Marconi Radio Club W1AA

The Marconi Radio Club was formed in 1988 to represent the 1903 Marconi Cape Cod Massachusetts transatlantic spark gap station. This Marconi Station successfully completed the first transatlantic spark gap transmission between the United States and Europe in 1903. The Club secured the W1AA call sign in 1997 through the FCC vanity call selection system. The Club has represented this historic Marconi Cape Cod station in numerous Marconi anniversary special events. You may hear the W1AA call on the bands at any time as the call may be used by any club member for contesting, DXing and casual operating. A computer logging system is used to log all QSOs and all QSLs received are answered. There are over 27,000 QSOs in the log. All QSL card requests from DX stations are via the W1 QSL bureau and stateside via the CBA with an S.A.S.E.

Our first operation from the Coast Guard Building was the 98th Anniversary of Marconi' famous transmission. This was a one day operation running from about 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Three HF stations and one VHF station with antennas were set up for this one day operation. We had over 1100 QSOs with 80 DX countries worked. The location is at Coast Guard Beach in Eastham on Cape Cod. Just south of the 1903 Marconi Station site . The National Seashore Park generously offered us the use of the building for this event and subsequent events including the Marconi 100th Anniversary in January 2003.

January 18, 2001

Click to enlarge

January 18, 1999 on the Marconi 96th Anniversary we drove to the Marconi site and operated from two vechicles, my pickup and Pi's, K1RV van. We were set up in the parking lot at the overlook as close as we could get to the 1903 site. We had two Cushcraft R5 verticals on the back bumper hitches for 20 through 10 meters. We made 850+ QSOs, with 600+ on CW using W1AA/CC for the call, signifying that we were on Cape Cod using Marconi's 1903 call "CC". Operators were N1IUN, N1ZZN, K1RV, K1TH, K1VV.

On October 22, 1999 Princess Elettra Marconi, Marconi's Daughter, visited the Cape Cod and rededicated the bust of her father on the 125th Anniversary of his birth. The Marconi Radio Club set up three high frequency stations and operated from National Seashore Administration building for this event. The Marconi Radio Club presented the Princess a plaque making her an Honorary President of the Marconi Radio Club. The event was sponsored by the Hon. Michele Frattallone and Vicenzo Frattallone of the Comitao Tricolore per gli Italiani nel Mondo of Boston, MA. Also in attendance was Betsy Cole, President of the Wellfeet Historical Society, Giovanni Pelagalli, curator of "A Thousand Voices- A Thousand Sounds" Museum in Bolgna, Italy and Italian Consul Piero De Masi.

****Hear Monty G4ZKH at GB4IMD on the First International Marconi Day Event in 1988****

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