faster, more efficient messaging. This did not replace Morse code entirely, because many vessels had no teleprinter equipment and because Morse was the most reliable transmission mode available: When faced with bad atmospheric conditions and weak signals, dits and dahs are easier to pick up than teleprinter or the human voice, and all the coding and decoding are done in the brain. Over the years radioteletype was improved and computerized, giving rise to new digital transmission modes such as Clover and PACTOR. Satellite communications became a technically and commercially viable alternative to terrestrial radio links. Ship radio equipment became more advanced and automated, requiring fewer radio officers – or none. By the 1990s few ship stations were equipped for Morse code or had any use for it, so coast stations re-allocated their Morse frequencies to other uses. Some stations disappeared from the airwaves altogether, as did KPH after being acquired by Globe Wireless in 1997. Its Morse code traffic was then diverted to other stations such as KFS in Half Moon Bay, California, another Globe Wireless station. KFS continued to handle Morse code traffic until July 13, 1999 (Universal time; actually July 12 in the Pacific time zone) when it made its "last ever" Morse transmission, ceremonially marking the supposed end of commercial Morse code usage in America (as distinct from amateur Morse code usage, which continues). This anniversary is commemorated on the air every July as the "Night of Nights" by KPH and other coast radio stations, along with radio amateurs who participate on their own frequencies. Revenue service and preservation KPH would broadcast regular bulletins of news, weather and other general information to the shipping community, then relay business and personal messages to and from individual ships. Station operators also monitored the international distress frequencies for calls from ships in trouble. With the decline of Morse code the station was retired, but volunteers have preserved it in operating condition so that it can still be heard on the air on weekends and special occasions, sometimes using the alternative callsign KSM and the amateur radio club callsign K6KPH. KPH is located within the Point Reyes National Seashore in Marin County, California, north of San Francisco Bay. Survival and preservation KPH is now a part of the Point Reyes National Seashore and is maintained and operated by former KPH employees and volunteers of the Maritime Radio Historical Society. There are