Amateur Radio through Philately * By Fábio Serra Flosi ** [email protected] May 16, 2006

One way Amateur Radio touches our lives is through postage stamps. Nations around the world, including the US, have featured Amateur Radio themes on their stamps.

Although I'm not a ham radio operator--yet--I am a long time shortwave listener (SWL). My main interest is to listen to the Amateur Radio bands from 160 to 10 meters. On the other hand, I'm a thematic philatelist (stamp collector), and have been for more than 25 years. Due to my passion for the activities developed by hams, my main philatelic interest is wireless communication, including Amateur Radio. From time to time, postal administrations around the world issue philatelic material (stamps, cancellations, envelopes, metered envelopes, etc.) to honor Amateur Radio activities. Some of them will be described in this article. Stamps shown here will be referred to a number from the Scott Standard Postage Catalog, an annual publication that lists, illustrates and prices virtually every general variety of postage stamp issued in the world. Amos Media Company (AMOS ADVANTAGE) is responsible for the catalog. ● 2002 IARU Region 1 Conference

Figure 1 - During the 2002 IARU region 1 conference, in Republic of San Marino, two commemorative stamps were issued with the face values of 36¢ and 62¢ (Scott #1540 and #1541). Take note of the Morse code characters for RSM (Republic of San Marino), the San Marino Amateur Radio Association logo ARRSM (it stands for: Associazione Radioamatori della Republica di San Marino), the IARU emblem, Region 1 of the IARU and a Yagi antenna.

The International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) was created in 1925 to represent the interests of the worldwide Amateur Radio community. More than 150 countries' national Amateur Radio societies, including the ARRL, are IARU members. IARU Region 1 includes Europe, Africa, the ex-USSR

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countries, the Middle East (excluding Iran, which belongs to Region 3) and Mongolia. From November 10 through November 15, 2002, IARU Region 1 held its triennial conference in the Republic of San Marino. To recognize the event, on September 19, 2002 the local postal administration issued a series of two commemorative stamps (Figure 1). ● QSO between MIR and Crozet Island The Soviet Union's MIR space station was in service for around 15 years. MIR's core was launched on February 19, 1986. The spacecraft was de-orbited into the Pacific Ocean on March 23, 2001. In 1988, the Soviet Union put an Amateur Radio station onboard MIR and offered the opportunity for many space-to-Earth contacts. Hams could also receive excellent slow-scan television images (SSTV) as MIR orbited Earth.

Figure 2 - To recognize the QSO between MIR space station and Crozet Island, TAAF issued this 27.00fr (4.12 euros) stamp (Scott #288). Notice the MIR spacecraft, a globe showing the part of the world where Crozet Island is located, penguins and a computer showing the astronauts involved.

On January 1, 2001, the postal administration of the French Southern and Antarctic Territories, also known as TAAF (Terres Australes et Antarctique Françaises), issued a commemorative stamp to recognize the Amateur Radio link between MIR and Crozet Island, located in the extreme southern part of the Indian Ocean, equally distant from Africa, Antarctica and Australia (Figure 2).

● London Stamp Show 2000 Once a decade, the International Philatelic Exhibition takes place in London. The first one occurred in 1940. The seventh, called The Stamp Show 2000 (TSS2K) was held at Earls Court, London, from May 22 through May 28, 2000. At TSS2K, a UK meter company launched an innovative, small, portable and personalized franking machine. Visitors could have digital photographs taken and printed directly onto an envelope or postcard. Figure 3 – This topical meter stamp was designed by the author for The Stamp Show 2000 (TSS2K), at Earls Court, London, UK.

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On the occasion of TSS2K, I had the opportunity to create some slogans related to electronics, radio communications and Amateur Radio and have them affixed to envelopes as topical metered postage. One of those is shown in Figure 3. In the United States, as in the UK, the World Philatelic Exhibition takes place every 10 years. The next one, called Washington 2006, will be held from May 27 through June 3, 2006, at the new convention center in Washington, DC. For those readers who have an interest in philately, or would like to explore this exciting hobby, I highly recommend you attend this International Stamp Show. ● WRTC 2000 The World Radiosport Team Championship (WRTC) is sometimes characterized as the "Olympics of Amateur Radio". The idea is to bring the best contest operators of the world together in one geographical area for an on-the-air contest-style competition among two-person teams. By providing equal operating conditions, such as antennas, RF power output, etc., the variables normally associated with a radio contest are neutralized, so operating skills are emphasized. Competition lasts 24 hours. Figure 4 - Commemorative stamp with the face value of 20t, issued for the occasion of WRTC 2000 in Slovenia (Scott #419).

Take note of the globe, a ham wearing headphones transmitting CW, a transceiver and concentric circles representing radio waves.

