WADSWORTH SALES INCORPORATED

Working in secrecy, he planned a surprise for a 9 p.m. broadcast on Christmas Eve in 1906. With the assistance of his wife and trusted employees, he scripted a program of music and Bible readings. Shipboard operators had been tipped to listen for something special during the December 24 transmission, but no one could have anticipated what was planned. At the appointed hour, radio operators across the North Atlantic were surprised to hear voice coming from their radios, calling "CQ, CQ". It was Fessenden beginning the first "radio" program. After a brief introduction, Handel's "Largo" was played from an Edison wax cylinder phonograph, followed by the inventor playing "O, Holy Night" on his violin. The planned Bible reading by Mrs. Fessenden and his secretary had to be quickly covered by the inventor as the first reported cases of microphone fright and dead air occurred when both women froze.

After Fessenden's historic feat, thousands of inquisitive hobbyists began to experiment with this new fangled technology called Radio. They were, and are still, called "amateur" radio operators. Commercial broadcasting didn't begin for another 14 years after Fessenden's historic Christmas Eve broadcast. They labored in attics, barns, garages and cellars to perfect what we now call radio.

In 1912, Congress passed the first laws regulating radio transmissions in the U.S. By 1914, amateur experimenters were communicating nationwide, and setting up a system to relay messages from coast to coast (This is where the name "ARRL - American Radio Relay League, and then The National Association for Amateur Radio" came from!). In 1927, the precursor agency to the FCC was created by Congress and specific frequencies were assigned for various uses, including the ones set aside for Amateur Radio.

 

  

Amateur radio operators, also known as "hams", continued to be at the forefront of developing technologies years in advance of when they are rolled out to the public. FM, television, and even cellular telephones were all used by amateur radio operators many years ahead of the public.

 

 

 

Amateur Radio Today

  

Amateur Radio's public service story--now available on video!

Narrated by former CBS news anchorman Walter Cronkite, KB2GSD, Amateur Radio Today showcases the public service contributions made by hams throughout the country.

Highlights include:

• ham radio's response on September 11, 2001

• ham radio's part in helping various agencies respond to wildfires in the Western US during 2002

• ham radio-in-space educational initiatives

This excellent promotional video was directed by Dave Bell, W6AQ and written by Alan Kaul, W6RCL. It was produced by Dave Bell, W6AQ, Alan Kaul, W6RCL, Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, Bill Baker, W1BKR and edited by Keith Glispie, WA6TFD

 

Amateur Radio Today is ideal for presentation at clubs, government meetings, civic organizations and any other venue where you want to vividly illustrate what Amateur Radio has to offer the public. The total running time is just 6 minutes.

 

The digital version of Amateur Radio Today is available in MPEG video format, which can be played by Windows Media Player, Apple QuickTime or RealPlayer software. It can be run from the CD or copied to your hard drive.

 

You can download Amateur Radio Today now (70 Mbytes, MPEG-1 format) or its open-captioned (subtitled) version at no cost!

CLICK ON >>> HAM RADIO TODAY DOWN LOAD PAGE <<< CLICK ON

 

 

 

THE LARGEST HAMFEST EACH YEAR IN DAYTON OHIO

 

 

 

 

FOR MORE HISTORY ON THE FIRST "RADIO CLUB OF AMERICA"

 >>>http://www.radioclubofamerica.org/history.php <<< CLICK ON

 

What is Ham Radio?
A housewife in North Carolina makes friends over the radio with another ham in Lithuania. An Ohio teenager uses his computer to upload a digital chess move to an orbiting space satellite, where it's retrieved by a fellow chess enthusiast in Japan. An aircraft engineer in Florida participating in a "DX contest" swaps his call sign and talks to hams in 100 different countries during a single weekend. In California, volunteers save lives as part of their involvement in an emergency response. And from his room in Chicago, a ham's pocket-sized hand-held radio allows him to talk to friends in the Carolinas. This unique mix of fun, public service and convenience is the distinguishing characteristic of Amateur Radio. Although hams get involved for many reasons, they all have in common a basic knowledge of radio technology and operating principles, and pass an examination for the FCC license to operate on radio frequencies known as the "Amateur Bands." These bands are radio frequencies reserved by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for use by hams at intervals from just above the AM broadcast band all the way up into extremely high microwave frequencies.

Who's the Typical Ham?
Amateur Radio operators come from all walks of life -- movie stars, missionaries, doctors, students, politicians, truck drivers and just plain folks. They are all ages, sexes, income levels and nationalities. They say Hello to the world in many languages and many ways. But whether they prefer Morse code on an old brass telegraph key, voice communication on a hand-held radio, or computerized messages transmitted via satellite, they all have an interest in what's happening in the world, and they use radio to reach out.

What's the Appeal of Ham Radio?
Some hams are attracted by the ability to communicate across the country, around the globe, or even with astronauts on space missions. Others may like to build and experiment with electronics. Computer hobbyists enjoy using Amateur Radio's digital communications opportunities. Those with a competitive streak enjoy "DX contests," where the object is to see how many hams in distant locations they can contact. Some like the convenience of a technology that gives them portable communication. Mostly we use it to open the door to new friendships over the air or through participation in one of more than 2000 Amateur Radio clubs throughout the country. Read real person comments in "Why I Love It!".

Why Do You Need a License?
Although the main purpose of Amateur Radio is fun, it is called the "Amateur Radio Service" because it also has a serious face. The FCC created this "Service" to fill the need for a pool of experts who could provide backup during emergencies. In addition, the FCC acknowledged the ability of the hobby to advance the communication and technical skills of radio, and to enhance international goodwill. This philosophy has paid off. Countless lives have been saved where skilled hobbyists act as emergency communicators to render aid, whether it's during an earthquake in Italy or a hurricane in the U.S.

Why Do They Call Themselves "Hams"?
"Ham: a poor operator. A 'plug.'"

That's the definition of the word given in G. M. Dodge's "The Telegraph Instructor" even before there was radio. The definition has never changed in wire telegraphy. The first wireless operators were landline telegraphers who left their offices to go to sea or to man the coastal stations. They brought with them their language and much of the tradition of their older profession. In those early days, every station occupied the same wavelength-or, more accurately perhaps, every station occupied the whole spectrum with its broad spark signal. Government stations, ships, coastal stations and the increasingly numerous amateur operators all competed for time and signal supremacy in each other's receivers. Many of the amateur stations were very powerful. Two amateurs, working each other across town, could effectively jam all the other operations in the area. Frustrated commercial operators would refer to the ham radio interference by calling them "hams." Amateurs, possibly unfamiliar with the real meaning of the term, picked it up and applied it to themselves in true "Yankee Doodle" fashion and wore it with pride. As the years advanced, the original meaning has completely disappeared.

Do I Have to Learn Morse Code?
Not any more! While many hams LIKE to use Morse code, it is not required.

