History

How an initiative in 1929 led to the formation of the Swiss Amateur Radio Association — the history of the USKA since its foundation.

Author: Dr Philippe Schaetti HB9ECP

It is now 86 years since the USKA was founded on 4 August 1929 at the Restaurant Du Pont near Zurich Central Station. The majority of the approximately forty founding members voted in favour of the name Union of Swiss Shortwave Amateurs (USKA). It was Heinrich Degler H9XA (later HB9A) who had taken the initiative to found the USKA, and he became its first president. On 27 September, a report on the launch of the USKA appeared in the *Schweizerische Radiozeitung*, accompanied by a call for membership. This was the first time the column heading “OLD MAN, the shortwave amateur’s page” was used.

In his book *Faszination der kurzen Wellen*, Rudolf Stuber HB9T identifies the year 1911 as the beginning of amateur radio activity in Switzerland – following the start of time signal transmissions from the Paris Observatory on the Eiffel Tower. “The easily enthused French-speaking Swiss were the first to take up the idea from abroad,” reported the Basel physics professor Hans Zickendraht in his book *Radio in Switzerland*. Without the authorities’ approval and without any legal basis, people began broadcasting – the first transmission attempts using spark-gap transmitters – and assigned call signs to themselves, with correspondingly dramatic consequences from the authorities. It was not until 1 January 1924 that the legal framework for granting broadcasting licences (the Federal Act on Telegraph and Telephone Communications of 14 October 1922) and it was not until 30 April 1926 that Heinrich Degler received the first official amateur radio licence, H9XA. However, the Directorate-General for Telegraphs in Bern had made the granting of amateur licences conditional upon the establishment of an amateur radio association. Following unsuccessful preliminary attempts, this was achieved in 1929 through the USKA, which was able to bring together members from all parts of the country.

The number of amateurs grew only slowly. In 1929, the year the USKA was founded, there were only ten licensed amateur transmitters, but numerous licence holders for reception. On 1 January 1929, the provisions of the International Radiotelegraph Convention of Washington of 15 November 1927 came into force. Country codes were introduced, some of which are still valid today: Switzerland was allocated the group HBA–HBZ (HB standing for ‘Helvetischer Bund’). The authorities allocated the number 9 to the amateurs: H9 became HB9. At the same time, the frequency bands that amateurs were permitted to use were significantly reduced. Swiss amateurs now had access to the bands 10 to 10.7 m, 20.8 to 21.4 m, 41 to 42.8 m and 82 to 85 m.

A decisive development following the First World War was the introduction of the electron tube, which replaced the spark transmitter and the coherer. The interwar period also saw the transition from Audion to superheterodyne technology, which significantly improved reception capabilities.

As the reporting in the ‘Schweizerische Radiozeitung’ and in ‘Le Radio’ in French had become increasingly unsatisfactory, a bold move was made in 1932 to launch the association’s own magazine, the OLD MAN. The name, chosen by Heinrich Degler in 1929, was to remain in use for 78 years, until the launch of HBradio in early 2008.

On 18 August 1932, the USKA, led by H. Degler (HB9A) and H. Büchler (HB9AA), successfully established radio links on the 38.5 m band with Prof. Auguste Piccard’s stratospheric balloon B9, which had reached an altitude of 16,000 metres. The Field Day was introduced in Central Europe by the USKA in 1934. The ‘Rundspruch’ was also a USKA invention.

In 1938, following intense disputes, the USKA adopted new statutes which established a more decentralised organisation by increasing the importance of the sections and the Assembly of Delegates. Hans Büchler HB9AA became the new President. With the mobilisation in 1939, the authorities confiscated amateur radio transmitters and all activity was banned. However, radio amateurs were very much in demand by the army due to their expertise in telegraphy and wireless communication, and 95 per cent of them were conscripted. In November 1945, broadcasting was finally permitted once more. The great contribution made by USKA members was recognised when Major-General Ernst Honegger awarded them the ‘ARMA MENTIS DUCTU’ gold medal of honour on behalf of the Signals Corps to mark the USKA’s 50th anniversary in 1979.

After the Second World War, electronics and radio technology in the civilian sector developed at a rapid pace. The most significant developments for radio amateurs were the invention of the transistor in 1947, the introduction of SSB technology, the popularisation of VHF/UHF technology, and digital modes of operation – starting with RTTY in 1961 and most recently with PSK31. Also worth mentioning are the connections via amateur radio satellites (OSCAR) and the integration of the World Wide Web via D-Star and Echolink. SDR (Software-Defined Radio) technology is one of the latest successful technical achievements in amateur radio.

During the Swiss National Exhibition in Lausanne in 1964 (EXPO64), the USKA’s HB9RAS station (Radio Amateurs Suisses) was active in Sector 2a (Art de vivre) for six months.

