You
Are Invited--RCA QSO Party Kicks off Transatlantic
Centennial
Few dates are more important in ham
radio than December 11, 1921. That’s when members of the
Radio Club of America (RCA) and the American Radio Relay
League (ARRL) successfully transmitted signals that
spanned the Atlantic Ocean. The 100th anniversary of that day is upon us
and YOU are invited to celebrate!
WHY WE CELEBRATE
During the month of November, 1921,
a group of Radio Club of America members, led by Major
Edwin Armstrong quickly pulled together an amateur radio
transmitting station in Greenwich Connecticut. It was the
cutting edge of the era: a nearly thousand watt CW station
at the (considered useless) ‘shortwaves’ (just below the
present 160m band). On the other end, in Ardrossan
Scotland, Armstrong’s new superheterodyne receiver
combined with RCA member Harold Beverage’s new ‘wave’
antenna allowed state of the art receive selectivity and
sensitivity. The missing piece? The ionosphere: speculated
to exist and to work for long distance at the new
shortwaves. On December 11, 1921, it all came together and
station 1BCG made it across, the first of about two dozen
amateur radio stations heard.
The importance? Notes RCA President
John Facella, K9FJ: “Hams, through the innovations of the
RCA members, used ingenuity, smaller, state of the art
electronic equipment, and new bands and mode to connect
the continents. That set the pace for the 100 years of
smaller and higher performance telecommunications wonders
that followed, making a truly connected world.” Yes, the
world owes it to ham radio!
JOIN
US IN A QSO PARTY ON 13 NOVEMBER
The Radio Club of
America is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the
Transatlantic Test by hosting a CW and SSB QSO Party from
1200Z, November 13 to 0400Z, November 14. We
will all contact each other—not just special event
stations. Open to ALL hams and shortwave listeners on 160,
80, 40, 20, 15, and 10 meters, with 10 bonus points
awarded (per band and mode) for contacting Radio Club of
America’s station, W2RCA. Scores should be posted to 3830 Scores Home.
You can find all the
rules and more information about additional events
commemorating the Transatlantic Test’s centennial:
A free
certificate will be available, along with a complimentary
copy of the commemorative RCA Proceedings, from the RCA
site.
A
MONTH OF FESTIVITIES
The RCA Transatlantic
QSO Party is held as a centennial anniversary commensurate
with the building of TX station in November. Note that
this is the ONLY participatory QSO event for the
Transatlantic Centennial, so plan your celebration now😊
But…stay
tuned… the Radio Club of America will be RE-ENACTING the
TRANSATLANTIC TRANSMISSIONS at 02:52 UT on 12 December on
160m with W2RCA. More info to come!
The Antique Wireless
Association(AWA), American Radio Relay League(ARRL), The
Radio Society of Great Britain(RSGB), Radio Club of
America(RCA), and others all are participating in the
Transatlantic Centennial festivities Watch for additional
news pieces as the month progresses!
(text
by W1YW and KE8JFW)
73
DR
Life Member
SOWP, ARRL, Radio Club of America, FISTS, LICWC, VWOA.
1988 Gold
Medalist VWOA Marconi Medal of Service.