The competition was invented in 1990. WRTC 1990 took place in Seattle, Washington. The second, WRTC 1996, was in the San Francisco Bay area. The third, WRTC 2000, was held July 5 through July 11 in Slovenia. To celebrate this event, on May 9, 2000, the Slovenian postal administration issued a commemorative stamp that can be seen in Figure 4. This coming July takes place 2006 WRTC Brasil. ● 50th Anniversary of Amateur Radio Operations in Bosnia The Amateur Radio Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ARABiH) was officially established in 1950. The first Amateur Radio contact in that country was made on July 6, 1950, and on May 12, 1993, the ARABiH became a permanent member of the IARU and received the prefix T9 from the ITU.

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To honor the 50th anniversary of the first ham radio contact, the Bosnian post office issued a commemorative stamp on May 15, 2000 (Figure 5). Figure 5 - This stamp with the face value of 1.50m was issued to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Amateur Radio Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Scott #355). Notice a transceiver front panel, the T9 (Tango – Nine) prefix, the ARABiH emblem, a Morse key and the flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

● The 24th Friedrichshafen Ham Radio and Hamtronic Fairs Europe's biggest Amateur Radio with Hamtronic (electronics, Internet and computer) exhibition is held annually during the last weekend of June (Thursday through Saturday) in Friedrichshafen, Germany, close to the Lake Constance. This international Amateur Radio exhibition first took place in 1976. Figure 6 - Postcard with cancellation issued at Friedrichshafen 1999, in Germany, to honor the Seventh Ham Stamp Meeting. Take note of the DARC and Ham Radio/Hamtronic logos, and the slogan "Philatelists and Radio Amateurs join the world together." The stamp on the card is not related to Amateur Radio.

The 24th Ham Radio/Hamtronic took place from June 24 through June 26, 1999, marking the 50th anniversary of the Deutscher Amateur Radio Club (DARC) with its general meeting. To recognize those events, a special cancellation (postmark) was prepared and applied on a postcard, as can be seen in Figure 6. ● The Seventh Ham Stamps Meeting at Friedrichshafen 1999 The Seventh meeting of the Ham Stamps Club, which is coordinated by Manfred Bussemer, DL4UE, occurred on Saturday 26, 1999. Ham radio operators from the around the world who have interests in collecting stamps and other philatelic material related to Amateur Radio activities make up the membership of the club. Figure 7 shows some aspects of the 7th Ham Stamps Meeting. During the meeting there was a lecture about "Telegraphy on Stamps" and a section for exchanges of radio related philatelic material.

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Figure 7 - Seventh Ham Stamp Meeting at Friedrichshafen 1999. From left to right: Front - Dr Max de Henseler, HB9RS; Tim Allison,G0TYM; Jens Pichler, DH2SP. Back - Heinz Möstl, DD0ZL;Walter Michel, DJ3FC; Manfred Bussemer, DL4UE,talking to author. [Photo: Alberto Freixanet, EA3AGV].

● The 50th Anniversary of the URE The Spanish Ham Radio Union, or Union de Radioaficionados Españoles (URE), was founded April 1, 1949. By 1999, there were around 58,000 ham radio operators in Spain, with 20,000 affiliated with URE. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of URE, on April 16, 1999, the Spanish postal administration issued a commemorative stamp that is shown in Figure 8. Figure 8 - Commemorative stamp with the face value of 70p (Scott #2989) issued in Spain to celebrate the 50th anniversary of URE. Notice the URE logo, a Morse key, an antenna tower, a Yagi antenna, concentric circles representing radio waves, the EA (Echo - Alpha) prefix and a microphone.

● 100 Years of Amateur Radio Operation The Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi (1874-1937) was the first person to send and receive radio signals locally. This event occurred in 1895 in a small town called Pontecchio, in Italy. Based on Marconi's experiments, M. J. C. Dennis (1865-1945) in London, in 1898, set up his own station, using a spark transmitter and a coherer receiver. It was the first non-professional, noncommercial and non-academic wireless station in the world. Dennis is considered by some to be the world's first radio amateur.

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Figure 9 - Topical meter stamp designed by the RSGB to honor 100 years of Amateur Radio operation.

The 100th anniversary of the first Amateur Radio operation was celebrated in 1998. To recognize this event, the Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB) designed a special topical meter stamp (Figure 9) that was used for a long time in the Society's franking machines. ● The 50th Anniversary of the ARRL Hiram Percy Maxim and Clarence D. Tuska founded the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) on May 18, 1914. To honor Amateur Radio operators on the League's 50th anniversary, the US Postal Service issued a commemorative stamp on December 15, 1964. This stamp is on the addressed envelope shown in Figure 10, at the upper right corner. It features the waveform of an amplitude modulated (AM) radio frequency signal along with part of the dial of Amateur Radio equipment.

