RIT Amateur Radio Club (K2GXT) records

Collection — Folder: 1

Identifier: RITArc-0099

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The RIT Amateur Radio Club constitutions consists of a small number of records from the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) organization. A constitution from 1954 includes a revision of the association's objectives. A later one, dated 2008, is completely rewritten. Also included are documents and a clipping related to a special Valentine's Day project that allowed students to send "radiograms" to their sweethearts.

Dates

Creation: 1954, 2008

Creator

Rochester Institute of Technology. Amateur Radio Club (K2GXT) (Organization)

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open to researchers.

Biographical / Historical

The Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) Amateur Radio Association (known as ARA) was officially formed in October 1953. The organization was open to anyone who had an interest in "ham" radio and met on a weekly basis. During its first year the group sent a request to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) requesting permission to operate an amateur radio station at RIT. The request was approved and by the following year the club was able to operate on all amateur radio frequencies and was known as K2GXT.

Individuals had to hold a valid amateur radio license and belong to ARA to broadcast on the group's station. For those who did not hold a valid license, the club helped them work toward a license by providing instruction on radio theory, Morse code, and FCC rules and regulations. By 1954, six of the twenty members of ARA had licenses, with five of those licenses being obtained through the club.

The club was reorganized in 1954. According to the revised constitution, the objectives of the organization were:

To provide recreation and advancement for members

To train persons interested in becoming licensed members

To provide information, technical aid, and a place to test equipment for members

To be of service to the Institute and to its student population

Extent

1 Folder(s)

Language

English

Additional Description

Overview

Constitutions from the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) Amateur Radio Club founded in 1952. The collection includes two copies of the organization's constitution, one from 1954 and another from 2008.