    Dot: 0
    Dash: 1
    Morse code lives in the Digital Technology

  • @CoachPlags
    @CoachPlags 3 роки тому +3

    Hopefully it never does die because its a lowkey way of communication

  • @mikefromflorida8357
    @mikefromflorida8357 4 роки тому

    Absolutely beautiful. Thank you for posting it.

  • @nitej_
    @nitej_ 4 роки тому +9

    Now who came here from the old guy and that training video

  • @kunjupulla
    @kunjupulla 4 роки тому +3

    My eyes swelled when the last message transmitted was read!

  • @christopherlee5584
    @christopherlee5584 4 роки тому +1

    W4CBL here. I became and Amateur operator in 1980. I was required to learn Morse to 5wpm. It was an anachronism then.... and these days we have digital modes and DSTARS. The only constant in this life is change.

  • @bazza945
    @bazza945 2 роки тому +1

    Ex New Zealand coast radio station operator, Awarua Radio/ZLB, closed August 1991. Station established 1913.

  • @derkach7907
    @derkach7907 3 роки тому +3

    Hearing the last message it's like someone you knew died.

  • @PRRGG1
    @PRRGG1 3 роки тому +2

    I don't know what's harder to believe, that KPH never shut off OR that this news story was made just last year. Somewhere Charles Kuralt is smiling down on John Bartell, even if he works for a rival network station.

  • @michaeledmonds3027
    @michaeledmonds3027 4 роки тому +1

    Great video, love the old radio gear. Thanks & 73 Steve KZ5MSE

  • @ruialexandre6197
    @ruialexandre6197 3 роки тому +1

    I remember in the 80s to go through the long wave band in my dad's hifi and listen to these constant dots and dashes flashing at high speed.

  • @pt100
    @pt100 2 роки тому +1

    I still remember these old days, for long distance CW and phone call, KPH for Pacific Ocean, WNU for Gulf of Mexico, WCC for Atlantic Ocean. I work with them all on my first ship (1979)with a round the world trip China>Singapore/Malaysia>Hamburg/Rotterdam>Houston/NewOrleans>China, this voyage took almost five month.

  • @WB8BRA
    @WB8BRA 4 роки тому +17

    not do dash , it is di da.. when you learn the code WB8BRA

    • @zvpunry1971
      @zvpunry1971 4 роки тому +1

      dah-di-dah-dit dah-dah-di-dah
      or anything else that sounds somewhat similar to actual morse code... but not "dash and dot", it makes a big difference when someone tries to learn it. The number 5 is di-di-di-di-dit and the number 0 is dah-dah-dah-dah-dah. If you try to speak it, even in your head, it sounds like the actual morse code. If you say dash-dash-dash-dash-dash it sounds horrible. :)
      But if you write it using actual dots and dashes, it can be very compact:
      ...-.-

  • @mitchmatthews6713
    @mitchmatthews6713 3 роки тому +3

    There will come a day when this will be needed, be it a disaster or other emergency.

  • @sventinus
    @sventinus 4 роки тому +35

    1:57 "The numbers Mason what do they mean"

    • @Vitorruy1
      @Vitorruy1 4 роки тому +2

      That old numeric display looks awesome

    • @sbtjlhw111
      @sbtjlhw111 4 роки тому +5

      @@Vitorruy1 Nixie tubes are great to look at

    • @marknesselhaus4376
      @marknesselhaus4376 4 роки тому +1

      That might be a frequency display indicating 12286.80 Khz or 12.2868 Mhz

    • @tullamorejameson480
      @tullamorejameson480 4 роки тому

      Haha Clarke's head go boom

    • @davidh9368
      @davidh9368 4 роки тому

      pretty close to actual movie reference, if rounded up to 12,287 kHz
      HF Single Sideband Maritime Radiotelephone Channels
      4 MHz Duplex Channels
      ITU Channel No. 1220

  • @willian.direction6740
    @willian.direction6740 4 роки тому +5

    Wrkd 3 USA stations last night on greyline 40m CW in K3Y SKCC event over Jan 2020, I still love Morse Code . vk5cz ..

