By Jim Maxwell, W6CF Amateur Radio: 100Years of Discovery

we approach the new millen- Faraday, heavily influenced Maxwell’s work, ered himself an amateur at heart. Still, he chose nium, it’s a happy coincidence but many of Maxwell’s contemporaries weren’t to devote his life to competing in the commercial that Amateur Radio is now convinced that his new theories were valid. It wireless marketplace; he never operated nor was As almost exactly 100 years old. would take nothing less than rock-solid ex- licensed as an amateur. It seems appropriate to stop for a moment and perimental effort to break down those walls of Back to the original question, we’ll prob- take a thoughtful trip to our beginning years, doubt. The German physicist Heinrich Hertz ably never know who the first Amateur Radio and even before. Why should we bother, you did just that, performing a series of classic operator was, but the Englishman Leslie Miller ask? Well, for many this will be a pleasant and experiments in the late 1880s during which he is surely a leading contender for that honor. nostalgic look back to the early days, the early generated, detected, and measured the proper- Leslie Miller has a solid place in amateur days, of course, being any day earlier than today! ties of electromagnetic waves predicted by history as the first person to have published a Moreover, as will be seen as we progress through Maxwell’s equations. Hertz, though, had no description of a simple-to-build transmitter and the events of this past century, there is much to particular interest in those waves except for the receiver for an amateur (and he used that word) be learned from our history. As Confucius once intellectual challenges their discovery provided. audience. His article appeared in the January said, “Study the past if you would divine the Development of radio for the use of mankind 1898 issue of The Model Engineer and Amateur future.” was left to others. The race was on. Electrician, published in London. Some of his This article deals, for the most part, with One of the participants in the race to de- readers clearly took the article to heart, for in Amateur Radio in the United States. This re- velop radio was the young Italian Guglielmo the March 1898 issue “E. A.” wrote that he had striction is not due to a lack of interest or a lack Marconi. He had a strong interest in physics a 2-inch spark coil and three solid brass balls, of importance of the broader topic of worldwide and electrical science as a boy. He studied the but needed more construction details. (The three Amateur Radio, but purely for practical reasons. subject in school and became aware of the brass balls were called for in one of the transmit- Consider that Clinton B. DeSoto’s classic 200 possibility of using electromagnetic waves for ter designs given in Miller’s article.) No fewer Meters and Down covers the history of Amateur communicating. In 1894 he started to work on than three more letters on the subject appeared Radio in the US only to 1936—but contains the project in earnest. Two years later he was in 1899 issues of the little magazine. The Yanks 184 pages. in England with what he felt was a useful radio weren’t far behind, with a construction article device. During a demonstration before British in the American Electrician in July 1899. An The 1800s—Prehistory officials Marconi managed to communicate explosion of interest would occur over the next The last few years of the 19th century set the over a distance of 2 miles without wires. It was decade, but as the 19th century drew to a close, stage for rapid development of commercial radio an astonishing feat at the time and it launched Amateur Radio was on its way. and established the foundations of Amateur Marconi’s professional career. The rest, as the Radio. There were numerous early contribu- old saw goes, is history. The ’00s—The Beginning tors to the radio art, such as the great Oersted, Who was the first Amateur Radio operator? As the 20th century began, commercial Ampere, Faraday, Henry, and others. However, We’ll probably never know. Some would say it ­development gained speed. Marconi spanned discovery really shifted into high gear in 1873 was Marconi. Marconi had a great fondness for the Atlantic with wireless in 1901, using high with the controversial work of the Scotsman Amateur Radio throughout his life, and consid- James Clerk Maxwell (not related to the author of this article!). His work presented his theory of the electromagnetic field. Maxwell was the In 1896 Marconi managed to ­ originator of those sublime equations loved so dearly by students throughout the world. communicate over a distance of (Heaviside also made major contributions to Maxwell’s equations as they appear in modern 2 miles without wires. textbooks, but that’s another story.) In 1901 he spanned the Atlantic. Those who came before him, especially Jan 