A Centennial Celebration of Marconi and RCA Wireless Radio in WestMarin, California 1914-2014
 

A Centennial Celebration of Marconi and RCA Wireless Radio in West
Marin, California 1914-2014

This year, September 24th marks the 100th anniversary of the very first
Trans-Pacific wireless radio transmission. This milestone took place in
1914 at the Marconi-built radio stations in Bolinas and Marshall, in
Marin County, on the Pacific coast of California. The mayors of both San
Francisco and Honolulu were present at the stations as the first
wireless signal was received with much fanfare, 2,100 miles away in Oahu
Hawaii, establishing transpacific communications. Marconi, RCA and its
successors kept the West Marin stations operational for point-to-point
and ship-to-shore services until 1997. The Bolinas station and a
receiving station built in 1929 by RCA were acquired in 1998 by the
National Park Service at Point Reyes National Seashore, an hour north of
San Francisco. For the past fifteen years the Maritime Radio Historical
Society of Marin has partnered with the park to restore historic
equipment and get the stations back on the air for commemorative and
demonstration purposes. Every Saturday they once again fill the airwaves
with CW from what was for eight decades the most powerful station on the
Pacific Coast, KPH.

This year between April and September, Point Reyes National Seashore is
partnering with seven other local museums and non-profits to host a
series of exhibits and events in the West Marin community to celebrate
the Centennial. The programs provide opportunities for adults and kids
to learn more about the beginning of wireless communications that
proliferate in our time, and how they translate into contemporary
technology, learning activities, art, and the future of communications.

For more information www.nps.gov/pore and www.radiomarine.org

Download the PDF Radio Centennial Program here.
Source URL:
http://www.comsoc.org/blog/centennia...rnia-1914-2014