Amateur Radio Club records
Scope and Content
The Amateur Radio Club records cover the time period 1924-1992, with the bulk falling between 1948 and 1989. Minutes of meetings, financial transactions, correspondence, and station and contest logs make up the majority of the collection. One bound volume contains early logs for WKAR (1924) and W8SH (1927-1931), as well as minutes of meetings (1932-1936), a list of operators (1927-1936), treasurer's reports (1933) and vibration experiment notes (1925). The records also include two boxes of QSL or "Radio Contact Cards" (1927-1950) arranged alphabetically by state and city. Certificates and commemorative QSL cards (1929-1986) are filed separately.
Dates
- 1924 - 1992
- Majority of material found within 1948 - 1989
Creator
- Michigan State University. Amateur Radio Club (Donor, Organization)
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Permission to publish material from this collection must be obtained from University Archives & Historical Collections, Michigan State University.
Historical Note
The first radio station at Michigan State University was established through the efforts of the Amateur Radio Club in 1919, under the call letters of 8YG, making it one of the earliest college radio stations in existence. Broadcasting weather reports and farm market prices was its primary function. In 1925, 8YG became WKAR, the commercial broadcast station, while a ham radio station was formed under the call letters 8XBU. 1927 saw the issuance of a new license and a new call sign, 8SH. The first day of operations for the College’s permanent call sign W8SH, was January 22, 1927. The club has been an active force in local and national communications during disasters and emergencies with membership in the Lansing Disaster Control plan (1964) and the Community Radio Watch Programs. While staying on top of advancing technology, W8SH placed the first United States to Europe slow-scan TV QSO, on February 22, 1969. The club also coordinated and broadcast chess matches between Lansing and Buffalo, New York. During the third Presidential debate on October 19, 1992, at Michigan State University, the Radio Club was doing its part by communicating with others around the nation. In 1951, Ian O. Ebert became faculty advisor for the Radio Club. He held this position for thirty one years. Upon Ebert’s death in 1982, Gerald Parks took over as faculty advisor, and currently advises the club. In 1983, the station W8SH, was dedicated and renamed Ebert Memorial Station.
Extent
3 Cubic Feet
Language of Materials
English
Legal Status
Copyright: Michigan State University
Property Rights: Michigan State University
- Amateur radio stations
- College students -- Societies and clubs
- Community Radio Watch Programs
- Ebert, Ian O.
- Letters (correspondence)
- Michigan State University. Broadcasting Services
- Michigan State University. Students. Societies, etc
- Parks, Gerald
- Photographs
- Radio broadcasting
- WKAR (Radio station : East Lansing, Mich.)
- Title
- Amateur Radio Club Records
- Status
- 4 Published And Cataloged
- Author
- D. Gilmore
- Date
- February 1993
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
Repository Details
Part of the University Archives and Historical Collections Repository
Conrad Hall
943 Conrad Road, Room 101
East Lansing MI 48824 US
517-355-2330
archives@msu.edu