[CW] AWA Bruce Kelley 1929 Memorial QSO Party

[Donald Chester]

Last weekend and again this weekend December 7-8, 2300 GMT start and finish 
times, 3550-3580 kc. Transmitters are
limited to 1929 or earlier types of self-excited oscillators and MOPA's, 10 
to 20 watts maximum, straight keys encouraged.

This makes interesting listening. This past Saturday evening, that portion 
of the band was filled with signals from those rigs.
Unlike the sterile machine-perfect ultra-stable CW signals heard on the 
bands today, the band segment was packed with signals with various degrees 
of chirp, buzz, hum, drift, and operator fists. It gives you a good idea of 
what 99% of the ham frequencies must have sounded like in 1929, when the 
vast majority of hams ran low power CW only. Some of the rigs were amazingly 
stable to be simple self-oscillators. I didn't participate (don't have an 
appropriate rig) but I monitored for hours. Part of the exchange consists of 
a description of the station. Very enlightening for anyone interested in the 
heritage of amateur radio. I encourage everyone to take a short break form 
your routine hamming this weekend and spend a few minutes listening to those 
signals.

Don K4KYV

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