2000 QST - © Copyright 2010 American Radio Relay League, Inc. - All Rights Reserved power and giant antennas. Amateurs continued The ’10s—Regulation but it took a Hartford, Connecticut ham, Hiram to tinker and experiment with their modest The range of an amateur station in the early Percy Maxim, 1WH (later 1AW) to recognize installations. A detailed construction article 1900s was measured initially by yards, then by that messages could be sent more reliably over appeared in the Boston magazine Amateur Work city blocks. As power increased and technology long distances if relay stations were organized. in June 1902. It’s clear that the experimenters improved, ranges increased so that by 1912 a So, in 1914, the American Radio Relay League at that time had already discovered the skill of well-designed kilowatt spark station had a range was born, and by late 1915 QST started publica- scrounging that amateurs adhere to even today: of perhaps 100 miles. Those with more power tion. The calls “1WH” and “1AW” look strange one of the components recommended in that could work several hundreds of miles. Higher to some today, but they were the norm for the article was baling wire. power generally meant more interference and early years. Commerce Department rules issued These early transmitters all generated RF the clamor for regulation intensified. in 1913 provided for amateur call letters, but by means of discharging a capacitor across a Congress had actually been investigating prefixes were not defined or required. Prefixes gap, creating an oscillatory spark. These early problems related to wireless since 1910. In came later, in the mid to late 1920s. spark transmitters did produce RF, but were 1912, after agonizing appraisal of more than About that same time a miracle in receiver broadband by their very nature, making it dif- a dozen different bills, Congress finally ap- technology appeared on the scene. A New York ficult, and often impossible, for two neighbor- proved the Radio Act of 1912. For the first amateur by the name of Edwin H. Armstrong ing stations to be on the air at the same time. time amateurs were to be licensed. The law invented the tube-operated regenerative receiver Receivers were simple detectors, generally also had a provision that at first was thought in 1913, and in 1915 its design became public coherers, later giving way to the more sensitive could bring the death of Amateur Radio: hams knowledge. This new receiver had greater galena crystal sets. were restricted to the single wavelength of 200 sensitivity than the crystal detectors then in use. There was no regulation during those meters. The general belief in those days was Although vacuum tubes were expensive at the days, of course. Amateur call letters were that long distance performance improved with time, some amateurs started experimenting with 100 self-assigned, and often consisted only of the longer wavelengths. The “short” wavelength of Armstrong’s design. operator’s initials. 200 meters was thought to be useless, and some The year 1914 brought the madness of A hint of what the future held occurred in expected that the amateurs, all crowded around the Great War in Europe. By 1917 the US was 1904 when the Englishman J. A. Fleming devel- this “useless” wavelength, would eventually fully involved and all ham operations in the US oped the first vacuum diode: the Fleming Valve. give up and pursue other interests. ended. The fact that amateurs formed a pool of In 1906 Lee DeForest added a grid to a Fleming The plot didn’t work. Although there was trained radio operators didn’t go unnoticed— Valve to make the first triode, naming it the an initial drop in numbers following the Radio Hiram Percy Maxim made certain of that!—and “Audion.” Audions made very effective detec- Act of 1912, Amateur Radio in the US started some 4000 hams eventually wound up in the tors, but were generally too expensive for most growing again. There were more than 6000 service of the nation. The word “service” is amateurs to use. It wasn’t until some years later amateurs on the air by 1917. important here, for it emphasizes one of the that it was realized that triodes could be made to Some hams had extended their effective fundamental functions of Amateur Radio—to be generate RF. Meanwhile, crystal receivers and range by relaying messages through others, of service to the public and to the nation. spark transmitters ruled the airwaves. The war finally came to a close on Novem- ber 11, 1918. During the hostilities the Navy had been placed in control of all US radio. As hams in uniform streamed home they ex- pected, quite reasonably, that the Navy would rescind the 1917 order that had closed them down. That was not to be the case. The Sec- retary of the Navy refused to permit amateurs back on the air. The future of Amateur Radio in the US was in doubt once again. The Navy seemed determined