I've been looking at some old QST's I had stashed away. Some great stuff
therein ...
>From February 1970 "How's DX?" by Rod Newkirk, W9BRD:
"Here we go again - your annual ARRL DX Test coming up! Rare operating
sport for one and all whether you go for score or just poke around a bit
to swap 73 with some overseas friends.
The world-wide wireless frolic now has forty years of tradition behind it.
W2GP fondly recalls the very first. 'Did better in that contest than any
since,' he says. No. 1 ran a couple weeks and required formal
registration of intended participation. The League's Communications
Department issued serial numbers to entrants, along with several sheets of
questions of sentence length. QSO's in that one were really QSO's!
The specified queries, which had to be transmitted along with said
serials, are interesting in themselves. They etch an image of 1920's
hamdom. A few examples show what DX men of yore had on their minds:
D-14 How many binding posts do you have on your receiver?
G-17 Is your transmitter panel-mounted or breadboard?
L-22 Do you use Vernier dials and what ratio are they?
Z-11 Please describe the insulators in your antenna.
I-21 How do you control oscillation in your receiver?
U-33 Please describe grid-leak and condenser in your receiver.
W-11 Do you believe in radio frequency amplification for shortwaves?
Y-13 What is the best number of tubes to use in shortwave receivers?
H-22 Do you use C battery on either receiver or transmitter?
M-24 How many plates are in your antenna condenser, and what metal?
X-36 Please give all meter readings in your transmitter."
"Those jobs were fairly simple. Others got more complex. How would you
like to have to get rogers from Asia on THESE propositions, even with 1970
equipment and technique? ...
E-15 Name a delegate of your country who attended the International
Radiotelegraph Conference.
Q-28 Was your country represented by a delegate at the 1927 International
Radiotelegraph Conference?
E-16 What do you think of the results of the International Radiotelegraph
Conference held at Washington, D.C. in 1927?"
"Some things never change, though. A good number of the recommended test
transmissions concern topics of interest today as then, such as
I-19 What wavelength do you consider best for working the U.S.?
M-25 Are you troubled with power leaks at your station?
C-16 What do you think of work on or near ten meters?
J-23 What is the proper way to use CQ?
Gee, no questions on sex, religion or politics. Possibly hams of those
days were more concerned with their craft." ...
* - * - * - *
More to come ...
73, Zack W9SZ
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