Crucible Of Communications: How Amateur Radio Launched The Information Age And Brought High Tech To Life Part 2: Hams Bring Real-Time Communications To The World Invited Article

Until the birth of wireless at the end of the 19th century, the world had never known real-time ubiquitous communications. Printed newspapers of the day contained information that was often days, if not weeks, old with little hope of widespread verification of reported events. Part 1 of this series [1] gave an overview of the fascinating hobby of ham radio, and showed how the grass roots effort of hobbyists and the sinking of the Titanic opened up the airwaves for the world's first amateur radio operators. Now, in Part 2, we see how amateur radio was at the forefront of the wireless revolution that brought AM and FM radio broadcasting, television, and mobile communications to the world. As shown here, it was the ingenuity and tenacity of hams that brought forth the information age in all of its forms.