to maintain control over all radio services, even in peace- time, with Amateur Radio seemingly not on their list of useful radio services. Legislation This editorial in was written that supported the Navy’s objectives. the November The ARRL and others objected strenuously to 1919 QST congress and also appealed to all hams and celebrated the return of their families to write to their congressmen. Amateur Radio The political pressure torpedoed the pending privileges after legislation, but the Secretary of the Navy still the end of refused to permit the resumption of amateur World War I. operations. Finally, Representative William S. Greene of Massachusetts heard the call for help and interceded with a House Resolution directing the Navy to end the prohibition on ham operations. The Navy complied, the logjam was broken and Amateur Radio returned to the US in November 1919. This episode was a nearly textbook example of how the collective strength of thousands of amateurs can move mountains in Washington…sometimes. The ’20s—Discovery As the nation entered the ’20s, amateurs Jan 2000 QST - © Copyright 2010 American Radio Relay League, Inc. - All Rights Reserved were solidly back on the air around their 200- meter wavelength. The ARRL relay network was up and humming, with records being broken regularly. One of the most impressive was a showing in early 1921 during which a message was transmitted from Hiram Percy Maxim, 1AW, in Connecticut to V. M. Bitz, 6JD, in California. A return reply was received in only 1 6 /2 minutes, round trip! Still, few would have predicted the revo- lutionary changes that took place in Amateur Radio in only a few short years. If one had to point to a single most significant reason for those changes it would be the vacuum tube, accompanied by an almost insatiable curiosity The transmitter that spanned the Atlantic from 1MO on a wavelength of by hams. 110 meters. By the 1920s the price of vacuum tubes had fallen, which caused an upsurge in the use halfway around the world. In 1926, Brandon had been adapted to HF, and a few hams were of Armstrong’s sensitive regenerative receiver Wentworth, 6OI, achieved what was considered experimenting with these new-fangled “Yagi” design. This development led to an increased by many to be the ultimate in DX prowess: he beam antennas. They were built with both range achievable by spark stations, for with worked and confirmed all continents, from a wire and metal elements, but generally sported the new receiver hams could hear weak signals station in a pasture on the Stanford University wooden booms. Some of the more technically that previously hadn’t been detectable. Some campus in California. The next year saw the sophisticated hams also continued to experi- advanced amateurs were also experimenting beginning of the ARRL International Relay ment on the 5-meter band and on even higher with the superheterodyne receiver, invented by Party, the predecessor to the ever-popular frequencies. Armstrong as well as the Frenchman Lucien ARRL International DX Contest. The ARRL Sweepstakes contest was intro- Levy during the war years. Increasing numbers By the mid-1920s the value of short waves duced in 1930, and 1933 brought the ARRL of amateurs also used tubes in their transmitters, was clearly recognized by the government as Field Day. The ARRL DX contest continued to generating uniform, continuous wave (CW) be popular with the DXers. signals. The CW signals were narrow, scarcely Almost unnoticed at the time, the small Los 1% the width of a spark signal, reducing inter- Transatlantic Angeles magazine R/9 published a three-part ference and making it possible to increase the article starting in the September-October 1933 number of stations that could be on the air at transmitting and receiving issue titled Single Sideband Transmission for the same time. Amateur Radiophones by Robert M. Moore, As the range of amateur stations increased, tests were kicked off W6DEI. Moore described a system of single thoughts turned to real DX. Transatlantic trans- in 1921. sideband that he and others were experimenting mitting and receiving tests were kicked off in with and had actually put on the air. The article 1921 to see if low power amateur signals could didn’t generate much interest, however, and it cross the pond. The tests ultimately showed that well as commercial entities, due in large mea- wasn’t until 1947 that new experimental work they could, and they also showed conclusively sure to the work of the amateurs themselves. By was carried out on the ham bands. that CW was far superior to spark. By 1923 the end of the decade the wide open spaces were The Radio Act of 1927 lasted only seven Europe-North America two-ways seemed only gone, but the amateurs did have harmonically years: in 1934 Congress passed the Communica- a matter of time. All the preparations, sweat and related bands from 