1. THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO
John Antonuk / AL7ID

2. THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO
Beginning in the early 1800’s the study of electromagnetism began, leading to the discovery and development of radio and the devices to send and receive those signals.
Here are some of the important figures
THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO

3. THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO
Faraday
Faraday:
He established the laws of magnetic induction. Following this he built electric motors, generators, and transformers. He discovered Alternating Current.
Most important of all, he founded the electromagnetic theory of light.
Faraday “cage”
Story about man in Australia recently who put his work GPS tracker in a foil chip bag to avoid tracking, skip work, go golfing.
THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO

4. THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO
Maxwell
Maxwell:
Proved mathematically that Faraday’s concepts were tenable and that magnetic phenomena were identical with light. In his book, “Electricity and Magnetism” he proposed the theory that all electric and magnetic phenomena could be reduced to motion in the form of waves.
THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO

5. THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO
Maxwell
Maxwell's equations for electromagnetism have been called the "second great unification in physics" after the first one realized by Isaac Newton.
THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO

6. THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO
Hertz
Heinrich Hertz:
a German physicist who first conclusively proved the existence of the electromagnetic waves theorized by James Clerk Maxwell's electromagnetic theory of light.
The unit of frequency — cycle per second — was named the "hertz" in his honor.
THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO

7. THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO
Marconi
Guglielmo Marconi:
Not the “inventor” of radio, but certainly the “father” of radio. He put together the theories and devices, turning what was essentially a laboratory experiment into a useful communication system.
 His worldwide fame came upon the successful trans-Atlantic wireless transmission on December 12, 1901
 He went on to form a hugely successful worldwide wireless company.
THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO

8. THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO
Fleming
Electrical engineer and physicist, is known for inventing the first thermionic valve or vacuum tube in
THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO

9. THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO
Fleming
This was a two electrode tube or diode
THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO

10. THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO
Alexanderson
Ernst Alexanderson:
Among Alexanderson's first assignments was one initiated by Professor Reginald Fessenden. Fessenden had been seeking to improve on the spark transmitters by building a transmitter which produced a continuous wave carrier upon which he could attach the human voice. Most alternating generators of the time were limited to about 60 Hertz. Fessenden knew he needed a much higher frequency.
So, in 1904, Fessenden turned to GE, and set a rather impressive goal for Dr. Alexanderson: a machine which would generate a frequency of 100,000 Hertz.
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11. THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO
Alexanderson
It took two years, but in 1906, Alexanderson had constructed a 2 kW, 100 kHz alternator. Fessenden installed it in his transmitter at Brant Rock, MA, and the historic Christmas Eve broadcast took place. Following a series of "CQ" transmissions in Morse code, radio operators who were monitoring that night were astonished to hear Fessenden's voice reading the Bible and poetry. As wireless rooms filled with the curious, a woman was heard to sing! The program concluded with a violin solo and short speech.
THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO

12. THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO
Fessenden
Reginald Fessenden:
Inventor of an audio transmitter that used Alexanderson’s electromechanical radio frequency alternator that produced continuous waves.
He reported making the first ever audio broadcast transmissions on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve 1906.
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13. THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO
de Forest
Lee deForest:
His most famous invention, in 1906, was the three-element "Audion" (triode) vacuum tube, the first practical amplification device. Although De Forest had only a limited understanding of how it worked, it was the foundation of the field of electronics, making possible radio broadcasting, long distance telephone lines, and talking motion pictures, among countless other applications.
THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO

14. THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO
de Forest
the three-element "Audion" (triode) vacuum tube, the first practical amplification device.
THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO

15. THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO
Armstrong
Edwin H. Armstrong: 1890 – 1954
Brilliant inventor and engineer. Resposible for many radio breakthroughs;
the regenerative receiver, the “super-heterodyne” receiver, and frequency modulation.
THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO

16. THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO
Armstrong
Super-heterodyne receiver block diagram
THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO

17. William Shockley, John Bardeen and Walter Brattain
The transistor was successfully demonstrated on December 23, 1947 at Bell Laboratories in Murray Hill, New Jersey. Bell Labs is the research arm of American Telephone and Telegraph (AT&T). The three individuals credited with the invention of the transistor were William Shockley, John Bardeen and Walter Brattain
THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO

18. William Shockley, John Bardeen and Walter Brattain
After eight years of trying Shockley could not build a working model. Bardeen and Brattain were called in.
What Bardeen and Brattain had created was the "point-contact" transistor. Shockley subsequently designed a new type of transistor called the "bipolar" transistor which was superior to the point- contact type and replaced it. Thus the transistor was, in large part, Shockley's creation.
THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO

19. THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO
1901 Marconi
In 1901 Marconi sends radio signals across the Atlantic ocean. For radio this was the shot heard ‘round the world.
THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO

20. THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO
1900’s early days
Amateurs begin to communicate with spark gap transmitters
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21. THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO
1900’s early days
1904 Fleming invents the diode tube
1906 de Forest invents the Audion triode tube
On November 3, 1906 twenty seven nations signed the International Wireless Telegraph Convention in Berlin. Amateurs were not even mentioned. Perhaps the greatest historical significance of this convention insofar as amateurs were concerned is the fact that it first officially adopted the term ‘radio’. This convention related only to shipboard and coastal stations.
THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO

22. THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO
1900’s early days
1906 Christmas Eve Reginald Fessenden astounds radio listeners used to hearing only the buzz of spark Morse code with the sound of the spoken word and music as he demonstrates his new “high-frequency” Alexanderson alternator transmitter
THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO

23. THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO
1900’s early days
On January 2, 1909, the first amateur radio organization was formed, the Junior Wireless Club of New York City. Also in 1909 the Wireless Association of America
In 1910 other clubs formed; Radio Club of Salt Lake City, Wireless Association of Central California.
On October 21, 1911 the Junior Wireless Club changed its name to the Radio Club of America.
THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO

24. THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO
1910’s things get going
Many attempts were made to introduce legislation governing radio of all type. Finally the Radio Act of 1912 was passed on May 7.
Amateur radio was now restricted to a wavelength of 200 meters (1500 kHz).
It was widely believed at the time that this wavelength and those shorter were of no value so giving them to amateur operators was no loss to commercial and/or military interests.
This was the reason for the title of the book “200 Meters & Down” that I used for much of the history material for this presentation.
THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO

25. THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO
1910’s things get going
1913 Armstrong invents the regenerative receiver greatly increasing the sensitivity.
1915 Carson patents Single Sideband SSB. It would not be easy or popular for another 35 years
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26. THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO
1912 Titanic
Radio aboard the Titanic allows the SOS call to bring help which saved 700 lives
THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO

27. THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO
1914 ARRL is formed
A new relay organization was proposed by Maxim to the April meeting of the Radio Club of Hartford and they agreed to pursue it. Many amateurs joined the new organization, the American Radio Relay League.
THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO

28. THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO
1915 ARRL
And in February of 2015 the ARRL separated from the Radio Club of Hartford to become a standalone organization.
THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO

29. THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO
1915 QST
At the end of 2015 the first issue of QST came off the press to be sent to the members.
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30. THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO
World War One
World War One shuts down amateur radio: April 1917 to October 1919, almost a full year after the Armistice.
It takes strong lobbying by the ARRL to get it re-authorized in the face of a challenge from the US Navy to take over all radio.
THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO

31. THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO
Superhet
Armstrong patents the superheterodyne receiver. This design is the standard for decades to come.
THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO

32. THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO
Broadcasting
Broadcast station KDKA in Pittsburg, PA, went on the air on November 2, 1920 to broadcast the results of the election of President Harding. This is regarded as the dawn of radio broadcasting
THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO

33. THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO
Broadcasting
The number of station grew and by the end of 1921 the situation of broadcast vs. amateur became critical. These stations often used the same frequencies and did not “play well together”.
There was nothing in the regulations, up to this point, that restricted amateurs from broadcasting activity. Finally in January 1922 the Department of Commerce issued regulation forbidding broadcasting by amateur station.
THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO

34. THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO
1924 – more bands and CW
In 1924 amateurs received the use of 80, 40, 20 meters but no spark here, only CW. International communications across the oceans by amateurs certainly prove that 200 meters and down was not useless.
THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO

35. 1925 International Amateur Radio Union
In Paris, France, in the spring of 1925 the International Amateur Radio Union was created with Hiram Percy Maxim, U1AW, as international president.
THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO

36. 1925 International Amateur Radio Union
The International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) is an international confederation of national amateur radio organizations that allows a forum for common matters of concern and collectively represents matters to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO

37. 1925 International Amateur Radio Union
The IARU does not make, create, or enforce any laws, rules or regulations. It is a lobbying organization.
Other IARU member societies include the Radio Society of Great Britain – RSGB, the Radio Amateurs of Canada – RAC, etc.
THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO

38. 1927 Federal Radio Commission
The Radio Act of 1927 created the Federal Radio Commission.
In the fall of 1927 the International Radiotelegraph Conference was held in Washington, DC. Some 70 nations gathered and created a treaty ratified by the US Senate in March 1928 which reduced some of the frequency allocations to amateur radio.
THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO

39. 1932 International Telecommuncation Union
Created in 1865 as the International Telegraph Union it now changes its name to reflect “telecommuncation”
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40. THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO
ITU
The ITU Sector ITU-R was established in 1927 as the International Radio Consultative Committee or CCIR (from its French name). This sector manages the international radio-frequency spectrum and satellite orbit resources. In 1992, the CCIR became the ITU-R.
THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO

41. THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO
ITU
World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC) is organized by ITU to review, and, as necessary, revise the Radio Regulations, the international treaty governing the use of the radio-frequency spectrum and the geostationary-satellite and non-geostationary-satellite orbits. It is held every three to four years.
THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO

42. THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO
ITU
Prior to 1993 it was called the World administrative radio conference WARC; in 1992 at an Additional Plenipotentiary Conference in Geneva the ITU was restructured and later conferences became the WRC.
Some hams may call the 30, 17, 12 meter bands the “WARC” bands. This nickname came from the suggested introduction of those bands by the then “World Administrative Radio Conference”
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43. THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO
FCC
The Federal Communications Commission was created by the Communications Act of 1934.
Even though the United States participates in the ITU and WRC, all actual authorizations come from the FCC.
THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO

44. THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO
FCC
Regulations regarding amateur radio are contained in
Title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations – Part 97 – Amateur Radio Service
THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO

45. THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIOFM
In 1934 Edwin Armstrong begins test transmissions with his new FM system on 42 MHz.
THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO

46. THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO
1935 – ARRL Emergency Corps
The history of the Amateur Radio Emergency Service begins in 1935 with a note in the September issue of QST magazine, asking hams interested in signing up for emergency communications to write to League HQ.
Initial instructions were for members to contact their local civic officials and offer their services. The goal was to have a least one ARRL Emergency Corps member in each community. The first local emergency coordinators were appointed in 1937.
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47. THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO
1937 – ARRL DXCC
In 1937 the ARRL introduces the DXCC program.
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48. THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO
1941 – World War Two
World War Two once again shuts down amateur radio: December 1941 to November 1945.
This time there was a domestic service created called War Emergency Radio Service – WERS
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49. THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO
Transistor
William Shockley, John Bardeen and Walter Brattain develop the transistor which revolutionizes electronics.
THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO

50. THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO
1947 – ITU joins the UN
The ITU is THE international organization that drives telecommuncations technical issues. It now comes under the umbrella of the newly created United Nations
THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO

51. THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO
1948 – SSB
THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO

52. THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO
1948 – SSB
Illustration of the spectrum of AM and SSB signals. The lower side band (LSB) spectrum is inverted compared to the baseband. As an example, a 2 kHz audio baseband signal modulated onto a 5 MHz carrier will produce a frequency of MHz if upper side band (USB) is used or MHz if LSB is used.
THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO

53. THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO
1948 – NTS
While the name of the ARRL implies the passing of message traffic via intermediate relay stations, the modern National Traffic System did not come into being until 1949
THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO

54. THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO
1948 – NTS
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55. THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO
1951 AREC
The ARRL Emergency Corps becomes the Amateur Radio Emergency Corps
AREC
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56. THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO
1961 OSCAR
December 12, 1961 the first amateur satellite is launched.
It transmits “HI” in morse code.
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57. THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO
1970’s – VHF FM
VHF FM Mobile and handheld radio use expands greatly
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58. THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO
ARES
The Amateur Radio Emergency Corps becomes the Amateur Radio Emergency Service
ARES members serve an important role in emergency communications preparedness.
THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO

59. THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO
ARES
This is an ARRL organization, not to be confused with the
Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service – RACES
RACES is an FCC classification. There are RACES FCC licensed stations. FCC no longer issues RACES licenses.
There is no FCC official recognition of ARES stations. There is no special license or license privileges that come with being an ARES member.
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60. THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO
Packet
Tucson Amateur Packet Radio is founded and establishes the AX.25 standard which we still use today. MFJ 1270 was a ubiquitous terminal node controller
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61. THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO
APRS
Using the AX.25 protocol, Bob Bruninga, WB4APR, creates an extension of packet radio to provide add features such as position and object information as well as messaging.
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62. THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO
VEC
The FCC no longer administers exams for amateur radio. They are now given by volunteer examiners.
THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO

63. THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO
SDR
Joe Mitola publishes “Software Radio” in the May issue of IEEE Communications magazine.
THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO

64. THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO
PSK31
Developed by Peter Martinez G3PLX
It is one of the early computer audio sound card interface protocols.
THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO

65. THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO
WSJT
Joe Taylor, K1JT, of the Princeton University Physics department pioneers weak signal work with special encoding/decoding
This covers JT-65, JT-9, and the new popular FT-8
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66. THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO
SDR
Flex Radio is founded
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67. THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO
Cubesat
Proposed in 1999, the first cubesats are orbited in 2003.
These low earth orbiting (LEO) satellites offer several modes for hams to operate, including CW, SSB, FM
THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO

68. THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO
2007 – Morse is gone
The requirement for Morse code is completely dropped from FCC license requirements
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69. THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO
future
Youth is the future of amateur radio
THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO

70. 2017 – future – alternate ending
Youth is the future of amateur radio
THE HISTORY OF HAM RADIO