trivia quiz?

[ScottE.ParkerWA7VYJ]

alan N2ALE/6 writes:

>With the contest season at hand, here is a new trivia quiz.  In
>reading an old issue of QST, it seems the first SS was held in the
>early 30's.  So, what was the first contest ever?  Band(s)?  Score?  
>Assuming it was CW, when was first Phone contest?  Band(s)?  Top Score?
>And, finially, when were multipliers first used?  
>
>Unfortunately, I draw a blank on all of these.  Any historians out there?

In reading some really old issues of QST (back when I had a library with an 
almost complete collection nearby) I got the impression that the "DX tests" 
grew out of just that, tests or experiments.  They started taking place well 
before the '30s and in the beginning consisted of planned periods of concerted 
activity in order to see just what could be done in terms of DX propagation.  
Results were published and eventually the spirit of competition entered in and 
they evolved into the contests we know today.

Again, this is the impression I got from cursory reading of ancient QSTs.  Any 
authoritative voice out there that can confirm or debunk?

73, -SEP

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                        Scott E. Parker    WA7VYJ
                Center for Atmospheric and Space Sciences
             Utah State University      Logan, UT 84322-4405
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