160 through 5 meters, plus tions Act of 1934. It had no immediate effect on tears finally paid off on November 27, 1923, a narrow band at 400-MHz. hams, except that their affairs were henceforth when French station 8AB worked Connecticut Two other events in the ’20s also deserve handled by the FCC (Federal Communications hams Fred Schnell, 1MO, and John Reinartz, mention: First, the International Amateur Ra- Commission), which exists to this day. 1XAL, using CW on a specially authorized dio Union (IARU) was formed for the purpose The Old Man himself, Hiram Percy Maxim, wavelength of 110 meters. Testing continued of representing Amateur Radio within the one of the cofounders of the ARRL and the and by late 1924 a CW contact was made international community. The IARU is still the IARU, passed away in 1936. He was a man of between England and New Zealand, almost single most important body for representation many talents—leader, author, photographer, of Amateur Radio internationally. Second, the engineer, entrepreneur—Amateur Radio every- broadcast industry in the US was in chaos due where lost a friend. to insufficient legislative authority for the Com- Interest in DX continued to be high, and in merce Department to control it. As a result, con- 1937, after extended discussion of what should gress passed the Radio Act of 1927 and the FRC be called a “country,” the DXCC program was (Federal Radio Commission) was created. announced by ARRL. The question of what kind of entity deserves to be credited to DXCC The ’30s—Growth awards continues unabated today, over 63 As ham radio entered the 1930s, spark years later. was a thing of the past (some would have said In September 1939 war came to Europe once “good riddance!”) and all amateurs were using again. Amateur operations immediately halted vacuum tube transmitters and receivers. Phone in most European countries. Most of the British operation wasn’t as common as CW, but was Commonwealth nations went off the air as well, gaining in popularity. A few years earlier, in including Canada. US hams continued operat- 1MO and his “Hay Wire” receiver, the Japan, Professor Hidetsugu Yagi had studied ing, although DX pickings were mighty slim. one he used to work French 8AB in an array of dipoles that formed and directed Even with DX disappearing from the bands, the 1923. a microwave beam. By the 1930s the design West Coast magazine Radio announced their Jan 2000 QST - © Copyright 2010 American Radio Relay League, Inc. - All Rights Reserved components—just about anything the heart The ARRL Sweepstakes con- desired was available from the friendly, local By September, 1947 Mike surplus emporium. Surplus also gave a big boost test was introduced to a new mode, at least new to hams: RTTY. Villard, W6QYT, and a in 1930...1933 brought Many hams had worked with RTTY while in group of student hams start- the military during the war, and when machines the ever-popular appeared as surplus, they quickly disappeared ed experimenting ARRL Field Day. into ham shacks throughout the country. with SSB. As hams were joyfully getting back on the air, the public was just as joyfully buying TV sets; one of the greatest threats ever to ham radio arrived under the name of Television In- first annual International DX Contest in 1939. terference, the dreaded TVI. The TVI “problem” in the amateur license structure were announced has decreased over time, although it has never in 1951. The Novice, Technician, and Amateur The ’40s—War and Peace been completely solved. Interference to and Extra licenses were announced by the FCC, The ’40s arrived with US hams still active from home entertainment devices continues to along with name changes of the old class A, B, on the air, but DXing was essentially a thing of plague us to this day, but it doesn’t seem to be as and C licenses to Advanced, General and Con- the past. By June 1940 the FCC issued an order threatening as TVI was in those gloomy ’50s. ditional, respectively. The Novice license was a prohibiting American hams from contacting Remember the 1933 R/9 article on Single one-year, non-renewable, ticket with CW privi- foreign stations. Portable and mobile opera- Sideband? Well, others did too, and by Septem- leges on portions of two HF bands, and phone tions on frequencies below 56 MHz were also ber 1947 Mike Villard, W6QYT, and a group of on a portion of 2-meters. The Technician license prohibited, although the FCC made a specific student hams started experimenting with SSB at was created in response to a clamor to accom- exception for Field Day, and later for the Ama- Stanford University. It took a decade before SSB modate those who wished to experiment on the teur Emergency Corps. was a common sound on the bands, but it did VHF and UHF bands above 220 MHz, without Then came the Pearl Harbor attack on De- ultimately displace dual-sideband AM phone, taking a 13-WPM code