Visit the Marconi-RCA Wireless Museum

Welcome!  We are open Wednesday through Sunday afternoons.  While walk-in visitors are always welcome, online reservations are available to assure admission.  If you make a reservation you will be invited to watch our introductory video "Chatham Radio WCC: The Untold Story" narrated by Walter Cronkite, before your visit.  Along with browsing our website ChathamMarconi.org, "The Untold Story" will help you to better appreciate our exhibits as you explore them. 

   Your tour starts in the Wireless History Gallery with Guglielmo Marconi's life and legacy.  Then explore the era of Chatham Radio, when Radio Corporation of America's (RCA) dominant 20th Century Ship-to-Shore station WCC was proclaimed "The World's Greatest Coastal Station".  Learn of the station's WWII years as the US Navy's secret "Station C" which intercepted Enigma-encrypted U-Boat messages.  Working Enigma cipher machine simulators allow you to try your own hand at encryption.  This year, we proudly celebrate the final of three consecutive historic centennials, each one important to both Chatham and to America:  One hundred years ago on April 18, 1921, RCA's Chatham station converted from trans-Atlantic service to maritime ship-to-shore operations.  Established under RCA Special Order 138, newly commissioned radio station WCC went on to become the largest US coastal station in the marine service.  This is our newest exhibit, Chatham Maritime Radio - 1921. 

   You will then visit the Wireless Today Gallery which chronicles the digital revolution shaping our lives today, when wireless is everywhere.  Learn to how ships at sea off Cape Cod are located in real time and how wildlife from Great White sharks to migrating birds are tracked by scientists.  Peer inside a smart phone, count the many wireless devices that surround you, and find out how radio direction finding works.  A "Radio to the Rescue" theme continues through 2021 with additional exhibits, fascinating speakers and special events.  Early wireless communication ended isolation at sea and helped save countless lives.  Learn the poignant story of the SS Marine Electric disaster of 1983, and how radio and satellite technology keep mariners safe today.  

   After your museum visit is over, or at any other time during daylight hours, walk the Antenna Field Trail.  The trail is a winding path through the flora and fauna of Cape Cod with interpretive signs identifying and describing the station?s various radio antennas.  

Thank you in advance for visiting us, and while you're here be sure to shop our Museum Store!