On October 29, 1969, a team of researchers led by Professor Leonard Kleinrock at UCLA sent the first message over ARPANET, the precursor to the modern Internet. The message, intended to be “LOGIN,” crashed the system after just the first two letters, “LO,” were successfully transmitted to Stanford Research Institute (SRI). Despite this initial hiccup, the event marked the dawn of a new era in digital communication. For amateur radio operators, ARPANET’s development signified the beginning of a technological revolution that would eventually lead to the integration of digital modes in amateur radio. The ability to connect computers over long distances laid the groundwork for modern digital communication protocols and internet-based amateur radio activities, such as EchoLink and D-STAR, expanding the horizons for global communication and experimentation within the amateur radio community.
