{"id":15983,"date":"2015-12-05T03:28:12","date_gmt":"2015-12-05T07:28:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=15983"},"modified":"2017-03-01T21:39:46","modified_gmt":"2017-03-02T01:39:46","slug":"how-far-weve-come-looking-back-at-radiotelegraphy-1939-style","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2015\/12\/how-far-weve-come-looking-back-at-radiotelegraphy-1939-style\/","title":{"rendered":"How Far We&#8217;ve Come: Looking Back at Radiotelegraphy, 1939 Style"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s often insightful to look to the past to fully appreciate the current technology we take for granted.<\/p>\n<p>When we tap a favorite contact&#8217;s name in our mobile phone&#8211;even for someone on the other side of the world&#8211;we can be talking to them within seconds, with clarity that&#8217;s often the equal of visiting face-to-face.\u00a0Perhaps Skype or FaceTime is more your style? Yawn&#8230; just another two-way, real-time video session. The fact that the other person is thousands of miles away\u00a0no longer makes you pause at the wonder of it all.\u00a0<!--more--><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/radio_room_1939.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-15984 alignright\" src=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/radio_room_1939-300x212.jpg\" alt=\"Radiotelegraphy room, New Zealand 1939\" width=\"300\" height=\"212\" srcset=\"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/radio_room_1939-300x212.jpg 300w, https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/radio_room_1939.jpg 953w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>It&#8217;s good to reflect occasionally\u00a0that it hasn&#8217;t always been this way. <\/em>I was reminded of this fact when I came upon\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=H-KUat5WEkU&amp;feature=youtu.be\">this fascinating short documentary<\/a>\u00a0produced in 1939 by the New Zealand Post and Telegraph Department. This 11 minute film (posted to YouTube by Tomas Hood NW7US) takes the viewer on a journey from rural New Zealand and ultimately across the world to deliver birthday greetings via shortwave communications and CW (Morse code).<\/p>\n<p>How many SWLing Post readers are old enough to remember when <em>their<\/em> messages <a href=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-admin\/admin.php?page=sharing\">Settings<\/a>circled the world with radiotelegraphy and relay stations? <em>Hmmm&#8230;<br \/>\n<\/em><br \/>\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"625\" height=\"352\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/H-KUat5WEkU?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><span style=\"color: #808080\"><em>Guy Atkins is a Sr. Graphic Designer\u00a0for T-Mobile and lives near Seattle, Washington. \u00a0He&#8217;s a\u00a0<a style=\"color: #808080\" href=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?s=Guy+Atkins\">regular contributor<\/a> to the SWLing Post.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s often insightful to look to the past to fully appreciate the current technology we take for granted. When we tap a favorite contact&#8217;s name in our mobile phone&#8211;even for someone on the other side of the world&#8211;we can be talking to them within seconds, with clarity that&#8217;s often the equal of visiting face-to-face.\u00a0Perhaps Skype [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":55,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[305,288,304],"tags":[3446,2824,4091,4478,4082,3291],"class_list":["post-15983","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nostalgia","category-radio-history","category-videos","tag-guy-atkins","tag-new-zealand","tag-radio-history","tag-radiotelegraphy","tag-shortwave-radio","tag-video"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-49N","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":48647,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2021\/04\/guest-post-a-visit-to-museo-marconi-in-villa-griffone-pontecchio-bologna\/","url_meta":{"origin":15983,"position":0},"title":"Guest Post: A visit to Museo Marconi in Villa Griffone, Pontecchio, Bologna","author":"Thomas","date":"April 25, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Ferruccio Manfieri (IZ1096SWL), who shares this report and excellent photo tour from a visit to the Museo Marconi in Bologna, Italy in 2018. Today is International Marconi Day, so this is a very welcome, and timely post: A visit to Museo Marconi in Villa\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Guest Posts&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Guest Posts","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/guest-posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Museo-Marconi-Ferruccio-Manfieri-1-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Museo-Marconi-Ferruccio-Manfieri-1-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Museo-Marconi-Ferruccio-Manfieri-1-1.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Museo-Marconi-Ferruccio-Manfieri-1-1.