Figure 10 – FDC (First Day Cover) with a 5 cent stamp (Scott #1260), both issued in 1964 by the US Postal Service on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the ARRL.

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The envelope is known as a First Day Cover (FDC), since it was issued on the same day of the stamp. At the left side is a hand-painted illustration of a cover from QST. On the bottom is the League's mission statement: "Of, by and for the radio amateur". ● Selected Sources of Information The best source for Thematic Philately in general is the American Topical Association (ATA). A special checklist service is available exclusively to ATA members. Among more than 450 titles, there are checklists on the following themes: Computers, Radio, Telephones, Telegraph, etc. Each checklist shows, country by country, the stamp issue date, face value, Scott catalog number, description. More information can be found at the ATA’s Web site. The best source for Amateur Radio philately in particular is the Ham Stamps Club (c/o Manfred G. Bussemer, Eckstr 1, D-66877 RamsteinMiesenbach, Germany), as mentioned previously. Once a year, but not regularly, they publish a booklet with plenty of information related to the hobby. Another source of interesting information about Electronics, Telecommunications and Amateur Radio philately are the articles published from time to time in various magazines. Table 1 below shows some selected articles on those themes. Table 1 - Selected Articles on Electronics, Telecommunications and Amateur Radio Stamps

Title

Author(s)

Magazine

Issue Page(s)

A Stamp of Approval

James E. Bie,

Electronics Now

Feb 1999

52-53

From Semaphore to Satellite

W. T. Glover

Stamp Magazine (UK)

Apr 1997

84-93

Amateur Radio on Postage Stamps

Taizo Arakawa, GW0RTA

Radcom (UK)

Sep 1995

17-20

Radio on the World's Mail

Allen Van Cranebrock

Scott Stamp Monthly

Jul 1994

22-23

Amateur Radio Postage Stamps

Bill Welsh, W6DDB

QST

Jan 1994

22-26

Tune in on Philately

Raymond Schuessler

73 Amateur Radio Today

Jun 1991

14

Philately Please

Nate Williams, W9GXR

CQ Amateur Radio

Apr 1988

80-81

Philately-With an Victor C. Clark, Amateur Radio Flavor W4KFC

CQ Amateur Radio

Jun 1980

26-31

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Table 2 - Selected Books for Beginners on Basic Philately and Amateur Radio History

Title

Author(s)

Publisher

Stamp Collecting

Stephen R. Datz

General Philatelic Corporation PO Box 402 Loveland, CO 80539, USA

1999

166

All About Stamps

Wayne L. Youngblood

Krause Publications, Iola, Wisconsin. www.krause.com

2000

192

1997

96

2003

170

1999

255

Adventures in Topical Stamp Collecting Philatelic Terms Illustrated Amateur Radio The first 100 years

George Griffenhagen, Jerome Husak James Mackay

Ian Poole, G3YWX

American Topical Association (ATA). Arlington, Texas

Year Pages

www.americantopicalassn.org Stanley Gibbons Limite. London, UK www.stanleygibbons.com Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB). Hertfordshire, UK www.rsgb.org

Finally, there are some excellent sources on basic philately and Amateur Radio history that are highly recommended to the newcomer. Table 2 above shows some selected books on those areas. Amateur Radio and philately have a long and shared history. Many member nations of the IARU have issued stamps featuring Amateur Radio. It will be exciting to watch and see which new ones are issued in the years to come.

** Fábio Serra Flosi is an Electronics technician and a Telecommunication engineer for an American cell phone manufacturer in Brazil. Fabio became interested in ham radio while studying Electronics at school, and after a few years became interested in philately. He is currently planning a stamp exhibit called "Wireless Evolution: From Marconi to Cell Phones," and plans to showcase the exhibit at international stamp shows.

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* Amateur Radio through Philately This paper was originally published on the ARRL website, on May 16, 2006. In 2009 the ARRL switched to a new website and, unfortunately, this article, together many others, was lost in the process. Until 2009 it could be accessed through the following kink: http://www2.arrl.org/news/features/2006/05/16/1/?nc=1 Coincidence or not, before the occurrence of that problem, author downloaded the original file and saved it on a CD. It is here reproduced (December 2014) with minor updates in the text; all illustrations were replaced by new ones with higher resolution. As soon as possible author will write a second article where some philatelic items (stamps, covers, cancellations, meters, etc.), issued between 2005 and 2014, will be shown and discussed in details.

San Marino - March 26, 1992. Scott # 1263.

The German Heinrich Rudolf Hertz was the first scientist in the world to produce radio waves, in 1887/1888. Without his discoveries, the activities of amateur radio would not exist. For more details, please, click on:

RADIO WAVES 9