Community Corner
Historic Radio Transmission Received in Los Gatos
In 1924 someone in town was on the receiving end of the first radio telegraph contact between Great Britain and California.
Following World War I, the Navy Department attempted to gain complete government monopoly over all radio communication. When that effort failed, the Navy began to develop ideas for promoting interest in radio since the amateurs were a ready reserve of operators.
In 1920, there were at least 12 amateur radio operators registered in Los Gatos. One of these operators, Melvin D. Whiteman, was a meat cutter living on University Avenue.
This photograph is a QSL card belonging to Whiteman. These post cards were typically exchanged between operators to confirm a two-way radio communication.
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In 1924, Eugen (Oigen) Gerald Marcuse of Caterham, Surrey, England made the first radio contact between Great Britain and California to an operator 5,500 miles away in Los Gatos.
The event is commemorated on a memorial sundial in a church yard in Bosham, Sussex, England.
