A 24-hour Amateur Radio Event
Amateur radios, point-to-point contacts, high-frequency transfers, a mysterious yet attractive prize for the most connected stations… All of this sounds like the beginning of a quirky B-movie. In reality, it is the essence of International Marconi Day, a 24-hour amateur radio event which celebrates the career of Italian wireless communications pioneer Guglielmo Marconi.
Fitting with ‘The Rest Of The Story’ featured in the April 2018 Communicator, the event is held annually on the Saturday closest to to Marconi's birthday on 25 April 1874. This year the contest runs on Saturday April 21st, operating hours are 0000 UTC to 2400 UTC (5pm Pacific time).
To commemorate the Nobel laureate’s achievements, fans use HF radio to make direct point-to-point contact between stations, relying on the same technology Marconi developed and utilized in his time. Although nowadays the Internet is the medium of choice for global communications, the idea behind International Marconi Day is to keep the spirit of invention alive. The event also provides an exciting throwback to the days when a connected planet Earth was but a bold dream and only a few exceptional people, such as Marconi, saw the value in it.
The organizers issue a very nice certificate for contacting 15 of 60 or more stations at significant sites around the globe related to Marconi's work.
At the time of writing, there are over sixty stations registered for the event. The full list, throughout Europe and North America is available at http://gx4crc.com/imd-stations/
Full details of the award and participating stations are available on the website gx4crc.com
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