ei1BD – Enrico Pirovano, Como: A.R.I. Delegate, Telephony Pioneer and Host of the First A.R.I. Congress

Introduction

Enrico Pirovano's station in Viale Varese 11, Como, is one of the best-documented Italian amateur stations of the 1920s: it appears in Il Radio Giornale almost every month from October 1925 to December 1928, first as a listener, then as a DX telegraphist, and from 1927 as one of the most active Italian telephony stations. Pirovano was also the A.R.I. delegate for the province of Como, an organiser of the first A.R.I. congress held in Como in September 1927, and one of the first nine Italians to receive an official transmitting licence (no. 13, dated 15 July 1927).

The card in the collection was written on 17 February 1928 for nu2GP, Donald C. Sayer of 11407 St. Anns Avenue, Richmond Hill, Long Island, New York, and travelled through the A.R.I. and A.R.R.L. bureaux (Hartford postmark of 23 March 1928).

From listener to DX station (1925–1926)

Pirovano first appears in Il Radio Giornale of October 1925 as a short-wave listener: "Enrico Pirovano (1BD) (dal 1 settembre al 26 settembre). Ricevitore Bourne 1D 2BF da 20 a 120 metri", followed by a long list of calls heard. The same Bourne receiver with one detector and two audio stages is still printed on the 1928 card.

Within weeks he was transmitting. The November 1925 issue reports "comunicazioni bilaterali eseguite da i1BD durante il mese di ottobre: Americani (u): 2AHM - 3LW - 1ATG - 1CMF - 1PL. Norvegia: LA4X. Svezia: SMZS - SMVL - SMUK", and his October reception list already includes New Zealand, Australia, the Philippines, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Mexico and India. In December 1925 the magazine lists eleven American and two Canadian stations (c1AM, c2AX) worked between 30 October and 30 November, plus an Indian station; in January 1926 thirteen more Americans worked in December.

In April 1926 (page 15) the magazine printed a letter signed "Enrico Pirovano (1BD)" forwarding the lists of Italian stations heard by two American amateurs: u9AKF of Creston, Iowa, had heard "1BD-1ER-1MT-1RM", and J. Scarlett of Mount Vernon, New York, "1AS-1BD-1GW-1NO-1RM-1MT-1BW".

Pirovano entered the R.C.N.I. "Concorso di radioemissione 1925", the first Italian transmitting contest. The results, published in June 1926, place him seventh ("7° premio: grande medaglia di bronzo e materiale A.B.C. al sig. Enrico Pirovano"); he is number 3 in the cover photograph of the competitors ("Colonnetti (1), Brunacci (2), Pirovano (3), Marietti, vincitore (4), Pozzi (6)…") and number 4 in the group photograph of the prize-giving of 17 May 1926.

A.R.I. delegate, congress organiser, licence no. 13 (1927)

When the A.R.I. was formed on 1 January 1927, Pirovano became its delegate for the province of Como ("Prov. di Como - Enrico Pirovano (viale Varese 11)"), a line repeated in every issue from January 1927 to December 1928. In February 1927 he sat on the council as "Delegato di Como" and was appointed to the commission preparing the first national congress together with Gnesutta, Pugliese and Pagliari. In April 1927 he forwarded to the magazine a letter from the Minister of Communications announcing that transmitting licences were about to be issued, and in August 1927 he wrote: "il R. Ministero delle Comunicazioni mi ha rilasciato la licenza di trasmissione la quale porta il n. 13 ed è in data del 15 luglio 1927". The October 1927 licence table lists "1BD Pirovano Enrico - Como", expiring 15 July 1928.

The first A.R.I. congress took place in Como on 18–20 September 1927, during the Volta centenary exhibition. Pirovano and the Como section organised it: the October 1927 issue records that he spoke at the banquet with Gnesutta, Pagliari and Montù, that "Pirovano (1BD) aveva provveduto anche all'alloggio gratuito dei Congressisti", and that the Como section "hanno offerto banchetto, vermout d'onore". In January 1928 he was proposed, and in February 1928 elected, one of the three sindaci (auditors) of the association, with Franco Pugliese and Arnaldo Melzi; the 1928 accounts were "verificato e approvato dai Sindaci sigg. Melzi, Pirovano e Pugliese".

