"Hello" Campaign Finale to Showcase Ham Radio's Past, Present and Future

Reginald Aubrey Fessenden

ARRL Media and Public Relations Manager Allen Pitts, W1AGP, seen here at Dayton Hamvention 2006, conceived the "Hello" campaign.

Fessenden's National Electric Signaling Company site in Brant Rock, Massachusetts.

Fessenden (right) in his Brant Rock laboratory with two colleagues. [North Carolina Division of Archives and History Photo]

ARRL Membership Manager Katie Breen, W1KRB, will be running a real-time blog -- called "Hello -- Live!" -- that will include both photos and video.

The Machrihanish antenna mast and site.

The GB1FVT special event QSL card.

ARRL staffers and volunteers will put W1AW on the air for the "Hello" finale December 29-30.

NEWINGTON, CT, Dec 22, 2006 -- Amateur Radio past, present and future will be the focus as the ARRL's "Hello" campaign concludes with on-the-air events Friday and Saturday, December 29 and 30. Aimed at putting a friendly face on Amateur Radio, "Hello" also has celebrated "100 years of voice over radio worldwide." In 1906, Canadian experimenter Reginald Fessenden transmitted a program of voice and music -- in essence the world's first radio broadcast -- from Brant Rock, Massachusetts. His original goal had been to make voice radio contact with a station in Machrihanish, Scotland, but that plan fell through after a storm felled the Scottish station's antenna. ARRL Media and Public Relations Manager Allen Pitts, W1AGP, says, Fessenden, "in true ham radio spirit," switched to "Plan B," broadcasting a Christmas Eve program to ships at sea.

"This month ham radio operators events will complete what Fessenden was unable to do in 1906 with special event stations and a lot more," Pitts says. "Three primary centennial special events will take to the airwaves December 29 and 30, representing the past, present and future of Amateur Radio."

Special event stations W100BO/W1F at Brant Rock -- sponsored by the Peconic Amateur Radio Club (PARC) with Steve Barreres, K2CX, as team leader -- and GB1FVT in Machrihanish -- with Duncan MacArthur, GM3TNT, heading that effort -- will epitomize Amateur Radio Past (Icom UK and Icom America are supplying equipment for both events). Hiram Percy Maxim Memorial Station W1AW at ARRL Headquarters will represent Amateur Radio Future. The station will be on the air with all voice modes for the event.

"In addition to the sites showing the past and future of radio, the transmission modes used will also reflect both traditional as well as new and emerging technologies," Pitts says. "The stations will be operating AM -- an early 20th-century mode -- and SSB and FM -- both later 20th-century modes. EchoLink and IRLP plus digital voice on HF will carry us into the 21st century." The special event will commence at 2000 UTC on Friday, December 29, and continue through the next 24 hours.

"Hello -- Live!" Special Event Blog

During the W1AW "Hello" event operation, ARRL Membership Manager Katie Breen, W1KRB, will be running a real-time blog -- called "Hello -- Live!" -- that will include both photos and video.

"This blog will be a way to find out and even see what's taking place at the three keystone stations," Breen said. She hopes to be able to include photos and video from all three sites. "I hope people will share their thoughts on what Amateur Radio has meant to them, whether they're longtime licensees or newcomers. I want this to be fun and interactive, so the amateur community can get a real picture of who we are here in Newington!"

Other Stations to Join the Celebration

Hundreds of other ham radio stations in the US and around the globe are also set to participate in the event. The special event participants will use a variety of modes, reflecting the advances that have been made in radio technology since 1906.

• The Amateur Radio Light House Society (ARLHS) will give 100 bonus points for each "Hello" special event station they work to those taking part in its Lighthouse Christmas Lights event, which continues until January 1.
• Mel Whitten, K0PFX, and Paul Metzger, KQ6EH, are organizing the digital HF activities for the event and are recruiting stations who use digital forms like WinDRM. The Digital Voice Community will be active for this event with stand alone modems and sound card/open source software (WinDRM). "This is a great way to get involved with other hams using the latest in high tech digital mode technology in J1E/J2E HF digital voice emission," says DV enthusiast Jason Buchanan, N1SU.
• The Amateur Radio Military Appreciation Day (ARMAD) organization.
• Ashley Rennie and others will operate from Liberia as EL2AR.
• Ham radio instructor Gordon West, WB6NOA, will be on the air from California.
• The Marconi Radio Club's W1AA will operate from a site near the Point Allerton Life Saving Station in Hull, Massachusetts.
• "William Penn" will say "Hello" from Philadelphia from WM3PEN, with help from members of the Holmesburg Amateur Radio Club (HARC). The WM3PEN call sign was obtained in in 1976 to celebrate the US bicentennial, HARC Board Member, Bob Josuweit, WA3PZO, and WM3PEN trustee notes. He adds that Philadelphians will know about the anniversary as the Philadelphia Electric Company's (PECO) Crown Lights proclaim, "American Radio Relay League: Celebrating 100 years of voice over radio."
• Air Cadets in the UK will be on the air from several locations using special event call signs. Bill Borland, the Air Cadet's HF Network Manager, says Air Cadet members of the Communications Flight from the Edinburgh and South Scotland Wing Easter Camp at MOD Machrihanish made contact last April with the Civil Air Patrol in the US.
• The Trinity College Alumni Radio Club will join as W1JUD on SSB and FM from 160 meters to 70 cm.
• Alabama's Huntsville Amateur Radio Club station K4BFT will be taking part in from the Space Camp at the US Space and Rocket Center using HF and VoIP modes. Some 100 space campers will be on hand to say "Hello."
• Members of the HFpack group plan to be active.
• DW Dreyer-Juselius, ZS6DJD, Gary Immelman,ZS6YI, and PLA van Tonder, ZR6PD, will operate from South Africa on December 29, using all bands and including digital modes.
• Marconi Radio Club of Newfoundland (MRCN) members will activate VO1MRC using the special call sign CH1MRC to celebrate the work of Fessenden. Among MRCN's honorary members is the author Jack Belrose, VE2CV, who has written a lot about Fessenden.
• of Connecticut's Radio Amateur Society of Norwich (RASON), N1NW, will be working FM, especially on 2 meters.

If your group would like to be listed on the "Hello" site as event participants, e-mail your station's call sign and location plus a list of voice modes you plan to use.

Fessenden Inspired Early Wireless Hobbyists

Pitts says Fessenden's 1906 broadcast inspired thousands to start playing with radio, or "wireless" -- a term that's come full circle over the decades. Ham radio evolved from that sort of early tinkering, and ham radio operators have been in the forefront of developing wireless technologies from the start.

"They continue their role in exploring new designs and applications," he notes. "Today's hams use satellites, computers, software defined radio, microwave, voice over Internet protocol systems and other technologies undreamed of in 1906. But it all started with the word 'Hello.'"

A Salute!

As the "Hello" campaign draws to a close, Pitts took the opportunity to express his appreciation on behalf of ARRL for the time, effort and energy the League's corps of volunteer public information officers (PIOs) has put into promoting Amateur Radio.

"Dozens of people put in hundreds of hours of hard work, thought and effort in planning, creating, supporting and providing the 'Hello' materials for free to clubs, groups and hams across the country," Pitts added. "The highest way to say 'thank you' to them was by using these materials well in advancing Amateur Radio in your area."

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