    • @Vitorruy1
      @Vitorruy1 4 роки тому

      What does those codes mean?

    • @quentintin1
      @quentintin1 4 роки тому

      @@Vitorruy1
      40m: wave length
      CW: carrier wave
      K3Y: event hosted by a radio club, where they engage other Ham radiographists to listen and engage with club operated stations across the western world
      SKCC: Straight Key Century Club, a manual morse ratiotelegraphists club, hosting the K3Y event
      VK5CZ: Willian's operator code, each operator has an op code with which they adress themselves or are adressed to, simpler than to send a full name over the waves

  • @josephmanojk2344
    @josephmanojk2344 4 роки тому +5

    Me: Clicks pen because I'm bored
    Grandpa: Why do you need an airstrike?

  • @jacklee9538
    @jacklee9538 4 роки тому +2

    Morse Code never became obsolete. It was phased out because it took training and experience to communicate in it. When radio technology enabled voice modulation, that training could be cut out and Marine Radio Operators could man that position with much less training and experience. However, anyone who is trained in both prefer the Morse Code as it is clearer, more accurate, and yes, believe it or not - much faster for marine communications thant voice.
    I was trained as a Marine Radio Operator back in the early 1980's. Then we were trained to communicate using either voice or ''morse code'. Using simulations using voice or morse code, we found out that it took twice as long to transmit a marine message using voice than it did using morse code. Marine radio message are very complicated and unstructured. Many times when transmitting a critical piece of information, if we had to use voice, we had to spell out each and every frigging letter! Morse code, we could just tap it all out once. :)

    • @hughsegrave3979
      @hughsegrave3979 3 роки тому

      Not really, voice and morse were hand in hand for very many years, voice was not an alternative to morse as 90% of ships traffic was morse when voice was available. Morse was a formal document. Telex over HF was the first sign that the R/O jobs were on the line. I recall having it on a banana boat late 70's.. early 80's.. ??So sad to see it all slip away my friend. Kind regards from Dublin

  • @jerryfinnegan1323
    @jerryfinnegan1323 3 роки тому +2

    I was advised that the last ship to shore msg war sent by the facility near New Orleans, LA.

    • @williamfulgham2010
      @williamfulgham2010 3 роки тому +1

      If that in fact was the last one, that would have been from WNU North of New Orleans around Covington, I believe

  • @dorothygale5896
    @dorothygale5896 4 роки тому +1

    The old Port Arthur College in Port Arthur, Texas had a Mackay shipboard console. Whatever happened to it I have no idea.
    The college is now Lamar State College. I think the instructors were Sigler and Kimbal,

    • @williamfulgham2010
      @williamfulgham2010 4 роки тому

      Did they also run an AM Broadcast Station ?

    • @dorothygale5896
      @dorothygale5896 3 роки тому +1

      @@williamfulgham2010
      Yes. It was KPAC for Port Arthur College. 5KW and 1KW at night. A directional stub. was also used. KPAC is now licensed
      in the Pacific Northwest. The masts are still standing on highway 87 there.

    • @williamfulgham2010
      @williamfulgham2010 3 роки тому +1

      @@dorothygale5896 I remember hearing about that station and the excellent broadcast education that was offered there. In the past 15 years, I traveled to Orange and bid on a reconstruction of the old 1250 that is owned by the Catholic Media. The towers for the 1250 are probably just a few miles away from the old KPAC.
      I just did a little research after responding to your post, and it is the same station. The 1250 is now owned by the Catholics, and as far as I know it is still on the air. I was not successful in obtaining the bid to rebuild the phaser and tuning units for the towers, but I know there is another station in Alexandria, La. that is still operating and is owned by that Catholic media group.

  • @barriepaterson
    @barriepaterson Рік тому

    I worked at Cape Town Radio ZSC for many years. Great memories!