test. Both of these new cember 7, 1941; the US was suddenly at war. except for a relatively small number of AM licenses required 5-WPM code tests. These new Amateur activity in the US screeched to a halt, aficionados. These folks, quite simply, enjoy license classes were highly successful, if the although those on the home front kept their operating the old rigs and enjoy the sound of a number of new hams was any measure. technical and operational skills honed on 112 well-adjusted AM transmitter. Scarcely a year later, in late December 1952, MHz as members of the War Emergency Radio the FCC changed the licensing structure once Service. This service was important and was The ’50s—Normalcy again. No new Advanced licenses would be taken very seriously by the participants, but it The 1950s began with a bang: basic changes issued, and special phone privileges on HF for still lacked the freewheeling pleasures of normal ham operations. At the start of hostilities some 60,000 Americans were licensed as radio amateurs. It has been estimated that approximately 25,000 of those served in the armed forces during WW-II. Another 25,000 served in critical war industries, or as instructors in military schools. Unlike WW-I, ARRL stayed open for business for the duration. QST continued to be published, although with fewer pages than before as a result of wartime paper rationing. ARRL publications were used heavily for military and civilian training, and a special Defense edition of the ever-popular Handbook appeared in 1942. By the beginning of 1945 it was clear that it was only a matter of time until the war would draw to a close. Some hams in New York were so certain that peace was nearly at hand, and that ham radio would have a future following the war, that they kicked off a new magazine called CQ in January 1945. Hostilities finally ended on August 17 of that same year. Only four Advertisements like days later, amateurs were back on the air on these appeared in VHF. By summer 1946 nearly all amateur bands QST and other radio were restored, from 3.5 to 30 MHz, with the magazines during old bands at 5 and 2.5 meters replaced by new World War II. bands at 6 and 2 meters. HF DXing was back, the DXCC program was restarted, and interest in VHF/UHF operations took a jump upward as surplus military gear became available at prices that were near giveaways. HF operators weren’t overlooked, of course. Surplus transmitters, receivers, power tubes, Jan 2000 QST - © Copyright 2010 American Radio Relay League, Inc. - All Rights Reserved and Technician licenses were created in the early ’50s. Once the debate started, however, the growth rate fell sharply. The debate continued until the FCC handed down its decision in 1967: incentive licensing was restored. Exclusive sub-bands on the 80, 40, 20, 15, and 6-meter bands were set aside for Amateur Extra and Advanced class licensees. Those subbands were withdrawn from use by General hams. Suffice it to say, most Generals were very unhappy. Since 1967 there has been liberalization of This 2-meter CW transmitter, designed privileges for Novice and Technician licensees, and built by K2AH in 1952, was among plus expansion of HF phone bands and modifi- the first all-transistor amateur rigs. cations to the specifics of the exclusive subbands for Advanced, and Amateur Extra hams. Even Sam, W1FZJ, was one of the top so, the broad scheme set by that 1967 decision amateur moonbounce pioneers in the 1960s. Advanced and Amateur Extra licensees were by the FCC is with us still. Today, some 33 years withdrawn. Privileges for the Novice and Techni- later, there are those who are still bitter about cian licensees remained unchanged. (Technician the outcome of the incentive licensing debate of the 1960s. Remember the quote from Confucius 1 licensees eventually gained privileges on 6 and the 2-meter, 1 /4-meter and 70-cm bands. 2 meters.) given at the beginning of this review? Apply- The amateur FM repeater revolution had Meanwhile, a gradual technical revolution ing Confucius’ thoughts to the 1960s incentive roots much farther back in time. Repeaters was taking place—consumer products employ- licensing debate it’s clear that a lesson has been had been in use on 5 meters in the 1930s, but ing those strange creatures called transistors learned: Never, never, never should anyone they were essentially experimental ­machines began appearing and construction articles using propose to reduce operating privileges! and never gained much popularity. In the transistors began appearing in ham magazines. Incentive licensing was by no means the only 1950s AM repeaters started appearing, scat- Just as the spark operators had to learn about tered throughout the nation. The repeater idea vacuum tubes in the 1920s, now the tube buffs was sown. had to hit the books and learn about transis- It was the success of commercial FM tors. In July 1960 