What are the Amateur Radio Bands?
Look at the dial on an old AM radio and you'll see frequencies marked from 535 to 1605 kilohertz. This is one radio "band." There are other bands of radio spectrum for amateur, government, military and commercial radio uses. If you could hear the many different bands, you would find aircraft, ship, fire and police communication, as well as the so-called "shortwave" stations, which are worldwide commercial and government broadcast stations from the U.S. and overseas. Amateurs are allocated 26 bands (i.e., specific groups of frequencies) spaced from 1.8 Megahertz, which is just above the broadcast radio frequencies, all the way up to 275 Gigahertz! Depending on which band we use, we can talk across town, around the world, or out to satellites in space. Hams can even bounce signals off the moon!

How Much Does it Cost?
Basic study materials for passing the FCC test and getting your initial license usually cost less than $40. There are also classes held by many local groups for people who want more interaction. If possible, taking part in one of these classes is the best way to go, but there's even an online course you can take if your personal schedule is too hectic. Once you have your first license, most hams find it best to start with simple equipment and grow over time. It usually costs less than $200 to get your own first radio and start saying Hello. Many ham radio flea markets are held all over the country that sell good used equipment for even less.

What is the ARRL?
Founded in 1914, the 150,000-member ARRL - The National Association for Amateur Radio is the national association for Amateur Radio in the USA. Other countries also have their own national associations. The ARRL not only reflects the commitment and many enthusiasms of American hams, but also provides leadership as the voice of Amateur Radio in the USA, whether in dealings with the Federal Communications Commission, the World Administrative Radio Conference, the International Amateur Radio Union, or with the general public. The ARRL is the primary source of information about what is going on in the ham radio world. It provides books, news, support and information for individuals and clubs, special operating events, all sorts of continuing education classes and other benefits for its members. Being a member of the ARRL is important for hams!

Where Do I Get More Information?
The best ways to learn about Amateur Radio is to talk to hams face-to-face. Hams take pride in their ability to "Elmer" (teach) newcomers the ropes to get them started in the hobby. There is probably an Amateur Radio club near you that will welcome your interest. To find out who to contact in your area,

 

SOME COMMENTS FROM AMATEURS ABOUT OUR HOBBY

Long before receiving my license, ham radio has been synonymous with the word "FUN" for me because of the wonderful experience of making new friends at Field Days as well as national and international gatherings that I attended with my husband, Reinhard, DL1UF. My competitive streak resonates with the exciting activity of contesting and DX'ing, which led me to jump right into an ARRL VHF QSO Party and make more than enough radio contacts around the country to win my first award only two months after getting my own callsign. Working as a Medical Technologist in a hospital setting, I quickly gained an appreciation for the importance of Emergency Communication and now aim to be trained and become a valuable part of the Amateur Radio Emergency Services so that I can contribute during emergency situations in our nation.
Ingrid S. Geissler, W7ISG

What's not to love? There's challenges - testing for the license, contests, and awards. There's fun - events, clubs, and friends in all parts of the world. There's satisfaction - communications for public events, emergency communications for disasters and delivering a radiogram that says "Happy Mother's Day." There's life-long learning - new equipment, new kinds of radio transmissions, geography, and electronics. There's your unique name - your amateur radio call sign. There's something for everyone.
Sherri Brower, W4STB
Vero Beach, FL

Amateur Radio is a never-ending journey, because (as for true travellers in ancient times) its aim is not the destination, but the journey itself. My experience has been rewarding in many ways, mainly from a human point of view. I have made friends that have become life-time friends. We have searched and done things together. We have succeeded. We have failed. We have always tried. By trying to improve ourselves, we have shared opinions and knowledge with others. I started more than 40 years ago, when I was 12, and still feel the excitement as it were the first day. That's why I love ham radio.
Luigi Belvederi, I4AWX / AB1FJ
President of the Italian Amateur Radio Society

Ham Radio is always there, even when you don't think about it. For me, just knowing that 'when all else fails' there is a form of communications that has withstood the test of time. As I look around and watch old ways of communications constantly being updated by newer, more modern forms like digital communications, I can still get excited about making a contact. What other hobby/public service can you reach out across the world and know if you were in need, the hams would always be there? It's like landing in a foreign country, not knowing anyone, then stepping off the plane and reaching out through ham radio, and knowing that you would have a place to stay. That's the magic of ham radio.
Joyce Birmingham, KA2ANF

Amateur Radio is all about Magic! It's magic to talk to a complete stranger on the other side of the world while sitting in my car watching my son's football practice. It's magic to watch the eyes of a child light up when they talk to an astronaut on the International Space Station. It's magic to see the relief in a mother's face because the Amateur Radio operators providing communications at the county fair found her lost child. It's magic to see the excitement on the face of my son after getting his license and making his first contact. And who said magic isn't real.
Kevin O'Dell, N0IRW
Ardmore, OK

"Had this been an actual emergency, you would be instructed where to tune." This is something we have heard a billion times, but as hams we know where to turn--the frequencies reserved for us by treaty, so we can provide community service. And the community is world-wide--tsunamis in Thailand; hurricanes in America; mudslides in the Phillipines, etc. But through it all, ham radio was there helping and it made no difference if the operators were young or old, able-bodied or impaired, black, white or blue--they were there to help and that is why I love ham radio.
Jim McDonald, KB9LEI
Muncie, IN

Ham radio is a reflection of our world in miniature. There are so many wide ranging interests, so many fascinating people all with so much dedication and passion for the service they love. And just think of it -- decades of public service and friendships that extend across town across the country and around the world. And you'll find every walk of life and every generation in ham radio. It's fascinating and challenging and rewarding! It's unique! So say "Hello", get on the air and see for yourself!
Mary M. Hobart, K1MMH
Newington, CT

 
If you would like to step into the world of Ham Radio, choose one of the following steps, or pick all three to speed things along:

 

1. Find and join a supportive amateur radio club near you. Some clubs are specifically set up as "mentor" clubs to help people get into the hobby. So when looking through the list of clubs, look for those that offer "help for newcomers". 

                        CLICK ON >>> CLUB SEARCH PAGE <<< CLICK ON

2. Join the ARRL - The National Association for Amateur Radio. 

                       CLICK ON >>> JOIN THE ARRL <<< CLICK ON 

3. Do it yourself -- Books and more from the ARRL.

                       CLICK ON >>> ARRL BOOKS <<< CLICK ON

 

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MORE HOW TO BECOME A HAM INFORMATION

 

CLICK ON THE LINKS IN BLUE BELOW TO GO TO THE SITE

 

http://www.qrz.com/i/howtoham.html

 

http://www.eham.net/newham/howtobecome

 

http://www.nparc.org/becomeham.htm

 

http://www.wikihow.com/Become-an-Amateur-Radio-Operator(or-Ham-Operator)-in-the-USA

 

http://howto.wired.com/wiki/Become_a_Ham_Radio_Operator

 

http://www.weca.org/become_a_ham.htm

 

http://www.hamradio-online.com/firstlicense.html

 

http://www.athensarc.org/becomeaham.asp

 

http://hamslife2.blogspot.com/2007/08/difference-between-ham-radio-and-cb.html

 

http://www.kf4l.org/becomeaham.htm

 

http://www.kwarc.org/kw-howto.html   <<< FOR CANADA

 

NICE PAGE ON HAM RADIO STUDY GUIDES AND OTHER RADIO STUDY GUIDES

 

http://www.appliancepartspros.com/radio-study-guides.aspx

 

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 FOR AN EXCELLENT ARTICLE ON THE "HISTORY OF AMATEUR RADIO"

 

>>> http://www.astrosurf.com/luxorion/qsl-ham-history.htm <<<

 

About this history

Since 2004, extracts of this history have been used by Ian Grinter and Kevin Crockett, VK3CKC, to write the academic cursus on Technological pathway to the modern HF transceiver in the frame of the australian Advanced Diploma of Electronics.

