Waking Up

As amateur stations fell silent, the airwaves continued to carry commercial and military signals, many from the fingertips of former radio amateurs. But despite their contributions there were some in government who still sought to limit or eliminate the use of wireless by private individuals. As the battles ceased in Europe, amateur radio came under renewed attack at home. Bills introduced in both houses of Congress shortly after the armistice sought to turn control of all use of radio over … Continue reading

Transcons

As 1916 drew to a close, Maxim made a plea to organize what might be the first round-trip relay across the country.1 The February Washington’s Birthday test had demonstrated relaying a message to the entire country broadcast-style, beginning in the Midwest.  This one would be more difficult: a message originated on the East Coast would be relayed across the country, arrive at a West Coast station where a reply would be sent, which would then be relayed back to the … Continue reading

Cooperation and QRM

In mid-February 1916, coincident with Maxim’s second article on relaying, one of the first organized relay tests was run. With everyone sharing very little spectrum, cooperation was the only way to avoid QRM (a constant fact of life at the time) and hear weak, distant signals. In a rare cooperative operation between an amateur group and the government, a relay test was conducted on Washington’s Birthday by Colonel W. P. Nicholson, 9XE at the Rock Island Arsenal in Illinois, and … Continue reading

Trunk Lines

Clearly, Maxim’s main goal was to establish reliable relaying across the entire country. He was excited by its collaborative nature. In the third and last free issue of QST he wrote, “The co-operation of a few unknown but nevertheless kindred spirits between Portland, Maine and Portland, Oregon, by means of which the message is handed on, adds a touch to the whole scheme and makes it almost Utopian.”1 It was the primary reason for organizing the League, whose membership had … Continue reading