the first ­repeater systems that gave amateur FM repeat- Another hint of things to come occurred ers the greatest boost. After WW-II commercial in January 1953 when Ross Bateman, W4AO, two-way contact via the users discovered the value of channelized and Bill Smith, W3GKP, working together at Moon took place on FM for mobile use. Throughout the 1950s Bateman’s Falls Church, Virginia station, heard manufacturers churned out large quantities echoes of their own 2-meter signal reflected 1296 MHz. of equipment designed to satisfy that new from the Moon. So began the era of moon- demand. As the popularity of the new systems bounce communications between amateurs. increased, so did congestion on their bands. In order to relieve that congestion the FCC finally The ’60s—Incentive Licensing major event in the ’60s. For example, in July required the commercial users to tighten up on The 1960s were exciting times for Amateur 1960 the first two-way contact via the Moon their channel spacing. The commercials were Radio. The decade brought us amateur moon- on 1296 MHz was logged by the Rhododendron obliged to do so, with the result that, throughout bounce, OSCAR satellites and FM repeaters. Swamp VHF Society in Massachusetts. It took the 1960s, large quantities of outmoded (from Still, the ’60s will forever be remembered by old place between station W1BU, spearheaded the commercials’ standpoint), but entirely ser- timers not for exciting technical achievements, by Sam Harris, W1FZJ, and the Eimac Radio viceable equipment became available on the but for something quite different: incentive Club in California, led by O. H. “Hank” Brown, surplus market. Guess what? The gear oper- licensing. W6HB. Only a bit more than a year later ated on frequencies close to the amateur 6 and Back in 1952 the FCC had eliminated the Amateur Radio leaped into space in the form 2-meter bands, as well as 70-cm, and was easily incentive licensing system on HF; the General, of a small, beeping, OSCAR (Orbiting Satellite converted from commercial to ham use. As the Advanced, and Amateur Extra class licensees Carrying Amateur Radio) satellite. It was the installed base of amateur FM repeaters grew, all were given identical privileges. As the brainchild of a group of hams from the area mostly built of converted commercial equip- years passed many hams came to believe that now known as Silicon Valley. They arranged to ment, a demand for low-cost mobile and hand- the lack of special privileges for higher-class have three more small satellites launched, and held equipment grew and was satisfied by both licensees acted as a disincentive for some to then passed the baton to AMSAT, the Maryland- domestic and foreign manufacturers. The era of better themselves technically and operationally. based Amateur Satellite Corporation, still the the ham FM repeater was in full bloom. As a result, and after months of debate within principal satellite-specialized Amateur Radio While repeater systems were being brought the pages of QST and other magazines, in club organization in the US. The 1960s also saw the on-line across the nation, a new kind of revo- bulletins, at conventions, on the air and else- first move to amateur FM repeaters, destined to lution was quietly underway, thanks to early where, the ARRL petitioned the FCC to bring reshape the character of 2-meters and above. back incentives to amateur licensing. The filing, made in October 1963, asked for reinstatement The ’70s—Repeaters and Packets of the Advanced license. No new privileges The ’70s must surely be remembered as the The ’70s must surely be were proposed for Advanced or Amateur Extra decade of the FM repeater. Not because FM re- ­remembered as the class licensees, but it did propose that HF phone peaters were “invented” in the ’70s—they actu- privileges for General licensees be phased out ally appeared much earlier—but because it was decade of the on the 80, 40, 20, and 15 meter bands. Growth of during this decade that ­amateur FM repeaters on FM repeater. the US amateur service had been brisk, running VHF and UHF “took off” and literally reshaped at about 8% to 10% per year since the Novice Jan 2000 QST - © Copyright 2010 American Radio Relay League, Inc. - All Rights Reserved work by some of our ham friends in Canada. sure of protection for hams from the arbitrary those early pundits were correct (they may This revolution was based upon the digital action of community planning commissions. have even understated their predictions). Who computer, which was attracting interest from Last, but not least, in July 1989, the ARRL would have believed only a few years ago that many technically oriented hams. The Canadian Board of Directors voted unanimously in favor telephone calls could be made across the entire experiments using packet techniques began of petitioning the FCC for a code-free ham US for five cents per