Transatlantic Tests

The early 1920s saw the dawn of international amateur radio. A series of significant milestones led over some five years from no amateur transmission ever having been heard on another continent, to intercontinental two-way communications becoming commonplace.

The RSGB will commemorate these historic events by encouraging everyone to get on the air to make QSOs – focusing on December 2021 and December 2022. Full details of the how you can participate will be published here.

Special Events and Activities

RSGB, ARRL and our members are organising some great on-air activities to celebrate the achievement of transatlantic communications by radio amateurs one hundred years ago.

The RSGB and the ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio^® in the US have announced joint events to celebrate the achievement of transatlantic communications by radio amateurs 100 years ago. The press release can be read here.

RSGB and ARRL Joint Events

3-5 December 2021	ARRL 160m Contest 2021 – with 1920s RSGB callsigns
12 December 2021 – 0200–0800 UTC	160m Transatlantic Centenary QSO Party
December 2022	Transatlantic Centenary Marathon – save the date for next year
1 December 2021 – 31 December 2022	Commemorative Transatlantic QSL Card – for G6XX, G6ZZ, G5WS, G5AT and G3DR plus their regional variants, also for GB2ZE and GS2ZE.

Other Activities

November 2021 onwards	Celebrating the events of 1921 at Ardrossan in 2021
13-14 November 2021	Transatlantic QSO Party, sponsored by the Radio Club of America
11-12 December 2021	1BCG Special Event – activation on 160m CW using a replica transmitter. This was transmission only.
12 December 2021 – 0252 UTC	The Radio Club of America’s W2RCA made a one-way transmission on 1825 kHz at 12 WPM CW, from Connecticut. This was transmission only. The message included slightly abbreviated text of the 1921 1BCG message to Paul Godley, then “best wishes to all from the Radio Club of America for the next 100 years of wireless progress 73 de W2RCA.”
1-26 December 2021	Special “/2ZE” suffix authorised to mark the Centenary of Paul Godley’s work