The AM Forum

University Researchers to Study Early Amateur Station Logs - Your Help is Needed

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin and Miami University of Ohio are seeking copies of amateur station logs from 1913-1927 in hopes they may offer insights into the relationship between individuals’ work and leisure activities, technology, and their social networks.

“Early hams laid the foundation for the now-ubiquitous use of technology for communications and entertainment," says Steve Johnston, WD8DAS, and Director of Engineering & Operations for Wisconsin Public Radio. “Many operators did not work in a technical field, but pursued the radio-hobby for its own sake. This is a true success story about how a pastime can develop into an entirely new commercial and social phenomenon.”
 
Phil Kim, an Assistant Professor at the Wisconsin School of Business, has noted that diaries, letters, QSL cards, and station logs can contain valuable insights into the link between an individual’s occupation, hobbies, and friends. During this time, thousands of early ham radio enthusiasts were licensed by the government to comply with the Radio Act of 1912, and began to more carefully document the new communications era.
 
“Amateur radio operators during this time period were on the forefront of a new method of communication and social interaction, similar to how social media is evolving today,” Kim says. “We notice a lot of similarities between these two groups, even across time.”
 
“We can learn a lot about ourselves and our own interactions from how these pioneers pursued their hobby and expanded their social networks,” adds Steve Lippmann, an Assistant Professor at Miami University of Ohio.
 
Kim, Lippmann, and Johnston are comparing early ham licensing records from the Department of Commerce with detailed information in amateur operators’ station logs in an effort to uncover new information about approaches to work and leisure time and the development of social networks.

If you happen to have an old ham station log from the period 1913-1927 that you'd like to include in this study, please contact Steve Johnston, WD8DAS, at wd8das_at_arrl_dot_net.  Thank you.

Well did they find the first use of "piss weak" and "Strap"

>did they find the first use of "piss weak" and "Strap"

I understand Hiram P. Maxim was the first to use both terms.  He was describing a station that was trying to check into a traffic net but was not an ARRL member, and how well the old man's signal was doing on top of him.

Steve WD8DAS

Sounds like "Our Stimulus Dollars" at work.  :P

W3SLK wrote:

>Sounds like "Our Stimulus Dollars" at work.

That seems a bit rude.  I'm not seeing any money, and the other guys do this in the course of their research/publish/teach cycle.   

Steve WD8DAS

I see nothing wrong with historical research. To document the history and evolution of communications, one has to study the earliest elements including the writings of those involved.