Who Started Amateur Radio?

[WA6CAW]

The man who started radio transmission for a practical use was, by his own admission, the first ham !!

# #" Radio communications had its beginning in the latter part of the 1800's, when a young man named Guglielmo Marconi developed the wireless telegraph system, now called radio. #By his own admission, Marconi said, "I am a radio amateur." End quote.

I do have a point to make, so bear with me.

Marconi was, as we look back, the father of "UWB Transmission" also sometimes called SS, or spread spectrum. "Arc" transmission used by Marconi, covered several MHz of spectrum when transmitted. But who cares, 1.0 MHz +/- 1.0 Mhz was not very busy then! No license, no freq. coord. and no regulations. Ah, those were the days!

But, the need to communicate was a prioity when using "radio waves". So, Marconi used some cave man style of transmitting information, and it was called Morse code. Now mister Morse soon saw that he would not make any money from trying to sell, control, and license his di-dahs he invented. I believe the code actually came from his stuttering, and the inability to speak clearly. So when asked a question, he would say"da da di I da da do'nt know!"

He went on to help his brother, Phillip, to promote his invention: the cigarette. #Phillip soon saw that it was easier to hook people on tobacco than code, and so it is today!

The point is: (I know, you thought I would never get there)

WHERE ARE THE ADVANCED THINKERS OF TECHNOLOGY TODAY?

ARS was up until 50 years ago, the place for advanced testing and development of new technologies. Now I realize I may be painting a picture with broad strokes, but what percentage of hams are just "radio users or operators" and not radio understanders? Do you know what a PLL is and what it does? How positive or negative feedback provides clearer and cleaner RF transmissions ? Where are the new thinkers that think outside the box?

Now before you jump on me about new technologies in process, I know they are out there. One comes to mind at this link:

http://www.classeradio.com/

And this forum:
http://classe.monkeypuppet.com/viewtopic.php?t=146


Class E AM transmitters is New Tech. #Anybody building one? Anybody building anything, besides antennas?

OK, let's hear your opinion on the "state of the art in ARS".
Are we leading, or following? How many users vs understanders?

[w3sy]

And I think Marconi was the first to key a transmitter and ask, "Who's the DX."

[K6UEY]

Wasn't it Marconi who had to go to Labrador because he was not allowed to operate in the US because he was violating some on else's Patent ? http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/confused.gif

[ai4ep]

http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif so now we have the question : which was built first...the RECIEVER or the TRANSMITTER ? How would they know a transmitter was transmitting, unless they had a reciever to hear it transmit ?...also...How would they know a reciever was recieving unless there was a transmitter to transmit a signal for the reciever to recieve ? http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/confused.gif Then you would wonder..." What if the reciever was recieving the area of the future AM broadcast band ( 530 khz to 1700 khz ), but the transmitter was transmitting a steady carrier with very little audio on 28 Mhz. ?? http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif

[ai4ep]

http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/confused.gif Labrador ... aint that a kind of dog ? They call the animals LABS for short abbreviation..... then if you call the dog by the name METH ( say it like math, but with a slur )... then you have your very own METH LAB . http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wow.gif

[N0KLT]

And here all this time I thought Al Gore had invented amateur radio right before he invented the internet. Oh well, live and learn.


73

Gary NØKLT

[K6UEY]

GARY,
I would be willing to give Al Gore credit for inventing Ham Radio if they ship him off to Labrador...... http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

[W0LC]

The first amateur?

Must have been at least 3 of them. One sending, one receiving, and one relaying.

"Was that a five-five?"
"no, send the second number only"
"Count it out"

[N0KLT]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (K6UEY @ Oct. 14 2003,14:10)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">GARY,
I would be willing to give Al Gore credit for inventing Ham Radio if they ship him off to Labrador...... http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
Hell of a plan, but he has to take Tipper with him and keep her there also. http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

73

Gary NØKLT

[K9STH]

Marconi invented nothing! Every one of his patents were rescinded in favor of someone else, the last one to Tesla shortly before he (Tesla) died in 1943. Dolbear's U.S. patent (mid 1880s) which was for almost exactly the same equipment as used by Marconi kept the British Marconi Company from being able to operate in the United States until Marconi actually bought the patent.

Mahlon Loomis started experimenting with wireless as early as 1858 and demonstrated it to the Union Army several times during the Civil War (Loomis held the rank of major in the Union Army and was &quot;attached&quot; to headquarters in Washington, DC). Unfortunately, the army was not interested in this &quot;new fangled&quot; invention. Loomis did demonstrate his system to a fair number of congressmen in 1867 by communicating between two mountain tops (about 15 miles apart) in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Marconi's mother was a British subject and she (and I have been told be various amateurs who are from Ireland) and her father promoted his &quot;inventions&quot; to the British. The result was that a number of Members of Parliment and very influential British businessmen invested heavily in Marconi's company. Because of this involvement of Parliment, everything was done to silence any British subject who had a prior claim to wireless. This included people like Sir Oliver Lodge (of the University of Liverpool) and Reginald Fessenden who held dual United States and Canadian citizenship.

