Finally, nearly one year after the armistice, a breakthrough: A single, tacked-on page, after the end cover of October QST, a hastily added special announcement proclaimed: “BAN OFF! THE JOB IS DONE AND THE A.R.R.L. DID IT. See next QST for details” The HR Hick cover drawing for the November issue depicted a joyous ham bursting from the top of a can, popping off the lid (which, just to make sure the metaphor was understood, is labeled “the lid”)—he clutches … Continue reading
Despite the political and regulatory-control disputes between amateurs and the Secretary, the Navy well understood how much it had benefited from all the trained amateurs ready to volunteer for service during the war and the likelihood of needing them again someday. In August the Navy announced it would begin broadcasting test messages containing weather information and text for code-copying practice at 15 and 25 words per minute every night on 476 meters from NAJ, the Great Lakes station, “in order … Continue reading
As it seemed ever more likely that the US might enter the war in Europe, radio amateurs speculated about their own role. Referring to it as “the disturbance,” a late-1916 QST editorial noted that the president had activated the National Guard and that Signal Corps units had been particularly prominent in the call-up.1 One Connecticut amateur, David Moore, 1ZZ, a member of his state’s unit and one of the original governors of the ARRL, related his experience: “The attitude of … Continue reading