Historic KPH Photos

Page 1

KPH provided reliable service to ships at sea from the early days of radio. This service is what most people think of today when recalling the great radio installations at Bolinas, Point Reyes and Marshall, California. But in fact KPH was the poor cousin to the point-to-point service that operated mainly under the call KET. From the beginning until its last days KPH was always struggling for funding and facilities, often relegated to using transmitters and antennas no longer needed by the point-to-point service. But the KPH maritime service outlasted not only the point-to-point service but the satellite service that replaced it!

These photos show KPH as it developed through the years. There are even some pictures of the point-to-point equipment. But this is mainly the story of KPH. We will begin at the receiving stations and then look at the transmitting station at Bolinas. QRV? Ok, then let's go...

The KPH Hillcrest station as it looked in 1919 before the move to Marshall. Note the holster nailed to the right leg of the operating table containing a .45 caliber revolver. In his book Richard Johnstone, a KPH operator in those days, says it was used for "our little black and white friends", the skunks who frequented the station.

KPH moved from Hillcrest to the long wave receiving site in Marshall, a rural town north of San Francisco on Tomales Bay. We believe this to be a view of the installation not long after the move. Note the land line telegraph sounder above the typewriter to the left. These earnest fellows had to be proficient in both land line and radio Morse.

Next

Back to the KPH Project page...

Back to the MRHS main page...