Marconi was awarded the Nobel Prize for &quot;inventing&quot; radio. However, all he did was to commercialize wireless communications. For this he definitely needs to be remembered. But, calling him the &quot;inventor&quot; of radio is a falsehood that has been perpetuated for decades.

The systems used by Loomis, Dolbear, Stubblefield, Lodge, Fessenden, and others differed. Some more like the others and some completely different. Each contributed to the advancement of wireless telegraphy, and, in the case of Fessenden, to voice communications as well.

There is an article available on both of my web sites about this subject. Also, it is referenced in an article on the ARRL website last week about the inventors of radio. Go to

http://home.comcast.net/~zcomco

or

http://home.comcast.net/~k9sth

for more details. That article was originally published in the now defunct 73 Magazine in the mid-1990s.

Glen, K9STH

[K6UEY]

GARY,
What do you think the chances are of having the Clintons join the Gores in the move ??
http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif
POST SCRIPT:
Maybe it could be a charter flight and include the Gebhardts and a few more.......... http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

[n6idf]

I think Gray Davis is looking for a new home as well.

Glen, glad you mentioned Stubblefield. I did an article on him (lived in his home town) for WLW. Way back.

If Marconi xmitted from Labrador, probably cause it was closer to wherever he wanted to go. Seems there are few inventions that are clearly the accomplishment of one person. The &quot;standing on the shoulders&quot; bit. I am still looking for some shoulders to stand on. http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

TOM K8ERV

[WA6CAW]

Glen,

I knew you would set us all straight..........but weren't you kinda young when Marconi started?

Marconi put the commercial in wireless use. The formation of the FCC was to be very shortly after ARC transmissions began. Since everyone was on the same frequency(if you want to call it that) and interference was the name of the game, the government established a ruling organization. It was not called the FCC at first...........anyone know what the name was then?

Anyway, there were only two classes of licenses: Commercial and amateur, or private. Ships were the big users, but the next step was to put &quot;voice&quot; on the air waves. Another story.

Glad you mentioned my mentor.......Nicky boy. More formally refered to Mr. Tesla. Although he was never a ham, he invented and discovered more things than all the rest of the known inventors at that time. And was to get the least recognition for all of it. Probably due to his demeanor. I understand he was not a outgoing person to be around.

Isn't that right, Glen? You do you remember, don't you?

[WA6CAW]

BTW, isn't that new movie about the Clinton's? Hill n' Billy.
Called KILL BILL?

[KI4BOO]

You're all wrong.

I invented Amateur Radio.

Way back when, I was working on a new way for people to contact each other while sitting in a saloon. I doodled a couple of dots and dashes on a napkin, and that idiot Morse found it and called it his code. #http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mad.gif Some nerve...

Anyways, Ever sence I have been working to abolish the so called &quot;Morse Code&quot; and remove &quot;morse code&quot; requirements, which have given that dirty, rotten thief all of his fame.

Yes, thats right. Ever since this service was concieved, I have been a No-Code Technition. In fact, I am the world's first No-Code Technition.

You best reckanize, foo'.


http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[K9STH]

When Marconi was starting my grandfather was just a teenager (on my father's father's side) and my great grandfather was a teenager on my mother's side (both were born in 1875)!

Fessenden was probably the most successful of those who were broadcasting voice. He was modulating a rotary spark although I understand that he also was using inductive methods as well (long antenna strung along side of the Niagra River on the Canadian side).

It is just that I have been interested in the &quot;real&quot; origins of wireless and radio for many years. Read about Loomis in an old issue of Popular Electronics. Somewhere I have a copy of his actual patent including the diagrams that are missing from the copies available today. The diagrams are pretty interesting.

Glen, K9STH

[kb9ax]

I guess to answer the original question, well, before I do let’s give some credit to Heinrich Hertz. After all he was having qso’s on 6 meters before anyone even thought of the really long wavelengths.

Ok, back to the original question. Back in the early days of amateur radio, radio was the leading edge of electronics in general. Almost all other uses of electronics utilized the components of radio in some way. This isn’t true today, and the equipment and facilities needed to really advance the state of the art can be pretty daunting. So, I would look at it as how many hams currently are advancing the state of the art of electronics. I think this number is quite significant. The number of hams currently employed as scientists and engineers is pretty high. I would even say that the number of inventions and innovations made as a percentage of the ham population is still pretty good. We now have software, antennas, radio design, computer design, chip design, modulation techniques and many others fields to consider.

