05/01/2026
Ain’t this the truth?
They called the frequencies “worthless.” Hams proved them dead wrong — and then had to fight to keep them. 📻⚡
In the early 1920s, the airwaves were the wild west.
Commercial broadcasters were gobbling up the radio spectrum. Government regulators were getting desperate. And amateur radio operators — the hams — were in the crosshairs.
The “solution”? Push the amateurs into the shortwave frequencies above 1,500 kHz. The frequencies widely considered impractical. The ones the big commercial stations had no interest in — yet.
Big mistake.
While the giants were hammering the lower bands with 200,000-watt transmitters, hams were quietly experimenting on shortwave with rigs running 100 watts or less — and making contacts across the Atlantic.
They didn’t just survive in the underestimated spectrum. They proved its value to the entire world.
And as shortwave’s power became undeniable, demand for those same frequencies grew fast — including from the very commercial and government users who had ignored them.
But hams weren’t giving them up without a fight.
The ARRL and the newly formed IARU (International Amateur Radio Union, founded 1925) showed up at the 1927 International Radiotelegraph Conference in Washington D.C. and fought for every kilohertz. 70 nations sent representatives. The pressure on amateurs was enormous.
When the smoke cleared, hams had secured internationally recognized allocations across 160, 80, 40, 20, and 10 meters — the same HF bands that define amateur radio to this day.
The Federal Radio Commission, defending those allocations against commercial challenges, acknowledged it plainly: hams had demonstrated the value of these frequencies — only to have commercial interests move in to claim them.
Hams find the gold. Hams fight to keep it.
That’s not ancient history. That’s the DNA of this hobby.
Every time you key up on 40 meters, 20 meters, or 10 meters — you’re operating on frequencies that a generation of hams refused to give up.
