The radio room on a Liberty ship could often be its only link to the outside world. For security reasons, ships typically maintained radio silence, but there was still a large amount of radio traffic for the radio operator to monitor. Radio signals were sent in Morse Code, unlike the voice communications that predominate today.
Merchant ships often carried only a single radio officer, although they could sometimes be assisted by communications personnel from the Naval Armed Guard. If the ship needed to be abandoned it was equipped with a portable hand-cranked radio, and the radio officer was responsible for transporting this radio to a lifeboat and continuing to send out distress calls.
The O’Brien’s vacuum tube radio equipment is still functional and continues to operate as a commercial radio station under its original wartime call letters, KXCH.
Explore this Station's Gallery
Proceed down the hall to your right. At the end of the hall on your left is the Radio Room.