AmateurRadio.com

QST Feb 1931 Courtesy: http://www.arrl.org/

In addition to the new frequency allocations, amateurs heading into 1929 faced several other changes.
For North American hams, many of these had already been in place, but for much of the DX, this was all new.

Some of the more important changes are ones that we have come to recognize as "everyday practice" for the past several decades.

Like our friend below, and for all new amateurs worldwide, mastering CW would now be mandatory.



Courtesy: http://www.arrl.org/

" Article {6} (3) ...any person operating the apparatus...must have proved his ability to transmit passages in the Morse Code and to read...passages thus transmitted."



Licencing was also mandated.

" Article {2} (1) No radioelectric sending station shall be established or worked by a ...person...without a special licence issued by the Government..."

And hams would need to earn their tickets.



Courtesy: http://www.arrl.org/

Article 6 (4) Administrations...take such measures to verify the qualifications, from the technical point of view, of all persons operating the apparatus."





No longer would hams have the luxury of making up their own call signs, although not an issue in North America since the end of WW1.  All calls would now be assigned by the government.

"Article {14} (13) ...private experimental stations must have a call sign taken from the international series assigned to each country."



Courtesy: http://www.steveirwinstamps.co.uk

Courtesy: http://hamgallery.com

The system of Q signals, as we know them today, were to be implemented for all users, both commercial and amateur. As noted in the September, 1928 QST, the signal for "QST" had been removed.

"The prefix for a general call to all stations has been changed from "QST" to "CQ" and the former is now blank in the international list of "Q" signals. That doesn't mean that QST is going to change its name though. If some uncomplimentary meaning has been assigned the letters "QST", such as "You interfere with me -- get out," we might have to." [QST September, 1928]

And no, the list did not include "QLF".

Although chiefly aimed at the commercial ops working mobile stations, such as maritime or aeronautical traffic, many of these new operating procedures filtered-down to amateurs very quickly and are still used today:

" Article {9} (6) When a station is uncertain of the call sign of the station calling...reply...using the signal .. _ _ .. "

" Article {9} (7-1) When it is necessary to make test signals...such signals...must be composed by a series of  V's followed by the call letters of the station working. "

" Article {9} (3-1a) The station calling makes the call...not more than three times...and the word DE, followed...by its own call sign. "
 
" Article {9} (3-3) If the station called is not ready...it replaces the letter K by the signal  . _ ...  (wait)... "


Courtesy: http://www.arrl.org/

" Article {9} (3-9a) The transmission...is terminated by the signal . _ . _ . (end of transmission)... "

 " Article {9} (10a) The acknowledgement of receipt...is given by the means of the letter R."

" Article {9} (11) The end of work between two stations is indicated by each of them, by means of the signal ... _ . _ "
 
" Article {10} (1-1) Stations desiring to enter into communications...may use the signal of inquiry CQ...followed by the letter K... "

Although they had already been operating from Washington, DC, on a limited schedule, Jan 1st, 1929, marked the expansion of WWV, which began a regular schedule, cycling through 40 different precise frequencies during a two-hour period. All transmissions were in CW. This would allow for all users, worldwide, to calibrate their receiving equipment to 1929 standards.

Compiled in November 1928, the January 1929 edition of QST carried these last hopeful words before the big day arrived:

"January 1st, 1929, magic date, is upon us...the dividing line between the old and the new in amateur radio...when we look back...we are going to wonder how we ever got along in 1927 and 1928 with those crude methods which we once employed...It is the duty of every amateur to prepare himself for the new life which exists on the other side of January 1st." [QST January, 1929]

The following month's editorial described the early days of 1929 activity and was somewhat surprsing, considering all of the hard work that had gone into preparing radio amateurs for the new era.

Courtesy: http://www.arrl.org/

"We write in the early days of January. January 1st, another tremendous hurdle, has been safely crossed, and somewhat to the surprise of some of us we seem to be still alive and kicking. The air seems very much the same as it was before; in fact, too much so...in the width of our bands...every amateur knows that these widths were changed. We cannot feel that there is excusable reason for an amateur operating outside the new frequency bands -- our preparation for success...has been thorough. All of us must realize...he who gets on the wrong side of the fence is very liable to be jerked up without warning for trespass...lets play the game. [QST February, 1929]


And so, finally, the long anticipated day came and went, but it seemed the ARRL's task was far from over. Not everyone had gotten the message or, at least, the entire message. VE4GU was all prepared for 1929 with new QSL's for his Jan 22, 1929 QSO with W9DYV on 40m CW but apparently missed the 'other' announcement...his card reports using '500V' of raw AC on his 210 Hartley!

