RadioBanter - View Single Post - Ship/marine traffic HF radio (BC-221).

HFguy · October 8th 06, 06:18 AM posted to rec.radio.shortwave

Richard Knoppow wrote:

I can't dredge up the details from my memory but think
the transmitter location was at Marion Mass. The receivers
were probably either RCA AR-77 or the later AR-88 types.
These are actually pretty good receivers. In the old days
there were several different calls used but after WW-2 only
one was used, WCC (Cape Cod). This was RCA's main east coast
station. Its equivalent on the west coast was KPH. KPH had
various locations but after WW-2 was co-located with the RCA
Communications station on the Point Reyes peninsula above
San Francisco. RCA Communications had its transmitters at
Bolinas Point and receiver station at Inverness further up
the peninsula. There is a web site dedicated to KPH. The
call is a very old one, originally PH, for Palace Hotel, its
original location, issued to the Marconi Company c.1907.
There are evidently other transmitting sites on the east
coast which have been preserved to some degree. FWIW, the
main RCA Communications station in the east was on Long
Island with transmitters at Rocky Point and receivers at
Riverhead. I don't know if there is anything at either
location to indicate what was there. RCA Radiomarine also
had a big installation at Tuckerton N.J. (WSC) the home of
the famous 200,000 Watt Alexanderson alternator. This
machine operated on a frequency near 100 khz and was kept in
running order for many decades for "national security"
purposes. I have no idea what became of any of this. Perhaps
someone else in the group knows more. I suppose all this is
at least partly O.T. here.

http://www.wjkane.com/wcchistory.html