minute, or that the price for in 1978. By 1979 Doug Lockhart, VE7APU, license for use above 30 MHz. Many felt that calling the UK from the US would be only twice had developed a board capable of assembling its time had come. and disassembling packets, and the board was offered to the ham community as kits. The kits The ’90s—The Codeless License sold briskly, and as the decade ended, so began and the Digital Revolution the new gold rush—the rush to amateur packet Even though the Morse speed requirement radio. Unfortunately, ASCII modes weren’t was set at 5 WPM for Technicians and Novices, allowed under FCC regulations, so although Morse code continued to discourage many po- experimentation was moving right along, US tential hams, who could point at the dwindling couldn’t legally converse on packet with each importance of Morse in military and commercial other or with their Canadian counterparts. communications worldwide. Following intense Another significant event in 1979 occurred debate in the amateur community the ARRL in Geneva at the World Administrative Radio proposed that a new, code-free Technician Conference. At the end of the conference, due license be created, with access to bands above in no small measure to superb planning and lob- 30 MHz. The FCC agreed in 1991 and growth bying by the IARU delegation, hams had three of the amateur service took off again, reaching new HF bands, at 10, 18, and 24 MHz. over 700,000 US licensees by the end of the decade. Amid predictions of doom by some, the The ’80s—Space and “codeless Techs” went on the air, built repeaters, Packet Radio joined clubs and emergency organizations and In March 1980, the FCC finally permitted took leadership positions. ASCII modes in the US. This coincided with And then came the Internet, dramatically the sudden rise in popularity of affordable reshaping our world in a few short years. In the personal computers. That was all it took to early ‘90s some pundits claimed that we were ignite amateur enthusiasm for packet radio and entering an era that would see revolutionary The August 1983 cover of QST featured other digital modes. Members of AMRAD (the changes in communication. Owen Garriott, W5LFL, aboard the Amateur Radio Research and Development As we leave the ’90s it’s crystal clear that Space Shuttle. Corporation) in the Washington, DC area represented one hard-core group of packet enthusiasts. They were responsible, in col- laboration with AMSAT, for the first ARRL The ham community was electrified in 1983 by the launch into Amateur Radio Computer Networking Con- ference. Out west, in Tucson, Arizona, TAPR space of Owen Garriott, W5LFL, an astronaut with the Space (Tucson Amateur Packet Radio) was formed. Shuttle program. He carried a 2-meter rig with him, and passed The TAPR group proceeded to produce a line of popular terminal node controllers, further out nearly 300 QSOs from space. fueling the packet conflagration. Digital activity blossomed on HF as well. In 1982 Peter Martinez, G3PLX, put the power of the personal compu­ter to work, combining it with a modified version of the SITOR protocol to create AMTOR—the first amateur HF digital mode that offered error-free communication. Meanwhile, the ham community was electri- fied in 1983 by the launch into space of Owen Garriott, W5LFL, an astronaut with the Space Shuttle program. Garriott carried a 2-meter rig with him, and passed out nearly 300 QSOs Amateur satellites became more from space. Since that time amateurs have sophisticated in been included in the crew of virtually every the ’90s. Many Space Shuttle launch. In later years the SAREX carried digital program (Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment), cameras that initially spearheaded by Roy Neal, K6DUE, captured amazing has turned out to be a superb tool for helping images like this students throughout the world develop an appre- one from TMSAT- ciation for the wonders of space and the space OSCAR 31. program. It has also been a boon for recruiting young, eager, new hams. On the regulatory side, 1984 saw the launch of the highly successful Volunteer Exam Co- ordinator program. In addition, PRB-1 was issued by the FCC, which provided some mea-

