Shortwave “Discone” Antenna, Former AT&T High Seas Radio Transmitter Site, Ocean Gate, NJ, 2009.
All the pixels, none of the per-minute toll charges, at https://www.flickr.com/photos/mattblaze/4141766569
#photography
Shortwave “Discone” Antenna, Former AT&T High Seas Radio Transmitter Site, Ocean Gate, NJ, 2009.
All the pixels, none of the per-minute toll charges, at https://www.flickr.com/photos/mattblaze/4141766569
#photography
Ships on the high seas still occasionally make some use of shortwave radio, but its importance has greatly diminished over the last few decades. The Coast Guard still maintains a “watch” on emergency shortwave frequencies, listening for distress calls, but most transoceanic ships are now equipped with more modern, higher-bandwidth satellite communications systems.
These places are what the Internet looked like a century ago.
I should note that while the site had a number of discone antennas like this one, they were mostly there as backups in case the main antennas (including truly massive wire rhombics pointing toward various oceanic regions) or transmitter combiners failed. The old Bell System did not mess around.
@mattblaze@federate.social It makes sense they’d use something more omnidirectional / lower gain, and broad spectrum for backups.
@mattblaze@federate.social Often felt that if AT&T leadership had been visionary, instead of focused on charging you $1.50/month for a long handset cord, there’d be no Internet or cable teevee.
Here, by the way, is what I believe was the last published frequency list and schedule for the High Seas service. (A souvenir of my last visit to the station before it went off the air.)
@mattblaze@federate.social
My Dad was in the Coast Guard before and after the Korean War, and a couple of his tours were “weather patrol” between Newfoundland and Bermuda. In addition to taking observations using wx balloons and radiosondes (I believe), he talked about regularly patching airplanes into the marine operator system. I was surprised to hear him talk about that — i.e., seems like aviation did not have the same communications infrastructure, so the piggyback was necessary.
@mattblaze@federate.social WOO!
@mattblaze@federate.social nice short call signs in CW!
@mattblaze@federate.social
The Marine Radio Historical Society has restored the CW (Morse code) stations at Point Reyes and operates KPH KSM and KFS (as well as ham station K6KPH, mostly on Saturdays.
More info at:
https://www.radiomarine.org
#radio #AmateurRadio
Photo is of KPH during one of its operations.
@k8quinn@vivaldi.net yes, great folks!
@k8quinn @mattblaze I’ve been wanting to visit KPH. It looks like a really interesting place!
If I was a mariner today, I would want to make sure I’ve got a couple of short wave radios in case satellites become unavailable…
@douglasvb @k8quinn It’s absolutely worth a visit, and they’re really nice people.
@mattblaze@federate.social @k8quinn@vivaldi.net I think we might go that way in January for a long weekend so we’ll be sure to stop by.
I’ve passed the building many times in the last 30 years but until a year or so ago I didn’t realize what it was!
@mattblaze@federate.social What gorgeous typesetting.
@steveyaeger@mastodon.social especially the waves made of dingbats under each station name.
@mattblaze@federate.social @steveyaeger@mastodon.social Here’s info on the receiving station at Pt Reyes, from the NPS: https://www.nps.gov/places/point-reyes-kph.htm
@mattblaze @steveyaeger I recall seeing those antennas as recently as ten years ago, but they had clearly fallen into disrepair even then.
@jgkoomey @steveyaeger There were actually three HF receiver sites at Point Reyes. There was the AT&T radiotelephone station KMI (which was completely razed about 10 years ago), which was next door to the still-alive-and-kicking RCA radiotelegraph station KPH (worth a visit when open). And up the road a bit is the still-active (but remotely controlled) Coast Guard station NMC.
KMI had this spiffy sign, which I’m told was saved and is in storage somewhere.
@mattblaze@federate.social Wow! That’s really interesting, thanks! I wonder if we are going to regret being dependent on satellites for all comms in the next decade or so - the risk/threat profile seems to have changed since 1999.