Sparks

Exterior

Ken

The Sibbett Group designed an exhibit revolving around the history of maritime communications and the current role of radio on the San Francisco Bay. Housed in the San Francisco Maritime Museum's existing glassed cupola, this exhibit features the dramatic background of beautiful San Francisco Bay and it's bustling maritime traffic.

Visitors can turn a crank to activate a reproduction of the first maritime radio: an antique Spark Gap. When they don old headsets, maritime explorers will hear the maniacal dot-dash-dot of a 4U Victory Ship radio as it broadcasts an urgent Morse code message.

Viewing a radar screen, visitors can monitor actual vessels as they pass in front of the museum or sail to the farthest reaches of the Bay. Opportunities for communication abound: use a signal lamp to flash messages to friends on the distant Hyde Street Pier, tap into a live Internet link from the US Coast GuardÕs San Francisco Vessel Traffic Service, and listen to scanning radios catch the chatter of Harbor Pilots and Tug Boat Captains.