I for one will admit that my experience as a ham over many years has contributed to many of the innovations I have made. One example concerned working on a system used to measure spin rates of molecules and how they relate to molecule size. This system was eventually used to determine therapeutic levels of drugs in the blood stream. While working on this system, my knowledge of near and far field antenna calculations allowed us to find an error in some of the early work and we where able to increase sensitivity on the apparatus used by changing the polarization systems. This is just one example that I still relate to amateur radio, there are others. There seems to be a significant number of hams on this board with a history of innovation as well, and in some of those cases ham radio was a spring board for their career.

I don’t know if this answers your question directly, but I hope it shows a newer way of thinking about it. Oh yeah, I do know what a PLL is too.

Dan KB9AX

[ai4ep]

http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif ok...BREAK time !!!...every one get up out of your chair, walk around, smoke a cigarette, walk outside and look at your antenna system ( or vehicle ) , take 10 deep breaths ( I would tell you to go smoke a cig and THEN take 10 deep breaths , lol ) ... touch your toes and come back in and sit down. and type a message.... http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/confused.gif BREAK time is over !!

[WA6CAW]

Thanks for your input, Dan..................

I for one will admit that my experience as a ham over many years has contributed to many of the innovations I have made. One example concerned working on a system used to measure spin rates of molecules and how they relate to molecule size. This system was eventually used to determine therapeutic levels of drugs in the blood stream. While working on this system, my knowledge of near and far field antenna calculations allowed us to find an error in some of the early work and we where able to increase sensitivity on the apparatus used by changing the polarization systems. This is just one example that I still relate to amateur radio, there are others. There seems to be a significant number of hams on this board with a history of innovation as well, and in some of those cases ham radio was a spring board for their career.

I don’t know if this answers your question directly, but I hope it shows a newer way of thinking about it. Oh yeah, I do know what a PLL is too.

Dan KB9AX




I think you have a good take on the contributions of the ham community to technology innovations and implementations.

I can remember when education in electronics at a college level was just that..........Electronics 101. Covered all the aspects #in one class. That was 1959. Now, nearly 50 years later, there are more than 100 subjects that fall in the &quot;electronics&quot; category, and would require 6 or more years to study them all.

Ever notice as advancements continue, products seem to blend together? Take the digital(and what isn't) camera. Video cameras can take still pictures too. Still cameras can take moving video also, up to 90 minutes. So what's the difference between the two cameras? Not much.

I have contributed also to the advancement of scrambled video. My invention stayed with the company I was working for, and that company has since been incorporated into the Jerrold Corp, then General Dynamics, to the present conglomerate, Motorola Inc. Inverted random sync still is used today in a modified form from what I originally proposed.

It would be interesting to take a poll on here of all the hams involved in the advancing of the state of the art. I believe there would be several call signs listed, including our friend Glen, K9STH.

What do you think?

[K9STH]

Well, I haven't contributed that much! I only have one patent and that was for a particular heat sink design for use on thick film resistors. Of course it stayed with the company that I worked for as well!

Glen, K9STH

[KG4RYT]

I started Ham radio!!
I wanted it to be a starting place for real chicken band (CB)operators.



This is a mild attempt at humor http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

[kb9ax]

Glenn, that still sounds like a significant contribution to me. Not to mention Elmering and other activities we have all been part of.

Like you, all of my patents stay with the companies I have worked for, But you are sill the listed inventor. I just think the way we contribute to the state of the art has changed.

Think about it. I can't make an IC at home, but I know how to design one. Does that mean I can't contribute from home as a ham. I don't think so.

Dan KB9AX

[kb9ax]

KG4RYT; I know you are lying. Everyone knows Al Gore had to have invented Ham Radio. You will never convince me otherwise.

Dan KB9AX http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

[ei5ja]

Forget all that garbage.
Fresh off the presses./

The year - 1908.

The people -

Albert S Hyman

Robert Almy

Poogie Murray

All members of the Harvard Radio Club.
Courtesy of Florida Skip Magazine 1959.
(via Echo Ireland)

73 Ed http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

[W5HTW]

Al Gore

[KG4RYT]

Al Gore,
Didn't he say he invented the internet?
Well if he did that and we know most hams are now on the internet, (echo links). I think maybe in his mind he has a point.


Maybe he is a legend in his on simple mind.
http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/confused.gif

[ai4ep]

http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif was ELVIS PRESLEY a amateur radio operator ..or a cb operator ?

Al Gore may have invented Ham Radio, But I invented Al Gore, so that puts me first in line! http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

On second thot, I'm not real proud of inventing Al Gore.
One of the only two mistakes I have ever made.


http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mad.gif