"It's a nice summary of the history of Amateur Radio", Joel P.Kleinman, N1BKE, Managing Editor QST, ARRL

"Your dossier was added to the Web Links section. Thank you Thierry! ", Tom Hogerty, KC1J, ARRL Web Services. The link is listed under Ham Radio History links (TIS section, where you will also find a link to my propagation pages).

"Wonderful work!! Congratulations!!", Mitsuhiro SUGAWARA, JN1LQH, Manager International Section, JARL

"Bravo! You've done a wonderful job!  This is a work of which you should be very proud", Dick Ross, K2MGA, Publisher CQ magazine.

"This is a truly amazing piece of work!  Congratulations on a true masterpiece ! I would definitely like to add a link to it on the museum site - it is an incredible resource!", John Jenkins, The Spark Museum.

"I am very impressed with your site - thank you for your work [...]. We have an "Education Hour" once a week for one hour and we read material, and have talks over amateur radio [including the reading of some of the] material presented in your great "History of Amateur Radio"", Ron Bertrand, VK2DQ, Radio & Electronics School.

"Thankyou for your wonderful work about hamradio history. We have printed it and use as a study and divulgation document in our Club. We just wanted you to know how useful is and that we are using and enjoying it", Galdino Besomi, CE3PG, CE3AA - Radio Club de CHILE.

 

THE AUTHOR

http://www.astrosurf.com/luxorion/menu-qsl.htm <<< CLICK ON

 

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FAMOUS INVENTORS

 

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN

(January 17, 1706 – April 17, 1790)

 

In 1743, Franklin founded the American Philosophical Society to help scientific men discuss their discoveries and theories. He began the electrical research that, along with other scientific inquiries, would occupy him for the rest of his life, in between bouts of politics and moneymaking

 

In 1748, he retired from printing and went into other businesses. He created a partnership with his foreman, David Hall, which provided Franklin with half of the shop's profits for 18 years. This lucrative business arrangement provided leisure time for study, and in a few years he had made discoveries that gave him a reputation with the educated throughout Europe and especially in France.

 

His discoveries included his investigations of electricity. Franklin proposed that "vitreous" and "resinous" electricity were not different types of "electrical fluid" (as electricity was called then), but the same electrical fluid under different pressures. He was the first to label them as positive and negative respectively, and he was the first to discover the principle of conservation of charge. In 1750, he published a proposal for an experiment to prove that lightning is electricity by flying a kite in a storm that appeared capable of becoming a lightning storm. On May 10, 1752, Thomas-François Dalibard of France conducted Franklin's experiment (using a 40-foot (12 m)-tall iron rod instead of a kite) and extracted electrical sparks from a cloud. On June 15, Franklin may have possibly conducted his famous kite experiment in Philadelphia and also successfully extracted sparks from a cloud, although there are theories that suggest he never performed the experiment. 

 

Franklin's experiment was not written up until Joseph Priestley's 1767 History and Present Status of Electricity; the evidence shows that Franklin was insulated (not in a conducting path, since he would have been in danger of electrocution in the event of a lightning strike). Others, such as Prof. Georg Wilhelm Richmann of Saint Petersburg, Russia, were electrocuted during the months following Franklin's experiment. In his writings, Franklin indicates that he was aware of the dangers and offered alternative ways to demonstrate that lightning was electrical, as shown by his use of the concept of electrical ground. If Franklin did perform this experiment, he did not do it in the way that is often described, flying the kite and waiting to be struck by lightning, as it would have been fatal. Instead, he used the kite to collect some electric charge from a storm cloud, which implied that lightning was electrical.

 

On October 19 in a letter to England explaining directions for repeating the experiment, Franklin wrote:

"When rain has wet the kite twine so that it can conduct the electric fire freely, you will find it streams out plentifully from the key at the approach of your knuckle, and with this key a phial, or Leiden jar, maybe charged: and from electric fire thus obtained spirits may be kindled, and all other electric experiments [may be] performed which are usually done by the help of a rubber glass globe or tube; and therefore the sameness of the electrical matter with that of lightening completely demonstrated."

Franklin's electrical experiments led to his invention of the lightning rod. He noted that conductors with a sharp rather than a smooth point were capable of discharging silently, and at a far greater distance. He surmised that this knowledge could be of use in protecting buildings from lightning, by attaching "upright Rods of Iron, made sharp as a Needle and gilt to prevent Rusting, and from the Foot of those Rods a Wire down the outside of the Building into the Ground;...Would not these pointed Rods probably draw the Electrical Fire silently out of a Cloud before it came nigh enough to strike, and thereby secure us from that most sudden and terrible Mischief!" Following a series of experiments on Franklin's own house, lightning rods were installed on the Academy of Philadelphia (later the University of Pennsylvania) and the Pennsylvania State House (later Independence Hall) in 1752.

 

In recognition of his work with electricity, Franklin received the Royal Society's Copley Medal in 1753, and in 1756 he became one of the few eighteenth century Americans to be elected as a Fellow of the Society. The cgs unit of electric charge has been named after him: one franklin (Fr) is equal to one statcoulomb.

 

CLICK ON >>> WIKIPEDIA ARTICLE ON FRANKLIN <<< CLICK ON.

 

 

Ben Franklin invented the first Weather Radio

 

 

CLICK ON >>> FRANKLIN'S LIGHTNING BELLS PDF <<< CLICK ON

 

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Welcome to my "virtual" radio and scientific instruments museum where I display the radios and other items I have collected over the past 35+ years. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

 

 CLICK ON >>> http://www.sparkmuseum.com <<< CLICK ON

 

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Thomas Alva Edison

(February 11, 1847 – October 18, 1931)

 

An American inventor and businessman who developed many devices that greatly influenced life around the world, including the phonograph and the long-lasting, practical electric light bulb. Dubbed "The Wizard of Menlo Park" by a newspaper reporter, he was one of the first inventors to apply the principles of mass production and large teamwork to the process of invention, and therefore is often credited with the creation of the first industrial research laboratory.