To mark the USKA’s 75th anniversary in 2004, the following topics were covered in each issue of *OLD MAN* in German, French and Italian: “The USKA’s technical committees, Power Line Communication (PLC) threatens fundamental rights, A DXpedition – every DXer’s dream?, The skies above 75 years of the USKA, A few notes on the history of the USKA, Amateur radio – a living hobby?”. These topics still reflect key areas of focus within Swiss amateur radio today. At the Hamfest and the Marconi Memorial Days in Salvan/VS in 2009, Dr Hamadoun Touré HB9EHT, Secretary-General of the ITU, honoured us with his presence to mark the USKA’s 80th anniversary.

Recent years have also seen the introduction of the HB3 amateur radio licence (Novice Licence, 2000), the removal of the CW requirement for obtaining the shortwave licence (2003), the introduction of the NIS Ordinance (2000), the extension of the 40-metre band for the amateur radio service up to 7200 kHz (2005), the complete revamp of our most important general promotional platform, namely the HB9O amateur radio station – which has been in operation since 1965 – at Switzerland’s most visited museum, the Swiss Museum of Transport in Lucerne (2010), and the relatively smooth transition from OLD MAN to HB Radio (2008). The USKA website (www.uska.ch), now our most important external portal, is regularly updated and designed to be reader-friendly.

Efforts to promote young talent were also stepped up through links with the Scouts (Jamboree on the Air) and USKA’s appearances at public fairs, for example in 2013/14 at the MUBA, BEA, OLMA and ZÜSPA (as part of TUN, ‘Technology and Natural Sciences’), where young visitors were also able to solder together simple kits. The radio contact with an astronaut on the ISS in 2008 thrilled a school class in Richterswil and was a challenging logistical undertaking. The range of courses offered by the sections for obtaining the HB9 and HB3 licences was also expanded, and efforts were made to harmonise the syllabus to some extent at teachers’ conferences.

From 2008 to 2016, Daniel Kägi HB9IQY led our association as President with great dedication and prudence, whilst ensuring that the “USKA was not turned upside down”. Political lobbying has come to be regarded as increasingly important for the USKA in the present day and is actively pursued by the Executive Committee. This also includes emergency radio communications as an extremely important activity for radio amateurs. In two cantons, an agreement is already in place with the authorities regarding emergency situations in which amateur radio is involved; in other cantons, discussions on this matter are ongoing. In 2013, the GAREC (Global Amateur Radio Emergency Communication) conference took place in Zurich. Constructive discussions between the USKA and the Federal Office of Communications (BAKOM), which is responsible for the amateur radio service, take place regularly. For example, a mutually acceptable solution was found regarding CE conformity.

Encouragingly, there is a renewed interest among members in DIY projects and telegraphy, particularly in the QRP sector, thanks to innovative kits and courses on Morse telegraphy. This is naturally linked to the activities of the Helvetia Telegraphy Club (HTC), the USKA’s Mountain Day Commission and the SOTA Group Switzerland. In 2012, the 10th IARU High Speed Telegraphy World Championship, organised under the patronage of the USKA, took place in Beatenberg with more than 150 participants from 20 countries; female participants from Belarus in particular excelled with outstanding performances (up to 240 characters per minute).

References

Hans Zickendraht: Radio in Switzerland, Basel 1925 August Piccard: At 16,000 metres, Schweizer Aero-Revue AG, Zurich 1933 Editorial: The USKA’s anniversary, QRV May 1979 Rudolf Stuber, HB9T: The Fascination of Short Waves, 2nd ed., Zurich 1980 Renato Ryter, HB9NW: Some Notes on the History of the USKA, OLD MAN 7–8/2004 Peter Frey, HB9MQM: How Pirate Broadcasters Became Radio Amateurs, HB Radio 4/2009 Various issues of OLD MAN and HBradio Swiss Federal Archives ITU Archives

“Not a sport but a science”

This definition comes from Heinrich Degler H9XA and was published in the magazine ‘Radio-Programm’ No. 36/1926

“The amateur works independently, yet also altruistically, on the research and consequent improvement of wireless transmission and reception technology in the field of shortwave. He is therefore, above all, an experimenter whose findings often possess great scientific value. His activity should not be regarded as a sport, but as work in a fascinating branch of cutting-edge science, in which the greatest reward is the success achieved.”

Materials

Historical presentation to mark the USKA’s 90th anniversary: [DE] USKA History 1929–2019 (PowerPoint, 65 MB).

The above text was published in HBradio 5/2014 to mark the 85th anniversary of the USKA. Reproduction is permitted only with the USKA’s authorisation.