Here we are in the first full week of July 2025. It’s hot outside. Field Day 2025 was completed. The 13 Colonies Contest is in its last day for 2025. IARU HF World Championship is coming July 12-13, 2025. If you missed out on the ARRL Field Day event, you can try this one. Even if you participated in ARRL Field Day 2025, you’re able to participate in the IARU contest! After that you can consider the RSGB IOTA Contest on July 26-27, 2025. Go ahead- test your DX capabilities!
July has a few historically significant amateur radio events associated with it as well. For instance, the July 1899 edition of American Electrician magazine has an article on an early American version of wireless technologies- “The Apparatus for Wireless Technologies” written by Prof. Jerome J. Greene. In it he claims that the “apparatus for the effectiveness of telegraphing by means of Hertz waves is comparatively simple”. I invite you to Google the “July 1899 edition of American Electrician” and read the article.
If this isn’t enough to satisfy your July amateur radio historically significant trivia knowledge base, then investigate what three American bodies of higher education claim to be the first American Collegiate entity to form an amateur radio club. Let us know what you find by replying to president@nfarl.org before July 31, 2025. You never know what your discovery and rapport might result in!
During July 1960, the first earth-moon-earth amateur radio contact was made. There are earlier claims of RADAR signals bouncing off the moon, but this one refers to “amateur” accomplishments. Can you name the two amateur radio clubs involved? (BTW- the full moon occurs July 8, 2025 at 4:34 PM EDT).
Learning about something is satisfying. Just pause for a moment and ask yourself “why”, or “how”, and then chase it down. The findings will likely lead you to a greater level of understanding and appreciation of the world we exist in.