 

Edison is considered one of the most prolific inventors in history, holding 1,093 U.S. patents in his name, as well as many patents in the United Kingdom, France and Germany. He is credited with numerous inventions that contributed to mass communication and, in particular, telecommunications. His advanced work in these fields was an outgrowth of his early career as a telegraph operator. Edison originated the concept and implementation of electric-power generation and distribution to homes, businesses, and factories - a crucial development in the modern industrialized world. His first power plant was on Manhattan Island, New York

 

CLICK ON >>> WIKIPEDIA ARTICLE ON EDISON <<< CLICK ON.

 

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Albert Einstein

(March 14, 1879 – April 18, 1955) 

 

A German-born theoretical physicist. He is best known for his theory of relativity and specifically mass–energy equivalence, expressed by the equation E = mc². Einstein received the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics "for his services to Theoretical Physics, and especially for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect."

 

Einstein's many contributions to physics include his special theory of relativity, which reconciled mechanics with electromagnetism, and his general theory of relativity, which was intended to extend the principle of relativity to non-uniform motion and to provide a new theory of gravitation.

 

His other contributions include advances in the fields of relativistic cosmology, capillary action, critical opalescence, classical problems of statistical mechanics and their application to quantum theory, an explanation of the Brownian movement of molecules, atomic transition probabilities, the quantum theory of a monatomic gas, thermal properties of light with low radiation density (which laid the foundation for the photon theory), a theory of radiation including stimulated emission, the conception of a unified field theory, and the geometrization of physics.

 

Einstein published over 300 scientific works and over 150 non-scientific works. In 1999 Time magazine named him the "Person of the Century". In wider culture the name "Einstein" has become synonymous with genius, and he has since been regarded as one of the most influential people in human history.

 

CLICK ON >>> WIKIPEDIA ARTICLE ON EINSTEIN <<< CLICK ON.

 

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FOR A GREAT HISTORY ON ELECTRICITY & WIRELESS + AMATEUR RADIO VHF

 

A Scientific Inquiry of Electricity ~ Chapter 1

&

The Birth of Wireless ~ Chapter 2

 

CLICK ON >>> A History of Amateur Radio VHF Activities <<< CLICK ON

 

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 FROM THE EARLY USA RADIO HISTORY WEBSITE

 

In January of 1898, British Leslie Miller published an article in the British hobby magazine “The Model Engineer and Amateur Electrician”, encouraging experimenters in the new field of "Wireless". The first US construction article of a wireless device appeared in the “American Electrician” magazine in July 1899, and this article was eagerly sought out  by wireless experimenters starving for information on how to build a wireless. Other construction articles also appeared over the next few years.

 

CLICK ON >>> THE APPARATUS FOR WIRELESS TELEGRAPHY <<< CLICK ON

 

THIS SECTION HAS ALL "WORD DOCUMENTS" AND THEY WILL OPEN AUTOMATICALLY WITH MS WORD PRESUMING YOU HAVE IT ON YOUR COMPUTER

 

THE FIRST "RADIO AMATEURS" IN CALIFORNIA IN 1904 <<< CLICK ON

 

WIRELESS AMATEUR RADIO STATION IN A HENHOUSE 1906 <<< CLICK ON

 

AMATEUR STATIONS AND SELECTIVE TUNING 1909 <<< CLICK ON

  

HOW TO BECOME A WIRELESS OPERATOR 1916 <<< CLICK ON

 

CLICK ON >>> EARLY USA RADIO HISTORY WEBSITE LINK <<< CLICK ON

 

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FAMOUS RADIO INVENTORS

AND EARLY RADIOS

Heinrich Rudolf Hertz (February 2, 1857 – January 1, 1894) was a German physicist who clarified and expanded the electromagnetic theory of light that had been put forth by Maxwell. He was the first to satisfactorily demonstrate the existence of electromagnetic waves by building an apparatus to produce and detect VHF or UHF radio waves.

RECREATION OF THE HERTZ ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES EXPERIMENT PDF DOWNLOAD

Tesla is best known for many revolutionary contributions in the field of electricity and magnetism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Tesla's patents and theoretical work formed the basis of modern alternating current electric power (AC) systems, including the polyphase power distribution systems and the AC motor, with which he helped usher in the Second Industrial Revolution. Contemporary biographers of Tesla have regarded him as "The Father of Physics", "The man who invented the twentieth century" and "the patron saint of modern electricity."

In Tesla's own words:

"The popular impression is that my wireless work was begun in 1893, but as a matter of fact I spent the two preceding years in investigations, employing forms of apparatus, some of which were almost like those of today.

 

Early on in his research Tesla used his high voltage resonance transformer — the Tesla coil — in radio-wave propagation experiments.

 

Marconi's reputation is largely based on these accomplishments in radio communications and commercializing a practical system. His demonstrations of the use of radio for wireless communications, equipping ships with life saving wireless communications, establishing the first transatlantic radio service, and building the first stations for the British short wave service, have marked his place in history.

In 1902, Marconi transmitted from his station in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, Canada, across the atlantic and on 18 January 1903 a Marconi station built near Wellfleet, Massachusetts in 1901 sent a message of greetings from Theodore Roosevelt, the President of the United States, to King Edward VII of the United Kingdom, marking the first transatlantic radio transmission originating in the United States.

The U. S. Supreme Court stated that,

In making their decision, the court noted,

The court also stated that,

"It is well established that as between two inventors priority of invention will be awarded to the one who by satisfying proof can show that he first conceived of the invention."

Shortly before he died, Edison said that his biggest mistake had been in trying to develop directed current, rather than the vastly superior alternating current system that Tesla had put within his grasp.

Tesla died of heart failure alone in room 3327 of the New Yorker Hotel, some time between the evening of 5 January and the morning of 8 January 1943, at the age of 86. Despite having sold his AC electricity patents, Tesla was destitute and died with significant debts. Later that year the US Supreme Court upheld Tesla's patent number, in effect recognizing him as the inventor of radio.

The Audion is an electronic amplifier device invented by Lee De Forest in 1905. It was the forerunner of what is generally known as a triode today, in which the current from the filament to the plate was controlled by a third element, the grid. A small amount of power applied to the grid could control a larger current from the filament to the plate, allowing the Audion to both "detect" radio signals (that is, make them audible) and to provide a modest amount of amplification.

In 1914 Edwin Armstrong published an explanation of the Audion, and when the two later faced each other in a dispute over the regeneration patent, Armstrong was able to demonstrate conclusively that De Forest still had no idea how it worked.

Lee De Forest filed a patent in 1916 that became the cause of a contentious lawsuit with the prolific inventor Armstrong, whose patent for the regenerative circuit had been issued in 1914. The lawsuit lasted twelve years, winding its way through the appeals process and ending up at the Supreme Court. The Court ruled in favor of De Forest, although the experts agree that the incorrect judgement had been issued.

