[qrp-canada] FW: [QRP-L] Centennial of the Radio Amateur: 1908-2008

[Bruce Rattray]

...fyi...

-----Original Message-----
From: qrp-l-bounces at mailman.qth.net [mailto:qrp-l-bounces at mailman.qth.net]
On Behalf Of scott mcmullen
Sent: Monday, March 17, 2008 12:14 PM
To: qrp-l at qrp-l.org; qrp-l at mailman.qth.net; AQRP at yahoogroups.com;
austinhams at yahoogroups.com
Subject: [QRP-L] Centennial of the Radio Amateur: 1908-2008

Thought this might be of some interest. 

'200 Meters and Down' says much the same thing.

73
Scott
W5ESE

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>From   http://ham-shack.com/history01.html

It was into this world that the early amateurs ventured. 
Actually, if we were to concentrate on the years prior to 
1908, it would be more appropriate to say 'experimenters' 
rather than 'amateurs'. For in the first decade of wireless, 
there was little or no interest in personal communications 
with other stations; rather, the concentration was on 
technical development, either in the interest of pure 
science, or (more often than not) with an eye towards 
cashing in on this new medium. Experimenters were 
unorganized and, with the exception of those immediate 
stations with whom they ran tests, had no knowledge or 
interest in other pioneer stations. Any true 'amateurs' 
prior to 1908 have been lost in pre-historic obscurity.

By 1908, however, the face of wireless began to change. 
Technical developments had reached their first plateau, 
and a number of major competitors had formed the first 
'wireless trust'--United Wireless. With a temporary 
truce in effect, equipment was now more readily available 
to the public. Along with this, new magazines, such as 
'Modern Electrics', were formed with wireless 
communication as the primary thrust. The circulation of 
'Modern  Electrics' jumped from 2000 to over 30,000 in 
just two years. The year 1908 also saw the first 
'handbook', 'Wireless Telegraph Construction for 
Amateurs'. It is difficult to know exactly how many 
amateur stations were on the air in this completely 
unregulated, laissez-faire era, but reliable estimates 
put the number of 'major' stations (i.e. those capable 
of communicating over 10 miles) at 600, while 'minor' 
stations with a one or two mile range probably numbered 
3000 or more. Thus, if a year had to be arbitrarily 
chosen as the start of amateur radio, it would probably 
be 1908.

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--

'Wireless Telegraph Construction for Amateurs' is
available is a pdf at:

http://www.archive.org/details/wirelesstelegrap00morgrich



 
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