The Art & Skill of Radio-Telegraphy
-Second Revised Edition-
William G. Pierpont N0HFF
In the Beginning
Prior to 1912
no licenses of any kind were required, either
for stations or for amateur operators. An amateur, however,
might apply to the Navy Department which would issue a "Certificate of
Skill." This merely stated that the successful applicant was
"proficient" in code. It had no legal value or necessity.
The First
Laws 1912 to 1927
In 1912 Congress
passed the first laws requiring licenses for wireless operators
and stations whose signals would:-
a) interfere
with government or bonafide commercial stations (those open to public
use) or
b) cross state
lines.
This meant
that very, very many "little" stations and their operators did not
need licenses. "Little" often included even those up to one kilowatt,
the maximum allowed for any licensed station. This was because the
"passive" (mostly crystal detector) receivers in those early days were
so insensitive that reception over land masses beyond a hundred miles or
so was exceptional. The word "amateur" does not appear in these regulations,
but is covered by the term "experimental". [In England, by contrast,
a license was required even for owning receiving equipment.]
From 1912 until 1933 operator and station licenses were separately issued and were impressive diploma-like documents about 8 by 11 inches. They had to be posted at the station location and were usually framed by the operator. Initially there were two classes of license, with identical qualifications. Amateur First Grade was by examination by a government examiner covering: radio laws, regulations, proper adjustment and operation of equipment, along with sending and receiving tests at 5 wpm in International Morse code. For those living too far away to come in for personal examination, there was an Amateur Second Grade whose applicant had to certify by mail that he could meet these identical requirements. In Aug. 1919 the required speed was raised to 10 wpm.
When the U.S. entered WW-I all radio activity, receiving as well as transmitting , except for that specifically authorized by the Military, was prohibited. All equipment (including all antennas) had to be either dismantled or sealed. This began on 17 April 1917 and continued until 12 April 1919 when receiving was once again permitted, and finally when amateur transmitting was again allowed on 1 October 1919. 1923:- a new Extra First Grade was created requiring at least two years experience as a licensed operator.
A new written
examination included requiring the applicant to diagram a transmitter and
receiver and to explain the principles of their operation, plus a code
speed test at 20 wpm (the speed required of a Commercial First Class operator).
The license was printed on pink paper! Such operators were qualified
for "Special" station licenses which conveyed CW privileges on certain
wavelengths longer that 200 meters and also gave them distinctive call
signs. As shorter wavelengths came to be used this grade of license
lost popularity. In the early 1920's licensed amateurs
began to get skittish about working unlicensed stations (with their self-assigned
calls), including the "little boys with spark coils." (They were
often a big annoyance and source of interference.) The Department
of Commerce, however, seems to have taken little notice of them unless
they caused serious interference
.
THE RADIO
ACT OF 1927
Most of these
unlicensed stations had already vanished from the air when the Radio
Act of 1927 replaced the Radio Act of 1912 and brought all radio transmissions
under regulation for the first time. (Legal doctrine had by
then come to hold that Congress had power to regulate intrastate activity
where its total effect reacted upon interstate activity.) The days
of the "little unlicensed station" were over. 1927:- "Special" station
licenses. Amateur First Grade renamed "Amateur class". Amateur
Second Grade renamed Temporary Amateur Grade and valid for one year only,
and renewable. 1928:- "Special" licenses reinstated on somewhat different
terms, and called "Extra First Class" operator. 1929:- the
20 meter band was opened to phone, and Extra First Class licenses were
extended by an endorsement "for unlimited radio-telephone privileges" on
that band. ??1932:- Extra First Class renamed Class A, Amateur Class
renamed Class B, and Temporary Class renamed Class C. Ten (10) wpm
speed required of all classes.
Operator and
station licenses combined on wallet sized card. The special endorsement
(of 1929) became available for all amateurs with at least one year of experience,
upon passing a special test on radiotelephone subjects. This endorsement
was now extended to include use of phone on 75 meters also.
1933 AND
AFTER
In 1933, after
the creation of the Federal Radio Commission, amateur regulations were
completely revised and operator and station licenses were combined on a
single, wallet-sized card, good for three years. Extra First
Class licences would no longer be issued. A minimum code speed of
10 wpm was required of all three classes of license: A, B and C.
Class A (advanced) required one year of experience, a written examination
on both phone and telegraph theory and regulations, and conveyed exclusive
phone use on 20 and 75 meters, and was renewable by application.
The Class B (general) examination covered less on phone operation,
and gave all privileges not reserved for Class A, but required re-examination
for renewal. Class C, a temporary license for those living
125 or more miles from an FRC examining point (administered by class A
or B amateur), differed from Class B only in being taken by mail.
1936 the code speed for all classes was raised from 10 to 13 wpm.
1951 And
After
1951:- the
whole structure was revised for Amateur licenses: Extra Class (new, available
1 Ja. 1952), 20 wpm, no exclusive privileges, two years Advanced Class
(previously Class A), 13 wpm General Class (Previously Class B) 13 wpm
Conditional Class (previously Class C, by mail, 125 miles or more), 13
wpm Technician Class (new, available 1 July 1951), 5 wpm, 5 years Novice
Class (new), 5 wpm, one year, non-renewable
1952:- hams
licensed before May 1917 eligible for Extra class without examination.
1953:- no
new Advanced Class to be issued.
1954:- Novice
and Technician available by mail only after 10 Jan., if over 75 miles from
examination point.
1964:- on
17 Mar. filling fee $4.00 assessed for new or renewal of license, except
no feel for novice.
1967:- incentive
licensing was adopted. Advanced class was reactivated and given more
spectrum than General class, but less than Extra class. Novice class licenses
were extended to two years.
1968:- Advanced
and Extra were made available for shut-ins, and Technician class eligible
for Novice.
1970:- fees
increased to $9.00, five years license duration.
1976: required
new Technician class to be tested by FCC examiner.
Volunteer
Examiners
1983 Volunteer
Examiner (VE) system set up to conduct Technician and General class by
December.
VARIOUS
MILITARY TRAINING REQUIREMENTS
At the outbreak
of WW-I the U.S. Military forces desperately needed wireless operators
and equipment. Many amateurs volunteered as operators and as teachers.
Training in all phases was minimal, and "operators" were usually graduated
without having had any hands-on experience with the actual equipment or
operating procedures. (Absolute radio silence was the rule in general
- except for the most extreme emergencies on the high seas.)
For operators in the WW-II period Signal Corps graduation requirements were: 25 wpm plain language, 20 wpm code groups with pencil or mill, receiving, and 25 wpm sending. Qualifications for field operators - 20 wpm pencil printing copy and perfect sending copy at 15 wpm; for fixed base operators - 35 wpm straight copy on mill.
For Marine Corps graduation they were: 20-23 wpm plain text, 15-18 wpm coded groups, 17 wpm perfect sending of plain text. WWII training varied widely between various schools, but included actual operating procedures though wired QSO's among themselves to overcome the beginners' initial "buck fever" and to set them up as operators.
Real radio interference -- learning to copy through QRM and noise -- was added, and it became louder as the student progressed. Advanced students also practiced on the "mill" (typewriter). For high speed training, there was a room where high speed press was copied for practice.
In 1988 a U.S.
Special Forces radio operator's test required 18 5-character groups
(e.g., QY9/Z 6G.J4 X5,B7, etc.) a minute.
The Art &Skill of Radio-Telegraphy
©William G. Pierpont N0HFF
This page last updated August 02, 1998
Modifications and compile by Thom LaCosta - K3HRN - December 2004