BUT THE TRUE GENIUS OF MODERN RADIO WHO INVENTED THE ABOVE RECEIVER DESIGN

EDWIN ARMSTRONG FIGURED OUT EXACTLY WHAT TO DO WITH THE "AUDION"

Many of Armstrong's inventions were ultimately claimed by others in patent lawsuits. In particular, the regenerative circuit, which Armstrong patented in 1914 as a "wireless receiving system," was subsequently patented by Lee De Forest in 1916; De Forest then sold the rights to his patent to AT&T. Between 1922 and 1934, Armstrong found himself embroiled in a patent war, between himself, RCA, and Westinghouse on one side, and De Forest and AT&T on the other. At the time, this action was the longest patent lawsuit ever litigated, at 12 years. Armstrong won the first round of the lawsuit, lost the second, and stalemated in a third. Before the Supreme Court of the United States, De Forest was granted the regeneration patent in what is today widely believed to be a misunderstanding of the technical facts by the Supreme Court.

THE ACTUAL INVENTION THAT HE MADE AS A THIRD YEAR UNDERGRADUATE 

WHILE ATTENDING COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY IN NEW YORK ~ THE "REGENERATIVE RECEIVER"

While still a boy, Armstrong set about becoming an inventor. His homemade radio equipment eventually filled his bedroom, and during high school, He built a 125–foot antenna pole, the tallest in the area, in the south yard. His younger sister, Edith (“Cricket”), helped in the construction, holding the guy wires and handing him buckets of paint as he swung aloft in a boatswain’s chair. Neighbors watched with awe and apprehension. His mother, however, had complete faith in her son. When a neighbor telephoned to say that Howard was at the top of the pole and it made her nervous to watch, “Don’t look, then,” was her reply.

1032 Warburton Avenue, Yonkers, New York

When Howard was fourteen years old, his father who was American representative for Oxford University Press, bought him (on one of his yearly trips to London) a book, The Boy’s Book of Inventions. Reading of Guglielmo Marconi’s sending of the first wireless message across the Atlantic so excited his imagination that he determined then and there to become an inventor. In his attic room in the cupola overlooking the Hudson River, Howard Armstrong began tinkering with radio. In those days, broadcast sound consisted of Morse code signals picked up with earphones. The incipient young inventor set out to make them louder. He was dogged in his search and developed at this early age a capacity for infinite patience in his experiments which was to mark his life’s work. “Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety–nine percent perspiration,” he used to say in later years, quoting Thomas Edison.

Armstrong made his first important discovery while studying engineering at Columbia University. During the summer of 1912, he created a new regenerative circuit and tested this device in the turret room of the Yonkers house. Armstrong received distant stations loudly enough to be heard without earphones, not possible before the creation of this circuit. Armstrong's regenerative circuit was the first radio amplifier and it became the basis of the continuous-wave transmitter that remains key to radio broadcasting. His sister, Ethel, remembers vividly the night it happened. “Mother and Father were out playing cards with friends and I was fast asleep in bed. All of a sudden Howard burst into my room carrying a small box. He danced round and round the room shouting, ’I’ve done it! I’ve done it!’ I really don’t remember the sounds from the box. I was so groggy, just having been wakened. I just remember how excited he was.”

1975 PHOTO OF THE CHILDHOOD HOME OF EDWIN ARMSTRONG

1032 Warburton Avenue, Yonkers, New York

Regenerative circuits were employed in early radio receivers and are still built by electronics experimenters and students. A regenerative circuit is often an AM detector, converting the RF signal on the antenna to an audio waveform. Their use of positive feedback greatly increases both the selectivity and sensitivity of a simple receiver. Positive feedback builds up the input signal to very high levels.

For AM signals, the detector is kept operating just below RF oscillation. For single sideband and the unmodulated RF used in code reception, the circuit is operated at a level above oscillation to provide the necessary "beat note" (heterodyne), as these two transmission modes require a local oscillation to be understood.

Although vacuum tubes were used on the early designs, modern transistors (bipolar, JFET etc.) are often used today. Typical regenerative gains for these devices are: bipolar transistor, 100,000; JFET 20,000, and vacuum tube: a few thousand. This is quite dramatic considering the fact that the non regenerative gain of these devices (at RF frequencies) is very low (often 20 or less). In addition to increasing gain, regeneration also greatly improves selectivity (simply stated the ability to separate stations on a crowded band).

A final, often overlooked benefit is that regenerative radios, like their tuned-radio-frequency cousins, tend to provide very high quality, low distortion audio. With a hi-fi shortwave broadcast, their sound quality can be quite impressive.

1BCG generated a lot of attention. Here, center of the front row, Professor Pupin is paying a visit

"to see what the boys are doing".

One of the greatest achievements in amateur radio history was the spanning of the Atlantic by shortwave (~200 meters) in December of 1921. Up until that time it took huge and expensive machines like the GE built Alexanderson alternator and the massive Federal Telegraph Co. arc converters, generating up to a megawatt of energy, to perform this same task.

For less than $1,000.00 worth of parts, this group of Radio Club of America members foreshadowed what would soon be total domination of long distance radio by shortwave.

The transatlantic tests were sponsored by the ARRL and Paul Godley was the man they sent to Scotland to attempt reception (using a specially constructed superheterodyne receiver). The Radio Club station, 1BCG, at Greenwich, Conn., manned by Messrs. Amy, Burghard, Grinan, Cronkhite and Armstrong, broke all the records for long distance shortwave work during the tests.

ARMSTRONG ALWAYS LOVED TO CLIMB TOWERS EVEN FROM HIS TEEN YEARS

On May 15, 1923, opening day of RCA's Radio Broadcast Central

(Stations WJY and WJZ at Aeolian Hall in NYC)

Armstrong couldn't resist expressing himself.

DURING WW I HE WENT ON TO DESIGN THE "SUPERHETRODYNE RECEIVER"

THE MODERN RECEIVER THAT IS THE BASIS OF 98% OF ALL RECEIVERS TODAY.

EDWIN HAD ONE MORE INVENTION THAT REALLY TURNED THE RADIO WORLD

UPSIDE DOWN ~ FM RADIO ~ NO MORE STATIC

PURE QUIET WIDE BAND FREQUENCY MODULATION

Even as the regenerative-circuit lawsuit continued, Armstrong was working on another momentous invention. While working in the basement lab of Columbia's Philosophy Hall, he created wide-band frequency modulation radio (FM).  Armstrong continued to innovate. He started to work on the "static problem" which plagued early radios, despite some colleague's assertion that static could never be eliminated. At the time, radio was transmitted via Amplitude Modulation (AM), which varied the amplitude of the radio waves. This gave the signal a much wider reach, but resulted in poor-quality sound. Armstrong sought to improve the signal quality by instead varying the radio waves' frequency, creating Frequency Modulation radio (FM). He won a patent for FM radio in 1933, and the following year he did his first field test when he broadcast an organ recital in AM and FM signals from the top of the Empire State Building. The AM broadcast was static-filled and the FM broadcast was clean and rich. Listeners were shocked by the difference. Later, in experiment after experiment he proved the on-air differences and improvements in sound.