  • @HannoBehrens
    @HannoBehrens 4 роки тому +4

    And wonderful given code at the end, so slow and clean that even I could read it, only after a short playback of course because it hit me unprepared, I was irritated for a moment when it said SK/end of transmission/+ and after that the single K. I am not operating yet, still in the learning process, so that means: now we have to take over the torch, that's how I interpret that ending. Is that correct? That's wonderful.

    • @williamfulgham2010
      @williamfulgham2010 4 роки тому +1

      Be sure and learn Morse as a sound, and it will fall in line as a language. Bill, K5EYS

    • @HannoBehrens
      @HannoBehrens 4 роки тому +3

      @@williamfulgham2010 I'm on it. Can do almost failure free 15-17 wps with a Junckers straight key, listening to an equal speed, but with pauses inbetween. I did my HAM license just a few weeks ago now, I took three weeks to learn it, did an A-license without a morse test, for the whole test in just three weeks, while I had to work was quite stressful. They said we needed 5 wps (at least), which I could easily have done, but not without a failure here and there and they said, only 3 errors allowed for three minutes test. And that I could not achieve in that short amount of time. So, because I didn't want to embarrass anyone, including myself, I skipped that. Am training a few hours a day since then.
      I can't get rid of a miss-given character at 17 wps now and then and the spacing errors are killing me (using a Morserino-32/w straight key), so I am not satisfied yet. Using my phone for Koch-Farnsworth method for reading.
      So since the message three months ago, there was a lot happening in my life. You just have no idea, how much I had to move for this. But feeling good.
      73 DE DL7HH K

    • @HannoBehrens
      @HannoBehrens 3 роки тому

      @@williamfulgham2010 DL7HH since October 2020. Thanks for the support! --... ...--, my CW skills getting better daily, still hanging on 16 wpm and not on normal traffic speed with reading, sending with 20 wpm now, but working on it and getting close. WSPR propagation tests yesterday and this night on 40m to US/east coast, VK, NZ, ZS. Should be enough for CW QSO, maybe even QRP. Got a Junker key and a paddle, learning straight key first, since a week now additionally paddles.
      Yesterday got a WSPR connection to K2JY, that's near your position, maybe I get to you with CW, but it was at 2am local time and 5 watt. So I don't know if that happens soon. But I'm on it. First I have to get up to traffic speed. I had to spend a lot of time and effort to build up my rack and antennas here over the last months. It's hard to get over the 16 wpm, I admit. Especially because it's hard to send with a straight key faster than that. With the paddle, I hope, I'll accustom better to that faster speed. Have thrown away my computer based training lessons, went to more realistic ones from recordings. Works much better for me.
      In these times of global isolation the radio community is just a blast. Hope this madness ends soon and people find their way back to sanity.
      I found out, that I played wit a Marconi transmitter as a child. I played only with the sparks of course and got not only once fried by the voltage. But it was fun! Totally childsplay. Still have that thing, that looks quite like the thing that was in the radio room of the Titanic, but I left it at my dads. So to revive these good times, I built myself a little Tesla Coil and fried myself again. Wonderful.
      While I did that the 11m band was totally messed up with noise, but it was a harmonic on 11m, maybe it was messing up 22m or something, I didn't found the origin, just the next harmonic on 6m. But without an antenna it was of course only messing up my own equipment, maybe 50 meters around my house. It must have been an adventure to do radio in these old times. I lifted my Tesla-Coil with the hands to show it to friends in a video conference and that was the moment I got fried, by the way. It was a permanent little frying and I commented drily „Au Au Au“, while I was holding it up to the camera. They asked what was happening and I said, smiling, that this little brat was electrocuting me, like a scared kitten hisses. It was very cute. And surely not more than 300 kV or something like that and the HF was traveling more over my body than through my body, so it was harmless, I just got minor burns on my fingertips. They said, my hair was standing up straight while showing that little thing.