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":37952,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2019\/05\/lavina-shaw-history-of-a-canadian-railway-brass-pounder\/","url_meta":{"origin":15983,"position":1},"title":"Lavina Shaw: History of a Canadian railway brass pounder","author":"Thomas","date":"May 26, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Eric McFadden (WD8RIF) who shares the following post by James Wade (WB8SIW) from the QRZ.com forums: The CBC recently interviewed Lavina Shaw, Past International President of the Morse Telegraph Club. In this biographical documentary, Lavina talks about her experiences working as a railroad and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Brass-Pounder-Bug-Key.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Brass-Pounder-Bug-Key.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Brass-Pounder-Bug-Key.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Brass-Pounder-Bug-Key.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":18490,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/04\/guest-post-tracking-high-seas-pirates-on-shortwave-radio\/","url_meta":{"origin":15983,"position":2},"title":"Guest Post: Tracking High Seas Pirates on Shortwave Radio","author":"Thomas","date":"April 23, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mario Filippi (N2HUN) for the following guest post: Tracking High Seas Pirates on Shortwave Radio by\u00a0Mario Filippi (N2HUN) (All photos taken by author--click to enlarge) Ahoy! After spinning a radio dial for over a half-century, shortwave listening still provides a source of adventure and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Digital Modes&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Digital Modes","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/digital-modes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Suspected pirates surrender to crew members of the CGC Boutwell. (U.S. Coast Guard photo)","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Pirates-CoastGuard.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Pirates-CoastGuard.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Pirates-CoastGuard.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":34207,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2018\/09\/reader-seeks-radio-bulgaria-jingle\/","url_meta":{"origin":15983,"position":3},"title":"Reader seeks Radio Bulgaria jingle","author":"Thomas","date":"September 18, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, Sarkis, who writes with the following inquiry: I thought I would turn to the SWLing Post for some advice please. I am trying to find recordings of Radio Bulgaria's Italian Service which was taken off the air in 1997. I'm after a jingle with\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/Eddystone-830-7-Dial-Closeup-1024x678.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/Eddystone-830-7-Dial-Closeup-1024x678.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/Eddystone-830-7-Dial-Closeup-1024x678.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":58014,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2023\/10\/carlos-shortwave-art-and-recording-of-radio-havana-cuba-october-14-2023\/","url_meta":{"origin":15983,"position":4},"title":"Carlos\u2019 Shortwave Art and recording of Radio Havana Cuba (October 14, 2023)","author":"Thomas","date":"October 16, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to\u00a0SWLing Post\u00a0contributor and noted political cartoonist,\u00a0Carlos Latuff, who shares\u00a0his radio log art of a recent RHC broadcast. Carlos\u2019 goal is to vividly illustrate the broadcaster\u2019s message in his own unique artistic style and is not a reflection of his own beliefs or those of the\u00a0SWLing Post. His objective\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Art&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Art","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/art-2\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Carlos-Latuff-Palestine-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Carlos-Latuff-Palestine-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Carlos-Latuff-Palestine-1.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Carlos-Latuff-Palestine-1.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Carlos-Latuff-Palestine-1.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8118,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2013\/12\/arctic-dxing-norway-style\/","url_meta":{"origin":15983,"position":5},"title":"Arctic DXing: Norway style","author":"Thomas","date":"December 5, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"In response to my post Tuesday about Arctic DXing in Finland, Per-Einar comments: \"I would like to mention a similar listening site in Norway @70 degrees north [latitude]. Check Kongsfjord.no\u00a0for\u00a0logs for reports. I have observed the same effect DL4NO mentions. \u00a0I used to work HAM-radio from Jan Mayen. On low\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Articles&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/articles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"veines_lowres","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/veines_lowres-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15983","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/55"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15983"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15983\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15983"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15983"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15983"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}