Jan 2000 QST - © Copyright 2010 American Radio Relay League, Inc. - All Rights Reserved that? Who would have believed that something avocation, even more interesting and absorbing tury has been one of adversity and change, called the World Wide Web would change basic than it was before. inevitably followed by struggle, success and patterns of doing business that have existed for As the 20th century draws to a close, both the growth. Today, in the year 2000, a new era in a century or more? All of this, of course, cre- ARRL and the FCC have once again proposed communication technology is upon us. We have ates challenges for the Amateur Radio service. changes to the US amateur licensing structure. survived the technological challenges of the past The fascination of computers and the Internet The most contentious element of the ARRL by understanding new technologies and embrac- attracts many of the young, technically inclined proposal, predictably, is the idea of reducing ing those portions that would lead Amateur people who in previous years had often found the speed of the Morse code testing requirement Radio forward. We have survived change and their way into Amateur Radio. This challenge, for all HF licenses. As this article is prepared, overcome adversity by working together. and others, has caused some to predict the the FCC’s response to the ARRL’s proposal When Amateur Radio began there was only death of our service at the hands of computers and to the thousands of comments and counter- one way for a ham to get started: learn Morse in general and the Internet in particular. Hams, proposals hasn’t appeared. When it does, history code, build a receiver and a spark transmitter, though, seem to be taking it all in stride. Today suggests that Amateur Radio in the US will be string up an antenna, and start tapping on the the majority of ARRL members have Web moving along a new road, but a road that is key. access (ARRL Headquarters in Newington, sloping upward, not down. Today we have a multifaceted Amateur Connecticut receives more than 1200 e-mail Radio. We’re on CW and phone; SSB and messages per day!), DXers use packet and In Conclusion FM; packet and TV; PACTOR, PSK31 and Web-based spotting networks and users of the I hope that you’ve enjoyed this romp through RTTY, as well as other modes, bouncing Automatic Position Reporting System (APRS) history. The shame of it all is that there is so signals off the ground, off the ionosphere, employ the Internet for long-distance relays. much to say and so little space in which to and off the moon, enthusiastically working Amateurs have embraced cyberspace with a say it! Many of the important individuals and bands from almost dc to daylight. We have vengeance, using the Web to swap information developments of the past century have had to ragchewers and ­contesters, public service and software. Hams sell used gear on Ebay and be omitted, as have many of the exciting new ­communicators and experimenters, QRPers and many other Web sites, and argue ad nauseum developments on the horizon. As only two more. Hams are active in nearly every country on USENET newsgroups. examples, consider Pansat, an amateur spread- of the world, and at ages ranging from less than The emergence of PSK31, the exciting new spectrum satellite, or the incredible Picosats. 10 years to more than 100. HF digital mode, was fueled by the availability The list goes on and on. Can any group with common interests be of free software on the Web. DXpeditions are quite so diverse? In spite of that diversity, and in using the Web to publicly post log files within spite of the fact that the Amateur Radio service hours after contacts are made—even from encompasses a very large number of special remote locations (thanks to amateur satellites interests, it’s important to understand that we as well as PACTOR and CLOVER HF digital Computers and the all have one common, overriding interest: to technology). ensure that Amateur Radio not only survives, The computer is also leading Amateur Radio Internet have made but flourishes in the century ahead. With the into exciting new areas of experimentation, such Amateur Radio a richer support of all hams everywhere our future as harnessing computers to radios, making pos- prosperity is assured. sible experimenting with new digital modula- avocation. tion techniques which would have been almost My thanks to my wife Trudy, KC6NAX, and unthinkable only a decade or so ago. TAPR now old friend Jack Troster, W6ISQ, for their helpful has an active effort, for example, which will reviews of the final draft. Any errors of omis- ultimately result in affordable spread spectrum A quote from Confucius was given at the sion or commission, of course, are mine alone. gear, an appropriate follow-on to their pioneer- beginning of this article: “Study the past if My thanks also to Steve Ford, WB8IMY, for his ing work in terminal node controllers less than you would divine the future.” What, you may thoughtful and careful editing. 20 years ago. It’s clear that the “threat” of the now ask, are the lessons to be learned from the Internet to Amateur Radio has been somewhat history of Amateur Radio? Jim Maxwell, W6CF, is ARRL Pacific Division overblown. On the contrary, computers and the Perhaps the most important lesson is that Director. You can contact him at PO Box 473, Internet have made Amateur Radio a richer Amateur Radio’s history over the past cen- Redwood Estates, CA 95044; [email protected].

Jan 2000 QST - © Copyright 2010 American Radio Relay League, Inc. - All Rights Reserved