Courtesy: http://www.arrl.org/

QSL cards from 1929 and later still, show many one-tube oscillators and simple receivers yet being used...it was a hard-sell to move hams from what they were comfortable with...but...things were looking up and there would be no turning back.


Without question our cherished hobby was shaped forever by those well-considered pronouncements and the timely leadership of the ARRL during those tumultuous days, so long ago. We owe them a lot.

Steve McDonald, VE7SL, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from British Columbia, Canada. Contact him at [email protected].

Reporting on more critical information spewing forth from the interwebz, here’s some stuff you just can’t live without.

In a surprise move, Baofeng introduces yet another dualband HT, but this one might be the best yet. Maybe. See the PD0AC first impressions of the GT-3 Mark II.

Yaesu has announced a new dualband HT, the FT2DR, that has a Big Honking Display and touchscreen interface.

The crack reporting team over at Ham Hijinks keeps cranking out ham radio news: Turkey Takes Toll on Ham.

The ARRL is looking into changing some of the VHF contest rules. The first proposal includes allowing self-spotting and the use of non-amateur assistance. I say “heck yeah!”

If you ever thought it would be a good idea to use a banana as a Morse code keyer, check out this video. Meanwhile, Burger King has recognized the importance of ham radio for space communications (video).

The QRZNow web site got caught “borrowing” content from other ham radio web sites without permission or providing attribution.

Stu W0STU over at HamRadioSchool.com has been straining his brain on the topic of complex impedance. If you need some help understanding this (ahem) complex topic, take a look at his three part article on the subject: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.

If you are worried about exposure to excessive EMF (Electromagnetic Field), you’ll want to consider this device over at Amazon.com. Be sure to read the reviews to get the full entertainment value.

73, Bob K0NR

The post This Spewed Out of the Internet #30 appeared first on The KØNR Radio Site.

Bob Witte, KØNR, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Colorado, USA. Contact him at [email protected].

A reminder that the annual ARRL 10m contest is this coming weekend. Conditions are likely to be good on 10m, so this is a good chance to work some worldwide DX. Next year with the decline in sunspot numbers, this is not likely to be as good. Unfortunately my operating time will be very limited because of visitors.

Roger Lapthorn, G3XBM, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Cambridge, England.

Congratulations to the ARRL Logbook of the World (LOTW) which just reached 100 million confirmed contacts. This is the same as an impressive 200 million QSL cards out of about 630 million uploaded contacts on LOTW.

LOTW was established way back in 2003. This was only 2 years after I got my license. Since I have never enjoyed much to fill in QSL cards I embraced LOTW very quickly. I have to say though that I will of course respond with a paper QSL for those who ask for one.

But LOTW has been my primary means of confirming contacts for a decade. My DXCC was confirmed with LOTW.

Now at the same time that LOTW is celebrating 100 millions confirmations, I am celebrating 8 bands with 100 or more contacts all confirmed via Logbook of the World. This is on all bands from 3.5 to 28 MHz. This has been my goal for many years. The last confirmation came from the TC0A contest station in Turkey on 80 m after last month’s CQ World Wide CW contest.

I consider myself lucky to have reached 100 confirmations even on the elusive 12 m band which we all know will shut down soon not reopen again until the next solar maximum in about 11 years time.

But as the saying goes “The journey is the reward“, so what to do next as a radio amateur?

Sverre Holm, LA3ZA, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Norway. Contact him at [email protected].

So this afternoon I was playing with the YouKits TJ5A Hf Transceiver running 5 watts and using my Chameleon Hy-Brid up on a 15′ pole feeding coax to my shack and running about 135′ of wire across the yard with far end up 20′ in the air. The base of the Hy-Brid and pole are grounded with a ground rod.
I called cq on 21.050 after watching the RBN to see where I was being heard, I was pleasantly surprised to hear Ted in Stockton,ME SKCC#1312 call me, he gave me a 579 with my 5 watts. QSB came in as we finished our exchange.
Then out of the blue I heard KZ5OM Jerry SKCC#10415S in California, Jerry was a 339 and he gave me a 569 and then QSB took us both down.
I then went to 20 meters and tuned the antenna and was called by Rich K4DJ in N.C., he is SKCC#11060S, he was a 569 and I was a 459 so not too bad at all..

The Hy-Brid tunes super for me and I use this set up on 160 meters as well.
Giving the new TJ5A a workout and I can say that the power stays solid and does not move and it receives very well without the filter, will be a great test when filter is installed.
Thanks to the 3 operators, Ted, Jerry and Rich for a great hour on the air.

Fred
VE3FAL
SKCC#50

 

Fred Lesnick, VE3FAL, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Thunder Bay Ontario, Canada. Contact him at [email protected].

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Matt Thomas, W1MST, is the managing editor of AmateurRadio.com. Contact him at [email protected].