Transatlantic

ARRL, RSGB Joint Events to Celebrate Centenary of Ham Radio Transatlantic Success

ARRL and the Radio Society of Great Britain will jointly sponsor events to celebrate the achievement of transatlantic communications by radio amateurs 100 years ago.

In December 1921, ARRL sent Paul F. Godley, 2ZE, as its representative to listen for amateur signals from North America during the Second Transatlantic Tests. Setting up his listening station in Ardrossan, on the west coast of Scotland, Godley received the signals of more than 2 dozen US amateur radio stations, the first on December 12 (UTC) from 1BCG in Connecticut, operated by members of the Radio Club of America. The message read: “Nr 1 NY ck 12 to Paul Godley, Ardrossan, Scotland. Hearty Congratulations. (Signed) Burghard Inman Grinan Armstrong Amy Cronkhite.”

These successful transatlantic tests and the ones that followed would spur technological advances and new global wireless distance records. Several amateur radio operating events this year and next will commemorate the centenary of these significant milestones that heralded the dawn of two-way international amateur radio communication.

160-Meter Transatlantic Centenary QSO Party
0200 to 0800 UTC on December 12, 2021

ARRL and RSGB will activate special event stations for 6 hours (0200 – 0800 UTC) on December 12 for the 160-Meter Transatlantic Centenary QSO Party. The RSGB will activate GB2ZE from Scotland, with a team of stations from the GMDX Group sharing operating duties. ARRL will activate W1AW. The stations will operate only on CW. If transatlantic propagation holds up, the stations may continue to operate beyond 0800 UTC.

The GMDX Group of Scotland will award a quaich — a traditional Scottish drinking cup representing friendship — to the first stations in North America and the UK to complete contacts with both W1AW and GB2ZE during the QSO Party. A commemorative certificate will be available for download at contests.arrl.org (select Non-Contest Events).

Transatlantic Centenary Marathon
December 2022

The RSGB and ARRL are also organizing an international amateur radio marathon on the HF bands to commemorate transatlantic tests held between 1921 and 1923. The Transatlantic Centenary Marathon will take place in December 2022. The objective will be to mark these historic events by encouraging all radio amateurs to get on the air. Event details are pending.

ARRL and RSGB have assembled a list of stations and groups that are also organizing events and activities to celebrate 100 years of amateur radio transatlantic communication. For more information, visit arrl.org/transatlantic and rsgb.org/transatlantic-tests. The sites also include links to many previously published articles and presentations covering the historic tests.

Events and Activities

Nov. 13-14, 2021	Transatlantic QSO Party, sponsored by the Radio Club of America (RCA), and commemorating the contribution of RCA members who constructed and operated the 1BCG transmitter site in Greenwich, Connecticut, that sent the first message received by Paul Godley, 2ZE, in Scotland.
Dec. 1-26, 2021	Special Event GB1002ZE. The Crocodile Rock Amateur Group (CRAG) based near Ardrossan, Scotland, will activate the special event station GB1002ZE to commemorate the successful reception of amateur transatlantic signals by Paul Godley, 2ZE, in 1921.
Dec. 3-5, 2021	2021 ARRL 160-Meter Contest. This 42-hour CW-only annual contest is most similar to the original Transatlantic Tests of the early 1920s. The RSGB is planning to activate special call signs to commemorate the Transatlantic Tests.
December 11, 2021	1921 Replica Transmitter W2AN/1BCG. The 1BCG replica transmitter will be operating as W2AN/1BCG on 1.820 MHz, plus or minus, using CW, from The Vintage Radio and Communications Museum of Connecticut. Transmissions from W2AN/1BCG will be one-way, just like the original transatlantic tests in 1921. You can get a SWL certificate for this Special Event by sending a copy of the transmitted message to 1BCG@AntiqueWireless.org. Schedule: Transmissions start on December 11, 2021, on 1.820 mhz, +/-, at 1800 EST (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. More details at http://1BCG.org.
Dec. 11, 2021 to Dec. 31, 2022	W1AW Commemorative Transatlantic QSL Card, sponsored by ARRL. US stations working W1AW, the Hiram Percy Maxim Memorial Station, may QSL with a SASE; international stations should QSL via the Bureau. See details.
December 12, 2021	160-Meter Transatlantic Centenary QSO Party (six hours; 0200 – 0800 UTC), organized by ARRL and RSGB. The RSGB will activate GB2ZE from Scotland, with a team of stations from the GMDX Group sharing operating duties. ARRL will activate W1AW. The stations will operate only on CW. If transatlantic propagation holds up, the stations may continue to operate beyond 0800 UTC. The GMDX Group of Scotland will award a quaich — a traditional Scottish drinking cup representing friendship — to the first stations in North America and the UK to complete contacts with both W1AW and GB2ZE during the QSO Party. A commemorative certificate will be available for download at contests.arrl.org (select Non-Contest Events).
December 12, 2021	Centennial Re-enactment by Radio Club of America, W2RCA. In 1921, RCA members built the transmitter and station located in a wooden hut in Greenwich, Connecticut that completed the first amateur transatlantic message. On Dec 12, 2021 at 02:52 UTC, W2RCA will make a one way transmission on 1825 KHz at 12 WPM CW, from Connecticut. In addition to the original 1921 message, a new message will be transmitted that looks ahead to the next 100 years. All are encouraged to copy the message and a certificate will be available to those who do so. See: Transatlantic Test Centennial - Radio Club of America for more information.
December 2022	Transatlantic Centenary Marathon, organized by ARRL and RSGB. Event details are pending.