To celebrate Abraham Lincoln’s 207th birthday, amateur radio operators Susan Meckley and Don Jones set up a broadcast station within President Lincoln’s Cottage. Msgt Meckley (retired) is a veteran of the U.S. military and currently resides at the Armed Forces Retirement Home. Mr. Jones is a radio enthusiast who has helped construct radio stations in over a dozen countries in Africa.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) granted Meckley and Jones a special call sign for the occasion: W3L.
“W” indicates the United States.
“3” indicates the third call district in the USA.
“L” indicates their broadcast was from President Lincoln’s Cottage.
The broadcasters used a mix of old and new technologies including radio antennae, wireless internet, laptop computers, and Morse code to communicate with 39 other operators in 16 countries in North America, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.
Below are the countries reached on Lincoln’s birthday by their broadcast:
Belarus
Bulgaria
Canada
Czech Republic
England
France
Germany
Israel
Italy
Netherlands
Northern Ireland
Norway
Portugal
Rwanda
Sweden
These parts of the United States were also reached:
Alaska
District of Columbia
Florida
Maryland
Minnesota
New Mexico
Categories:Archive, Media Coverage