  • @MrSpruce
    @MrSpruce 3 роки тому

    Love the typewriters in the background. Morse and typewriters - two of my favourite hobbies.

  • @gew9487
    @gew9487 8 місяців тому

    My Mother taught Mose Code in the Women's Army Aircorps (WAAC) in WWII. One of her students was Tyronne Power. In late 1950s a submarine in port was open for tours. As we toured, Mom started reading morse code coming in. The Sailor was surprised and set up a test and allowed her to transmit. He said she sent code faster than anyone he'd ever seen. Her entire life Mom sat with her mose code key on the armrest of her chair and did code based on what was on TV. Although not attached to anything she kept up her skills. I became a Woman Marine, 65-68. One of my WWII women Marine friends taught Celestial Navigation to Tyronne Power!! Such a coincidence!❤❤

  • @yourdailydoseofchickens7740
    @yourdailydoseofchickens7740 3 роки тому +6

    Glad I memorized the entire Morse code language instead of studying for my math test

  • @ThrilloVanHouten
    @ThrilloVanHouten 3 роки тому

    That freq counter at 01:59 is absolutely beautiful. Love those nixie tubes

  • @garrylearmonth9313
    @garrylearmonth9313 8 місяців тому

    I was an amateur for years and originally found CW to be so so hard but finally got my ham licence and ended up on 80 metres on a Sunday night spending an hour or more using CW with no-one allowed to use voice lol. My CW got so much better over time, and strangely enough at the end of this vid I was able to pickup letters and words as I heard them. I haven't used CW for 30 years lol.
    Funny how it memories can flood back in, along with CW. I used a standard morse key to begin with, then went onto an electric paddle set up. Thanks for the vid, it brought back a lot of fond memories.

  • @lewiemcneely9143
    @lewiemcneely9143 4 роки тому +2

    My Dad learned this from the Signal Corp in WW-2 in the Army. If he could pick it up, he could take it. Thanks much!

  • @highdfire
    @highdfire 4 роки тому +1

    Worked SITOR/TELEX at KPH for a while in the early 80's after separating from the Coast Guard. The commute from Petaluma was a drag, especially during the rainy season.

  • @jasonrusso9808
    @jasonrusso9808 Місяць тому

    Nixie tube readouts/numerical indicators being used. Beautiful

  • @robertl.fallin7062
    @robertl.fallin7062 4 роки тому +1

    My morse came thru the Navys Fleet Airwing Three Basic Airborn Communications School , Brunswick Maine in 1965. It remains a skill I enjoy. After about 10wpm I soon found I was typing text about 10 to 15 charectors behind what was being sent ... It was easier to get to 30 wpm than getting to 10wpm. Its like your brain slows time and getting beyound 10wpm is unlikly unless you experience that phenomena thru practise.

  • @kingofsludge7262
    @kingofsludge7262 3 роки тому +5

    I almost want to do a bad thing with a ship to give that South Korean guy meaning in his life

  • @shakaama
    @shakaama 3 роки тому +1

    QUESTION: in a disaster, my cell phone is useless, I'm guessing the emergency broadcast still works, but in a disaster isn't morse the only thing that still works?
    I've had power, water all go out, for days.

    • @stargazer7644
      @stargazer7644 7 місяців тому +1

      Morse code (or CW) is just one of several different modulation methods used on radio. AM, FM, SSB are a few others used with voice. CW is especially good for very weak signals where the other methods would be difficult or impossible to copy. Radio is good in a disaster because it doesn't require any other infrastructure to work in a disaster. You just need a radio and antenna at each end, and the signals can span the entire planet. Your cell phone needs an enormous amount of infrastructure working to route the calls.

  • @tjsogmc
    @tjsogmc 3 роки тому +1

    Walked away and left it running unattended for 2 years and it didn't fail. Name a modern technology that could do that

  • @garyhammond2213
    @garyhammond2213 Рік тому +1

    Kinda sad seeing an end of Morse Code and I want to learn it.