World Amateur Radio Day (18/04)

Every year on April 18, a large squad of amateur radio enthusiasts around the world celebrates their «professional» holiday — World Amateur Radio Day.

On April 18, 1925, the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) was founded in Paris, thanks to this event, radio amateurs had a reason to annually celebrate successes and achievements. And today the members of this organization are radio amateurs from more than 160 countries.

Every year, World Amateur Radio Day is held under a specific motto. For example: «Expanding the world of radio communications», «Combining communication experience with modern digital technologies», «Radio in an emergency» and others.

Societies, sections, and amateur radio clubs in Russia also take part in World Amateur Radio Day events, talking about the work of like-minded people and popularizing this intellectual hobby. Back in 1945, taking into account the role of radio in the cultural and political life of society and in the defense of the country, the USSR government established a special memorial day — Radio Day.

According to some experts, the 21st century will truly be the century of radio amateurs, and the number of people in this hobby will thoroughly cross the current three million mark. It is also believed that most of the radio technologies that we use in everyday life without hesitation were first studied by amateur radio operators. This primarily applies to cell phones.

Digital communications have been developing incredibly quickly in recent years. After the end of World War II and until the first half of the 1980s, the radio teletype, also known as RTTY, was the only HF digital mode available to amateurs.

In the second half of the 1980s, along with the introduction and increasing popularity of personal computers, the first amateur digital communication mode, — AMTOR, debuted. With the help of AMTOR, it became possible to accurately transmit texts.

It is worth mentioning separately that many outstanding radio engineers and electronics specialists began their professional career in amateur radio societies. Inventions and technologies that have received a «-path into life» from the hands of radio amateurs have not lost their relevance after even many years — our reliable assistants are radio and television receivers and transmitters, including two-way radio communication methods, adaptive antennas and other necessary technologies.

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