This evening the assembled members chose the RSGB 2024 Convention video by Don Beatie, G3BJ titled ‘Spanning the Globe, the dawn of global radio communications’

Don began by saying this isn’t a long time ago, you know. He said he had been licensed 60 years so not very short of the one hundred years we now celebrate as the first radio contact between New Zealand and the UK.

It all came about when Cecil Goyder, (G)2HM an under graduate at what is now the Imperial College London and Frank Bell, a sheep farmer in South Island NZ made a two way radio contact one hundred years ago in October 1924. The frequency was 3.2MHz!  Of course all transmissions were made at such a low frequency back then.  

Putting all in context, Don said ‘Marconi’s Atlantic leap’ had only happened 24 years before. That was spark transmission and a coherer progressing to valves. Wireless Experimenters numbers were growing and problems due to increasing interference due to the spark transmissions, the Post Office imposed restrictions. Through all this came the ‘Great Leap from UK to NZ’

Don took up 11 key points between 1898 and 1927 which saw progress in radio design and operations.

The entire story can be seen on You Tube by looking up 2024 RSGB.org/conference, and find the title ‘Spanning the Globe, the dawn of global radio communications’ by Don Beatie, G3BJ / G5W