However, FM radio proved to be too revolutionary for RCA (Radio Corporation of America). He was asked to remove his transmitting equipment from RCA's Empire State Building offices after his 1935 demonstrations of the technology, in order to make way for television equipment.

IN 1937 HE BEGAN CONSTRUCTION OF W2XMN THE FIRST FM STATION

The tower and its accompanying radio station were built in 1938 at a cost of over $300,000 by Edwin Howard Armstrong, pioneer radio inventor, to demonstrate the superiority of his new system of radio broadcasting

GENERAL ELECTRIC FM RADIO ~ ARMSTRONG ORDERED 25 OF THESE IN 1937

EDWIN SUNK ALL OF HIS HEART, SOUL AND MONEY INTO FM RADIO

BY 1938 THE STATION WAS READY AND WENT ON THE AIR.

RECENT PHOTO OF THE W2XMN BUILDING

 CURRENT PHOTO OF THE W2XMN TOWER

Armstrong went on to prove that FM was capable of dual-channel transmissions, allowing for stereo sound. This capability of FM could also be used to send two separate non-stereo programs, or a facsimile and telegraph message simultaneously in a process called multiplexing. He even successfully bounced a FM signal off the moon, something not possible with AM signals.

IN 1940 THIS ARTICLE MADE PRINT IN AMERICAN MAGAZINE

IN 1947 HE VISITS THE BOYHOOD BEDROOM IN YONKERS, NY WHERE IT HAD ALL BEGUN

RCA began to lobby for a change in the law or FCC regulations that would prevent FM radios from becoming dominant. By June 1945, the RCA had pushed the FCC hard on the allocation of electromagnetic frequencies for the fledgling television industry.

Although they denied wrongdoing, David Sarnoff and RCA managed to get the FCC to move the FM radio spectrum from (42-50 MHz), to (88-108 MHz), while getting new television channels allocated in the 40-MHz range.

More than half a million FM receivers and some 50 transmitting stations would be rendered obsolete. But the worse fear for Armstrong would be a loss of confidence in FM by the growing number of faithful hi-fi listeners. This move to higher frequencies, however, proved to be only a temporary setback for FM. By 1950 there were over 600 FM stations on the air and Armstrong had collected close to $2,000,000.00 in FM receiver royalties.

What this radio genius could have accomplished later in life will never be known....

MRS. ARMSTRONG ENDED UP FILING LAWSUITS AGAINST ALL THE BIG CORPORATIONS

WHO ENDED UP GOING TO FM AFTER ALL ~ AND SHE WON LARGE SETTLEMENTS

EVENTUALLY FROM EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THEM.

On October 9, 1967, the Supreme Court ruled against Motorola on the final FM infringement suit. After fifty-three years of patent litigation, and thirteen years after his death, Edwin Armstrong could finally rest.

Marion Armstrong passed away on August 8, 1979.

It took decades following Armstrong's death for FM broadcasting to meet and surpass the saturation of the AM band, and longer still for FM radio to become profitable for broadcasters. Armstrong was of the opinion that anyone who had actual contact with the development of radio understood that the radio art was the product of experiment and work based on physical reasoning, rather than on the mathematicians' calculations and formulae

(known today as part of "mathematical physics").

The legacy of Edwin Howard Armstrong lives on every second of every day - wherever on earth a radio or television is in use, when a cell phone call is placed....when the Space Shuttle calls home - a little bit of Armstrong is at work. As great men pass before us, and as those once great men are forgotten, the few who laid the foundation must be remembered.

THE ABOVE PHOTOS AND PART OF THE STORY OF E. H. ARMSTRONG CAME FROM

Mike Katzdorn

http://users.erols.com/oldradio/

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ARMSTRONG, EDWIN HOWARD (Dec. 18, 1890 -- Jan. 31, 1954), electrical engineer and inventor of three of the basic electronic circuits underlying all modern radio, radar, and television, was born in New York City. 

 

In the summer of 1912 Armstrong devised a new regenerative circuit in which part of the current at the plate was fed back to the grid to strengthen incoming signals. Testing this concept he began getting distant stations so loudly that they could be heard without earphones. He later found that when feedback was pushed to a high level the tube produced rapid oscillations acting as a transmitter and putting out electromagnetic waves. Thus this single circuit yielded not only the first radio amplifier but also the key to the continuous-wave transmitter that is still at the heart of all radio operations.

 

Armstrong received his engineering degree in 1913. The United States was plunged into World War I and Armstrong was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Army Signal Corps and sent to Paris. He was assigned to detect possibly inaudible shortwave enemy communications and thereby created his second major invention. Adapting a technique called heterodyning he designed a complex eight-tube receiver that in tests from the Eiffel Tower amplified weak signals to a degree previously unknown. He called this the superheterodyne circuit, and although it detected no secret enemy transmissions, it is today the basic circuit used in 98 percent of all radio and television receivers.

 

As the 1920's wore on, Armstrong found himself enmeshed in a corporate war to control radio patents.

 

He had early set out to eliminate the last big problems of radio -- static. Armstrong in 1933 brought forth a wide-band frequency modulation (FM) system that in field tests gave clear reception through the most violent storms and, as a dividend, offered the highest fidelity sound yet heard in radio. It took him until 1940 to get a permit for the first FM station, erected at his own expense, on the Hudson River Palisades at Alpine, N.J. It would be another two years before the Federal Communications Commission granted him a few frequency allocations.

 

When, after a hiatus caused by World War II, FM broadcasting began to expand. Armstrong again found himself impeded by the FCC, which ordered FM into a new frequency band at limited power, and challenged by a coterie of corporations on the basic rights to his invention. Facing another long legal battle, ill and nearly drained of his resources, Armstrong committed suicide on the night of Jan. 31, 1954, by jumping from his apartment window high in New York's River House. Ultimately his widow, pressing twenty-one infringement suits against as many companies, won some $10 million in damages.

 

By the late 1960's, FM was clearly established as the superior system. Nearly 2,000 FM stations spread across the country, a majority of all radio sets sold are FM, all microwave relay links are FM, and FM is the accepted system in all space communications.

 

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Harold H. Beverage (Inventor of the Beverage Antenna) wrote a very nice forward to the Armstrong Publications where he details the life of Armstrong and his friendship with him.

 

CLICK ON >>> H. H. BEVERAGE FORWARD ON E. H. ARMSTRONG <<< CLICK ON

 

In 1938, the Radio Institute of America presented Dr. Beverage with its Armstrong Medal for his work in the development of antenna systems. The Beverage antenna, the citation said, was "the precursor of wave antennas of all types." Dr. Harold Henry Beverage, Stony Brook, NY, USA, passed away on January 27, 1993 (at age 99).

 

CLICK ON >>> Beverage Antenna Construction from W8JI <<< CLICK ON

 

 MAKE SURE TO TAKE SOME TIME AND CHECK OUT THE W8JI WEBSITE !!!

