Subj : Amateur Radio Newsline (C)
To : All
From : Daryl Stout
Date : Fri Sep 17 2021 03:56 am
REPLICA TRANSMITTER BEING PREPPED FOR DECEMBER EVENT
NEIL/ANCHOR: Big plans are being made to mark the day radio
amateurs proved they could send signals across the Atlantic. Jack
Parker, W8ISH, tells us what's happening.
JACK: December 11th, 1921 was a significant day for amateur radio:
It was the day of the Transatlantic Test Project, when hams'
shortwave frequencies showed themselves to be capable of
transatlantic radio communications, even at 200 meters or less.
The experimental transmission of station 1BCG, using a tube-based
transmitter, was conducted by the Radio Club of America on 1.3 MHz
and resulted in successful reception in Scotland.
One hundred years later, December 11th, 2021 will be an equally
significant day. A replica of that transmitter will be used to
re-enact that CW transmission on 160 meters not far from the spot
in Connecticut from which the original CW transmission was sent.
Longtime Antique Wireless Association member Bob Raide, W2ZM, now
a Silent Key, (SK) built the replica for a special event 25 years
ago. AWA volunteers have spent lots of time lately refurbishing
it, wiring a plate supply, building a filament power supply and
sorting out usable tubes.
For a day that comes along once every hundred years, radio
operators -- and the transmitter -- need to be ready.
AWA trustee, Joe Stoltz, K2AEI, told Newsline: [quote] "We have
had the transmitter powered up and are able to get 350 watts RF on
160 meters with one amplifier tube. The next step is to construct
a 160 meter antenna so we can do some actual on-air testing before
December." [endquote] Then be listening for the contact of the
century.
For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Jack Parker, W8ISH.
(ANTIQUE WIRELESS ASSOCIATION, JOE STOLTZ K2AEI)
**
US, UK STATIONS ALSO MARK TRANSATLANTIC ANNIVERSARY
NEIL/ANCHOR: Some equally important modern-day contacts are being
planned for the big anniversary and they involve radio societies
in the US and the UK. Here's Jeremy Boot, G4NJH, with those
details.
JEREMY: The Radio Society of Great Britain also has big plans for
the centenary of the first transatlantic personal message between
radio amateurs. Nick Totterdell, G4FAL, the society's HF contest
committee chairman, told Newsline that the ARRL and RSGB members
are organising a number of activities surrounding the anniversary.
There will also be a Transatlantic QSO Party to be held on the
13th and 14th of November, being sponsored by the Radio Club of
America. Nick said other activities will be disclosed soon on the
society's website and will appear in the society's RadCom
magazine. The society is hoping to maximise participation in the
US and the UK and increase worldwide awareness of this achievement
100 years ago.
For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jeremy Boot, G4NJH.
**
POTA ADDS MORE THAN 1,000 PARKS TO ITS SYSTEM
NEIL/ANCHOR: If you activate or even chase Parks on the Air,
you'll want to hear the first of this new monthly POTA report from
Vance Martin, N3VEM.
VANCE: This month in Parks on the Air news, we have two exciting
updates to share with everybody. Our first: We are excited to
announce that we have recently added over 1,000 parks to the Parks
on the Air System. For the last several months we've had a small
contingent of volunteers combing through user requests to add
additional parks, validating that those requested parks meet the
criteria for inclusion in POTA and formatting the list so they
can be added to the system. After hundreds of volunteer hours the
lists are now in the system and ready for you to go activate.
Check out the maps and search pages at the POTA.APP website to see
if any of these new units are in your area.
Also in POTA news, we are excited to share that we are formalizing
a Parks on the Air support desk. You can always continue to get
community support via the Facebook group or via the POTA Help
Channel in the POTA Slack Group. But we have a small group of
volunteers who have agreed to be on a rotating schedule to help
you with your official technical support questions. To reach the
official POTA support desk, all you need to do is send an email to
[email protected]
We have coverage for most days of the week so you will usually get
a response within 24 hours but no worse than 48 hours based on our
volunteers' schedules. We won't solve every problem that fast but
you'll know that we're on it. Issues requiring Level 2 support are
generally resolved within the week.
This is N3VEM. Be sure to visit Parks On the Air dot com for more
info about the program and POTA.APP for spotting, park
information, leaderboards and more.
(VANCE MARTIN, N3VEM, POTA)
--- SBBSecho 3.14-Win32
* Origin: The Thunderbolt BBS - Little Rock, Arkansas (432:1/112)
