The 70s provided high levels of competition. By now the boundaries of FRC-land had spread farther and farther. With the various contest committees defining the territory of a club up to a radius of 175 miles, the era of Frankford neighborhood club was a faint memory. Freed from the old 50-mile boundaries, FRC inched North, South, East, and West. K3II was able to move farther north and remain active. Great operators that used to be over the border could be courted for membership. Expansion was, however, rather slow with two meetings a month scheduled through the school year and numerous Sunday meetings at members homes. The club has always retained its base in Philadelphia, and has only slowly expanded into what looks more like a regional group.
K3HTZ (K3WW) began building a Multi/Multi in upper Bucks County about 10 miles east of W3GM. With the help of W3WPG and KB3GJ and K3WJV a Multi/Multi station was built and maintained into the 80s. W3GPE (W3MM) operated from a 2nd floor duplex about 3 miles down the hill from K3WW. Never one to pass up a challenge, he managed to put up a 100-foot and a 50-foot tower with beams for 40/10 meters. The operations grew into a Multi/Multi which fought bitter and frequently victorious battles with K3WW for East Rockhill Township honors. Eventually W3MM moved to the more northern reaches of the club territory and continued his efforts in a more traditional Multi/Multi setting.
In addition to Multi/Multi stations, PVRC demonstrated that DXPEDITIONS during the CQ WW contest could make an almost insurmountable difference in the club aggregate scores. By the late 70s FRC members discovered air travel and began to organize DXPEDITIONS to rack up huge scores. Many strong friendships and bonds have been built by our Dxpeditioners with hosts and friends throughout the Caribbean and Bermuda.
The 70s also saw the development of the FRC keyer. Hundreds of circuit boards were built by members and the FRC pioneered the use of memory keyers before commercial versions were available. The FRC memory keyer became a standard part of the contester’s arsenal. In the late 70s, President W3BGN instituted another Awards Program which carried into the mid 80s.
You can read more about the FRC on these pages:
| FRC History Introduction | |
|---|---|
| FRC History 1930's | FRC History 1940's |
| FRC History 1950's | FRC History 1960's |
| FRC History 1970's | FRC History 1980's |
| FRC History 1990's | FRC History 2000's |