Amateur Radio: 100 Years of Discovery

Back in 2000 our own beloved Jim Maxwell, W6CF (now a Silent Key) had an
excellent article in QST, “Amateur Radio: 100 Years of Discovery.” In the
article Jim thoughtfully ticked off the decades and wisely concluded,

“We have survived the technological challenges of the past by understanding
new technologies and embracing those portions that would lead Amateur Radio
forward. We have survived change and overcome adversity by working together.

When Amateur Radio began there was only one way for a ham to get started:
learn Morse code, build a receiver and a spark transmitter, string up an
antenna, and start tapping on the key.
Today we have a multifaceted Amateur Radio. We’re on CW and phone; SSB and
FM; packet and TV; PACTOR, PSK31 and RTTY, as well as other modes, bouncing
signals off the ground, off the ionosphere, and off the moon,
enthusiastically working bands from almost dc to daylight. We have
ragchewers and contesters, public service communicators and experimenters,
QRPers and more. Hams are active in nearly every country of the world, and
at ages ranging from less than 10 years to more than 100.
Can any group with common interests be quite so diverse? In spite of that
diversity, and in spite of the fact that the Amateur Radio service
encompasses a very large number of special interests, it’s important to
understand that we all have one common, overriding interest: to ensure that
Amateur Radio not only survives, but flourishes in the century ahead. With
the support of all hams everywhere our future prosperity is assured.”

http://www.arrl.org/files/file/About%20ARRL/Ham_Radio_100_Years.pdf

73, Cap KE6AFE