Tag Archives: contest

Two Contests

Posted on by June 2, 2021
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In the fall of 1929, mounting interest in another message handling contest prompted a repeat of what ARRL Communications Manager F. E. Handy dubbed an “International DX Contest” like the one held in February 1928 that had been so popular.1 Since there had been both worldwide and US- and Canada-only events, there were many proponents for each kind. So, Handy and the others in the Communications Department decided that both would be held this time. Today, test is considered shorthand … Continue reading →

Rare International Sport

Posted on by June 2, 2021
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The Transcons, Transatlantics, relay speed record attempts, short wave tests, and the other group-oriented on-air events all owed their popularity to shared goals and objectives, but they were also simply fun to operate and involved an element of competition. The festive atmosphere generated by all the radio bugs coming on the air at once was not lost on the organizers who named these events parties. Described as a “worldwide contact contest” the ARRL planned an International Relay Party for spring, … Continue reading →

Crossings I—Aquitania

Posted on by June 2, 2021
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Marconi had first done it back in 1901. For amateurs, crossing the Atlantic was the next natural challenge—they had been thinking about it since before the war. Many in the scientific community were skeptical that such a feat could possibly be achieved at such a short wavelength as 200 meters, especially with power as low as one kilowatt. An early rumor that American signals had been received in Europe appeared in the press in December 1920.1 The new record, the … Continue reading →

Transcons at Record Speed

Posted on by June 2, 2021
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The League ran another round of transcontinental relays over several nights in January 1921, setting new records for coast-to-coast round-trip message relaying.1 Maxim’s station, 1AW, participated in several of them, even unplanned ones, operating all night with several guests sharing the duties as operators. On the first night, 14 January, the Hartford Courant and Los Angeles Times editors exchanged greetings, as did the editors at The San Francisco Examiner and Boston American. The second night, the mayors of Hartford and … Continue reading →