 

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THE FATHER OF RADIO BROADCASTING

 

Reginald Aubrey Fessenden (October 6, 1866 – July 22, 1932), born in East Bolton, Quebec, Canada, was a Canadian inventor, best known for his work in early radio. At the age of fourteen, Bishop's College School in Lennoxville, Quebec granted Fessenden a mathematics mastership. In late 1886, Fessenden began working directly for Thomas Edison at the inventor's new Laboratory in West Orange, New Jersey. Fessenden quickly made major advances, especially in receiver design, as he worked to develop audio reception of signals.

 

From 1890 to 1900, Fessenden worked at several manufacturing companies and became a professor of electrical engineering at Purdue University in 1892 and then chair of the electrical engineering department of the University of Pittsburgh in 1893. By 1900, Fessenden was working for the United States Weather Bureau where he evolved the heterodyne principle where two signals combined produce a third audible tone. While there, Fessenden, experimenting with a high-frequency spark transmitter, successfully transmitted speech on December 23, 1900 over a distance of about 1.6 kilometers (one mile), which appears to have been the first audio radio transmission.

 

The National  Electric Signaling Company (NESCO) was financed to carry on Fessenden's research, including the development of both a high-power rotary-spark transmitter for long-distance radiotelegraph service, and a lower-powered continuous-wave alternator-transmitter, which could be used for both telegraphic and audio transmissions. Fessenden felt that, ultimately, a continuous-wave transmitter—one that produced a pure sine-wave signal on a single frequency—would be far more efficient, particularly because it could be used for quality audio transmissions. Fessenden contracted with General Electric to help design and produce a series of high-frequency alternator-transmitters.

 

 

Photograph of Rotary Gap transmitter at Brant Rock, Ma. Ca: 1906.

 

On 21 December 1906, Fessenden made an extensive demonstration of the new alternator-transmitter at Brant Rock, showing its utility for point-to-point wireless telephony, including interconnecting his stations to the wire telephone network. A few days later, two additional demonstrations took place, which appear to be the first audio radio broadcasts of entertainment and music ever made to a general audience. On the evening of 24 December 1906 (Christmas Eve), Fessenden used the alternator-transmitter to send out a short program from Brant Rock, which included his playing the song O Holy Night on the violin and reading a passage, Luke Chapter 2, from the Bible. On 31 December, New Year's Eve, a second short program was broadcast. The main audience for both these transmissions was an unknown number of shipboard radio operators along the Atlantic Coast. Although now seen as a landmark, these two broadcasts were barely noticed at the time and soon forgotten.

 

 

Postcard image, from around 1910, of the 128 meter (420 ft) tall Brant Rock radio tower.

 

The technical achievements made by Fessenden were not matched by financial success. There were growing strains between Fessenden and the company owners, and finally Fessenden was dismissed from NESCO in January 1911. Fessenden won the initial court trial and was awarded damages, however, NESCO prevailed on appeal. The company was sold to Westinghouse in 1920, and the next year its assets, including numerous important Fessenden patents, were sold to the Radio Corporation of America, which also inherited the Fessenden legal proceedings.

 

After 1920, audio radio broadcasting became widespread, using vacuum tube transmitters rather than the alternator, but employing the continuous-wave AM signals that Fessenden had helped introduce in 1906. Although Fessenden ceased radio activities after his dismissal from NESCO in 1911, he continued to work in other fields. An inveterate tinkerer, Fessenden eventually became the holder of more than 500 patents. After settling his lawsuit with RCA, Fessenden purchased a small estate called "Wistowe" in Bermuda.

 

His legacy to radio include three of his most notable achievements: the first audio transmission by radio (1900), the first two-way transatlantic radio transmission (1906), and the first radio broadcast of entertainment and music (1906).

 

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Hiram Percy Maxim (September 2, 1869 – February 17, 1936) was co-founder of the American Radio Relay League and originally had the amateur call sign 1AW, and later W1AW, which is now the ARRL Headquarters club station call sign. His rotary spark gap transmitter "Old Betsy" has a place of honor at the ARRL Headquarters.

 

He was the son of Sir Hiram Stevens Maxim, inventor of the Maxim Machine gun. He had two sisters, Florence Maxim, who married George Albert Cutter, and Adelaide Maxim, who married Eldon Joubert, Ignace Paderewski's piano tuner.  Hiram was a mechanical engineering graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

 

Maxim tinkered with internal combustion engines before contacting the Pope Manufacturing Company about the possibility of manufacturing a gasoline-powered automobile. Albert Augustus Pope hired Maxim to run his Motor Vehicle Division. In 1899, with Maxim at the controls, the Pope Columbia, a gasoline-powered automobile, won the first closed-circuit automobile race in the US at Branford, Connecticut. Columbia later began manufacturing an electric automobile.

 

He married Josephine Hamilton, the daughter of the former Maryland Governor William T. Hamilton around 1898, and had a son, Hiram Hamilton Maxim, and a daughter, Percy, who married John Glessner Lee, the grandson of John J. Glessner. The John J. Glessner House designed by Henryin Hagerstown, Maryland, in the Hamilton family plot belonging to his wife's family.

  Hobson Richardson is now a Chicago landmark. Percy Maxim Lee was president of the League of Women Voters from 1950-1958, and testified in the U.S. Senate against Senator Joseph McCarthy in 1955.

 

Maxim is also noted as the inventor of the "Maxim Silencer", a suppressor for firearms (patented in 1909) as well as of a silencer (or muffler) for gasoline engines.

 

He created the ARRL in 1914 because he saw a need to build up an organized group of "Relay" stations to pass messages via amateur radio. This allowed messages to pass farther than any particular station of the time could reach.

 

H.P. Maxim wrote an amusing account of his youth in the book "A Genius in the Family: Sir Hiram Stevens Maxim Through a Small Son's Eyes." This book was adapted to the screen as So Goes My Love. H.P. Maxim recounted his days as an automobile pioneer in his book "Horseless Carriage Days." Also wrote the book "Life's Place in the Cosmos," an overview of contemporary science that surmised life existed outside of earth.

 

Hiram Percy Maxim was returning to his home in Hartford, Connecticut, in February, 1936, from a trip to California to visit the Lick Observatory. He fell ill and was taken from the train to a hospital in La Junta, Colorado, where he died the following day, February 17, 1936. Hiram P. Maxim was buried in the Rose Hill Cemetery

 

The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) is the national membership association for Amateur Radio operators. The League represents Amateur Radio interests to regulatory bodies, provides technical advice and assistance to Amateur Radio enthusiasts and supports a number of educational programs throughout the country. ARRL is a non-profit organization.

 

The league is the official voice for amateur radio. Hiram Percy Maxim was a 44-year-old engineer and inventor. He had a 1 kW amateur station in Hartford, Connecticut. He wanted an Audion (an elementary form of radio tube developed in 1906) for his receiver and had some trouble finding one. Eventually, he found one for sale in Springfield, MA. Hartford is only 30 miles from Springfield, but Hiram's station could not cover the distance. He found a station halfway between the two cities that were willing to relay his offer to buy the radio. Hiram realized that an organization was needed to coordinate and standardize the procedures of relaying messages. He also realized that amateur radio operators would need someone to lobby for their interests at a national level. 