Telephony (1927–1928)

From the autumn of 1927 1BD was above all a telephony station. The Verona listener Mario Meneghelli logged "EI 1BD 30 ott. 18,00 Buona Sufficiente Un pò interferita. In corrisp. con EI 1WW" (December 1927), and the January 1928 issue carries Pirovano's own report for 20 November–31 December 1927: "Trasmissione radiotelefonica: risultati di ricezione sono pervenuti da varie parti d'Europa, dove si accusa sempre ottima fonia, chiara e stabile, intensità media r6-7. Inoltre sono state lavorate 30 stazioni europee in radiotelefonia … Durante queste prove la potenza era compresa tra i 35-60 watt alimentazione. La stazione fu udita il 12 novembre 1927 alle ore 9,50 p.m. P.S.T. su 43 metri nel 7° distretto a Portland, Oregon U.S.A., sulla costa del Pacifico con intensità r3-4." The same issue names him among the most active members of the Saturday and Sunday Italian phone net.

In March 1928 the magazine quotes him again: "La stazione ei1BD dal 23 febbraio ha cominciato le prove in QRP potenza alimentazione 5 watts adoperando provvisoriamente ac. Con tale QRP adoperando un aereo unifilare di 30 m. alto 20 m. senza contrappeso né terra si è potuto lavorare tutta Europa riportando ottimi QRK (r9 da ek4UAK; r7 da eAR71; r6 da ed7FR)." In May 1928: "Stazioni lavorate nei mesi di marzo e aprile. Marzo: nu1AWE, nu1AHI, nu1VI, ai2KT. Aprile: foA3A, foAQA, fo1SR, nu4PD … etPAR (in fonia). Tutte queste comunicazioni furono eseguite su l'onda di 21 m. ed adoperando una valvola UX-210." The 1928 A.R.I. contest tables credit him with a few points in February–April only; the lists headed "3) Enrico Pirovano (1BD), Como", printed from January to September 1928, are enrolment lists in order of registration, not placings. At the second congress (Turin, October 1928) the humorous column calls him "l'ineffabile 1BD che vuol trasmettere alla luce del sole".

The card itself

• To: nu2GP, D. C. Sayer, 11407 St. Anns Ave., Richmond Hill, Long Island, New York (the September 1928 Radio Amateur Call Book entry for 2GP). "Ur sigs rcd/wrk hr at 23.40 GMT 17/2/1928", QRK r6, QSB rac, QRM r4.
• Receiver: Bourne 1D + 2BF, the same type reported in 1925.
• Transmitter: Hartley, 80 W input, aerial current 0.6 A, QRH 43 m, valve E4M; aerial 24 m.
• DX wrk: AI-AR-AS-NU-NC-NM-OA-OZ (the 1927–28 intermediates: Asia-India, Argentina, Asia, USA, Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand). The magazine confirms the United States, Canada and India as worked; Australia, New Zealand, Mexico and Argentina appear only in his lists of stations heard.
• Remarks: "Vy tnx fr QSO ur sig vy fb OM. Hope to wrk u agn. Best DX"; printed A.R.I. – A.R.R.L. – I.A.R.U., P. Cairoli, Como; "Via A.R.I." and "Forwarded by A.R.R.L., Hartford" on the back.

The report filed in May 1928 (QSOs with nu1AWE, nu1AHI and nu1VI in March, on 21 m with a UX-210) shows the station turning to 20 metres a few weeks after this 43-metre contact.

Key Specifications of 1BD

Sources

• Il Radio Giornale, October, November and December 1925, January and April 1926 (activity and reception reports of 1BD), June 1926, pp. 4–5 (results and photographs of the 1925 contest); scans at introni.it.
• Il Radio Giornale, January, February, April, August, September and October 1927 (A.R.I. delegates, council minutes, licence no. 13, licence and QRA lists, Como congress), December 1927 (Meneghelli's phone log), January, March, May, June, October, November and December 1928 (telephony report, QRP tests, 21 m contacts, contest tables, auditors); scans at introni.it.
• Radio Amateur Call Book, September 1928: 2GP, D. C. Sayer, Richmond Hill, N.Y.
• The card itself (front and back), K1FM collection.