-
What Marconi Did Next... and Beyond
Chatham Marconi Maritime Center welcomes author Paul Hawkins, joining its virtual Speaker Series from the UK on Thursday, November 4 at 7:00 PM EDT
After selling his American radio station assets to RCA following World War I, Guglielmo Marconi went on to expand his company's global operations. Marconi's Wireless Telegraph Company (UK) was joined by RCA and other competitors, and for a substantial part of the 20th century global telephone and telegraph services were carried through the medium of long wave and short wave radio. This talk tells the story about the development of international telecommunications via radio. The technology involved minimal automation and a high degree of human intervention to manage the limitations of long distance radio. The relative efficiency of point to point radio and the cost of replacement satellite installations resulted in radio playing a part in international telecommunications up to the 1980’s, giving the author direct experience of this fascinating medium.
About The Speaker: Paul M. Hawkins has enjoyed a 40 year career working in radio communications. He joined the British Post Office International Telecommunication service in 1967 working at Dorchester HF Transmitting Station, followed by Goonhilly Satellite Station in 1972 and finally Bearley HF Receiving Station in 1975. From 1980-83 he worked as an RF design engineer for a defense company in Massachusetts, USA. Between 1983 and 2013 Paul worked for the Thales Company in England, where as a Technical Specialist, he led the design of antennas and communication systems for Submarines, Ships and Land Mobile Vehicles. Paul retired from full time employment in 2014.
Radio and its history are a personal interest of Paul and he has published a number of articles in the vintage wireless press, a booklet and two conference papers for the IEE. His book “Point to Point – A History of International Radio Telecommunications” was first published in December 2017.
Paul has given lectures to various groups about radio telecommunications history, the most notable of these being at the IEE "100 Years of Wireless" conference in London, in 1995. In 2015 he gave a lecture on the subject of “Marconi Beam Wireless Stations” at a conference in Bologna Italy, where he met Princess Elettra Marconi, the daughter of Guglielmo Marconi. Paul is also a licensed Radio Ham, call sign G4KHU.
About the Chatham Marconi Speaker SeriesPrograms are presented on Thursday evenings during the Summer, and on the first Thursday of each month from October through May. Subjects are drawn from the resources of the Marconi-RCA Wireless Museum, the STEM After Hours program, or member-suggested topics related to its mission. For the foreseeable future the series will be presented virtually, or if conditions permit in a hybrid format with a limited live audience.
Images
Gallery Image
Gallery Image
Date and Time
Thursday Nov 4, 2021
7:00 PM - 8:30 PM EDTLocation
Tickets for this virtual presentation via Zoom webinar can be obtained directly from Eventbrite at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/177674899407.
Fees/Admission
General Admission to the Zoom webinar is $10. This Speaker Series program is free for Chatham Marconi Members. Donations are appreciated.
Contact Information
See website for more detail.
Send EmailTell a Friend