 

On April 6, 1914, Hiram proposed theformation of the American Radio Relay League. The purpose of the league was to relay messages further than possible with the technology of that time. With the help of the Radio Club of Hartford, who contributed $50 and some volunteers, Hiram created an application form that explained the league's purpose and invited membership. 

 

The applications were sent to every known major station in the country. Hiram was an expert in public relations. By July, national magazines such as Popular Mechanics were writing favorable reports about the ARRL. Hiram also traveled to Washington, DC, to explain the ARRL to the Department of Commerce and the Commissioner of Navigation. 

 

By September 1914, there were 237 relay stations appointed, and traffic routes were established from Maine to Minneapolis and Seattle to Idaho. Realizing that long distances on 200 meters were not possible at that time, Hiram got the Department of Commerce to authorize special operations on 425 meters for relay stations in remote areas.

 

With the publicity came a rise in the number of amateur stations and relay stations in the league. By 1916, there were 6000 amateur licenses. The league's emphasis was on the word relay. ARRL stations were expected to handle traffic on the 6 Main Trunk Lines (3 North/South and 3 East/West) that served more than 150 cities. The general population loved the idea of coast to coast free messages. To deal with the increasing number of relay stations, the league started a magazine exclusively dealing with amateur radio, called QST.

 

 

 

W1AW Around 1970

 

Anyone interested in Amateur Radio is welcome to join the American Radio Relay League.

Only licensed radio amateurs of the US qualify for full voting membership. When you
become a member you receive a subscription to QST, Technical Information Service,
ham radio equipment insurance, outgoing QSL service, ARRL Field Organization,
operating awards, and much more.

 

Today there are more than 175, 000 members.

http://www.arrl.org/

 

 

W1AW TOWER AND ANTENNAS

 

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 Philip Neidlinger KA4KOE made a very nice matrix up called....

 

Dead Electrical Dudes - Click on the U-Selecta Dude Matrix for the PDF

 

 

Click on any of the photos and it will download a PDF on the fellow!

 

NOTE: You may have to right click on and "save target as" to DL the PDF

 

Kudos to Phillip for this nice matrix and all the work that went into it.

 

Phillip also was published in QST on an article on Military Manpack HF Radios

 

Click on >>> GREENIES PDF <<< To download the PDF

 

KA4KOE Website >>> http://www.neidlinger.us/

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INFORMATION PDF's FOR YOUR KNOWLEDGE BASE

30 Ham Radio Contesting Tips by Scot K9JY

 

NOTE: USE YOUR BROWSER RETURN ARROW TO COME BACK TO THIS PAGE

 

1. Schedule your Contests. The really great thing about contesting is they are regularly scheduled — regardless of great propagation, DXpeditions or the mood of the sun.
2. Create a contest goal. Goals are good and help motivate you while participating.
3. Contest on your terms. Contest for and be motivated by your reasons. Not everyone is out to win the contest; it could be you want to learn a new mode.
4. Have an operating plan. Having a plan provides you guidance for the contest and a baseline to compare against reality in the midst of battle.
5. Test equipment before the contest. You do want your stuff to work, right?
6. Update Multiplier Files. Downloading the latest ensures you won’t miss a juicy multiplier during the contest.
7. Read the contest rules. You’d be surprised how often this bites you — even experienced contesters.
8. Work a contest one month before the real contest. The sun rotates once a month (27 days)…so work a contest the month before to experience the propagation you will have before the one you really want to concentrate on later.
9. Test ergonomics. Sitting in a chair contesting a long while will test how well your station is laid out for operating.
10.   Have a guest op checklist. What should you bring as a guest op?
11.   Compete with a partner. Work a contest with someone in your club (together or at your individual stations). Discuss what worked and what didn’t about the contest.
12.   Review Newsletter for Contest DXpeditions. Lots of people travel for contests. Make sure you take a look at the list from your favorite ham radio newsletter.
13.   Have propagation plan. Propagation programs can suggest what will be open where. Having a propagation plan can give you a guide while contesting.
14.   Filter your packet connection. If the contest allows packet, filter the connection to match up with your station.
15.   Accurate logging. A contest is about working stations — and logging them accurately. If you don’t you get penalized.
16.   Send in your log. Even if you didn’t work many stations, you can help the contest by sending in your log to help enable log checking.
17.   Logbook of The World. Want to reduce your QSL’ing chores for contests? Submit your log to Logbook of The World for instant confirmations for you and the people you contact.
18.   Review UBN’s. Uniques, Busted, and Not in the Log. It’s how your log is viewed for accuracy.
19.   Have a QSL System. Even if you use Log of the World, contesters get a lot of QSL card requests. Have a system for processing them.
20.   Use a grey line map. Grey line propagation is the cat’s meow. Having a visual representation of where the grey line is right now can help you point your antennas the right way.
21.   Learn a single band. Want to learn propagation on a band fast? Do a contest on a single band. You’ll learn.
22.   Challenge your operating skill with QRP. Get frustrated fast. Operate a contest QRP from your station. Then learn how to get through the mess for points. It will make you a better operator.
23.   Do an After Action Review. Did we achieve our goal, what went right, what could be improved. Record the results for the next contest.
24.   Join a contesting club. Amp up your contesting knowledge and motivation.
25.   Learn from contesting pros. They are out there. They can teach you a lot.
26.   Leverage your strengths. Great CW operator? Great antennas? Whatever your strength, leverage it for the contest.
27.   Go on a contesting DXpedition. Even if it is to a different state. It’s a very different experience and will teach you a lot.
28.   Practice CW before contests. Notice how much better you are at CW at the end of the contest compared to the start? You need to practice before the contest.
29.   Participate on a contesting team. Many contests offer team (versus club) entries. Join a team to up your motivation for the contest.
30.   Find joy in contesting. It’s there. You know it. Go find it.

 

NOTE: USE YOUR BROWSER RETURN ARROW TO COME BACK TO THIS PAGE

 

I had great fun writing these. Enjoy the resource.

Scot, K9JY

 

 

Scot's Ham Radio Contesting Antennas

 

 

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Welcome to the Northern Illinois DX Association Web Site. Feel free to look around to see what we are up to.  The NIDXA is an active DX club affiliated with the ARRL.  NIDXA runs the Ninth District Incoming QSL bureau, a DX Packet Cluster, and the world famous W9DXCC convention.  

 

NIDX Website >>> http://nidxa.org/

 

The DX Century Club is the premier operating award in all of Amateur Radio. The basic certificate is awarded for working and confirming at least 100 entities on the ARRL DXCC List.

 

DXCC INFO >>> http://www.arrl.org/awards/dxcc/

 

LEARN ALL ABOUT DX

 

 

CHECK OUT THIS POWER POINT FROM THE ARRL >>>   ARRL DX PPt

 

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The Society of Midwest Contesters

W9DXCC

http://www.w9smc.com/