subject: Admiral Byrd And Amateur Radio [print this page] Using a radio while embarking on dangerous exploration missions is not just about safety. Explorers quickly realized that reporting in regularly created a "buzz" bout their expedition and made it easier to scrape together funds for future expeditions. This point was driven home by one of the early expeditions to the Arctic, the Macmillan expedition.
Sometime in the 20's, with the great depression just around the corner, scraping together funding for an Arctic expedition wasn't the easiest thing in the world. However public interest was piqued when the Macmillan expedition began transmitting. These transmissions were received, not only by a ground station, but also by a 15 year old radio amateur from Iowa, Arthur Collins, who then relayed the information to Washington.
One of the prominent figures in the Macmillan expedition was Richard E Byrd, who claimed to be the first man to fly over the North Pole.
In 1928 Byrd set out on an expedition to the unexplored Antarctic region, and in 1929 became the first man to fly over the South Pole. This was the first expedition under the American flag since the 1800's and was the first to have the all important radio communications equipment.
The news of his feats, such as the discovery of Marie Byrd land, named for his wife, definitely piqued American interest. That interest translated into over $150,000 in the form of gifts from thousands of people, to help with his next expedition.
Byrd knew the power of being in the public eye, so he sold the rights to his story, photos and weekly voice broadcasts from "Little America" the base he set up on his first expedition. He had an uncanny ability to organize, he was able to not only fund but completely organize his first two expeditions with no help at all from outside sources.
The first signals were received from Antarctica were received in February 1934 and afterward a weekly broadcast was sent out on CBS. Byrd bravely held out all alone in the Antarctic winter. Connected only by the radio, he gave observations, situation reports, and sent his weekly brodcasts to his team, which was 123 miles away.
Something went terribly wrong, and Byrd was in need of rescuing. The only clue anyone had to go on that something was wrong, was the lack of radio communication.
Admiral Byrd owes a lot to the radio, such as his fame and heroic reputation, and even his life.
