Image Up Advertising & Design

28 | LIFE IN SOLERA | JULY 2022 | The History of Radio The Solera Radio Club (FCC License KC6SRC) is exploring the interesting evolution of the "Radio." Our series started with the creation of the radio and the subsequent reliance on the little noise box. The advent of World War II saw amateur activities halted in Europe. In 1940, the U.S. government issued an order prohibiting U.S. hams from communicating with any foreign stations and they were banished to operations above 56 MHz. Wartime amateur activity in the United States was halted after the Pearl Harbor attack in 1941, although VHF operations on 112 MHz was allowed by those hams operating under the auspices of the War Emergency Radio Service. While there were 60,000 hams at the time of WWII, an estimated 25,000 of those operators were serving in the armed forces. When Germany occupied Poland during WWII, a priest, Father Maximilian Kolbe, SP3RN, was arrested by the Germans because they believed he was involved with espionage in the use of his ham station. He was taken to Auschwitz in 1941 and when 10 prisoners escaped from there, the Germans ordered those 10 prisoners be killed in retribution. Kolbe volunteered to take the place of one of the men condemned by the Germans. In 1982, Pope John Paul II canonized him as a saint, an apostle of consecration to Mary, and he was declared a martyr of charity. Today, Saint Maximilian Kolbe is considered the patron saint of hams worldwide. TRIVIA ANSWER FOR JUNE: Question: Who was the first woman in America to get her amateur radio license? Answer: Miss Graynella Packer, a young woman of Jacksonville, Fla., gained for herself the distinction of being the first woman wireless operator to serve aboard a steamship in a commercial capacity. She had several amusing and unique experiences on various trips along the Atlantic seaboard, including among other things some highly efficient examples of seasickness, the ship rolling about like a nutshell in a washtub, when the vessel endeavored to navigate a heavy storm off the Carolinas. TRIVIA QUESTION THIS MONTH (Answered next month) What was the name of the first regular radio network service, formed on Jan. 4, 1923? This article was brought to you by Ray C. Gayton-Jacob (N6KZM) of the "SOLERA RADIO CLUB." Club members are poised to provide communications options when critical communication systems become inoperable. "When All Else Fails – Think Radio Communications." RADIO CLUB

• Cover