Transmission of a Message by Amateur Radio
Saturday, December 11, 2021 (revised 2021-11-15)
On a cold winter night on December 11, 1921, members of the Radio Club of America were able to send the first amateur radio message from a small shack in Greenwich, CT to be received by American Paul Godley in Ardrossan, Scotland. This transatlantic test proved the value of shorter wavelengths – long considered worthless to long-distance communications and through their success ushered in the age of global shortwave radio communications.
The Antique Wireless Association, in association with the Vintage Radio and Communications Museum of Connecticut in Windsor, CT, the Radio Club of America, the American Radio Relay League, and the Radio Society of Great Britain, will participate in the 100th Anniversary special events to be held Saturday, December 11, 2021.
For the 75th anniversary celebration of the 1BCG accomplishment in 1996, AWA members Bob and Mike Raide constructed a replica of the 1921 transmitter. For this 100th celebration, AWA Museum Staff has restored the replica.
The Vintage Radio and Communications Museum of Connecticut in Windsor CT has graciously offered to host the AWA operation of the replica transmitter during the evening of December 11th. “AWA sincerely appreciates the support and commitment of VRCMCT Museum and Museum Staff to make this 100th-anniversary celebration use of the AWA replica transmitter possible,” said Robert Hobday N2EVG, AWA President and Chairman. The 1BCG replica transmitter will be on public display at the VRCMCT Museum during the afternoon of Saturday December 11, 2021.
The transmitter will be operating during the evening as W2AN/1BCG on 1.821 MHz, plus or minus, using CW. Members of the RSGB in Ardrossan will be listening for those signals with the goal of replicating the 1921 successful transatlantic reception using a 1921 designed transmitter. The 1921 message was sent one-way. Acknowledgment of Paul Godley’s reception of 1BCG’s message was sent back to the US via the Marconi high power radio transmitter in Wales.
Schedule: Transmissions start on December 11, 2021, on 1.821 MHz, at 1800 EST or 2300 UTC, then every 15 minutes thereafter for a total of five hours thusly; 1815, 1830, 1845, 1900, 1915, 1930, 1945, 2000, 2015, 2030, 2045, 2100, 2115, 2130, 2145, 2200, 2215, 2230 and the last transmission at 2245 EST. The VRCMCT Museum graciously invites the public to attend the evening operation of the 1BCG transmitter.
To review the efforts for preparing things at the AWA Museum, visit this website’s History Event page here.
For further details on the operating schedule and the history of the accomplishment in 1921, please visit the AWA 1BCG.org website.
Any station receiving the 100th centennial message sent by W2AN/1BCG can receive a 100th 1BCG Anniversary Certificate e-mailed from AWA by e-mailing their report to 1BCG@AntiqueWireless.org.
https://www.antiquewireless.org/homepage/news/
BDXC 11 Dec)