| Year | Event | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1957 | DEW Line | Distant Early Warning Line radar system became operational across the Arctic, stretching from Alaska to Greenland for detecting Soviet bomber aircraft. |
| 1958 | Trans-Canada Microwave |
To enable direct-dialed, long-distance calls, Bell Canada, headquartered in Montreal, built the Trans-Canada Microwave system. It consisted of 139 relay towers that spanned more than 6,000 kilometers, from Victoria, B.C., to Sydney, N.S. The system used microwave frequencies to achieve a high enough bandwidth and telephone line capacity to conduct the calls. When the system was completed, it was the longest microwave relay network in the world.
Decommissioned in the late 1990s due to fiber optics and satellites. Alamoana.net: Trans-Canada Microwave IEEE Spectrum: Trans-Canada Microwave System Milestone |
| 1950s | AT&T Long Lines Expansion |
AT&T Microwave Relay system (Skyway) continues expansion from hundreds of towers to thousands by the 1960s.
99% Invisible: Vintage Skynet: AT&T's Abandoned Long Lines Microwave Tower Network |
| 1960 | BMEWS |
Ballistic Missile Early Warning System with 3 primary sites in North Greenland (Thule), Alaska (Clear), and UK (Yorkshire). Related sites including prototypes in Trinidad & Tobago and New Jersey (Millstone), and Saskatchewan, Canada.
1958 - Construction start. 1960 - Testing phase. 1961 - Fully operational. |
| ~1960 [Early 1950s - Late 1960s] |
Black & White TV | Black and white television became standard in households across early-adopter countries (US, UK, Canada, Western Europe, Japan) with a second wave of adoption through the 1960s in Eastern Europe, Latin America, and expanding coverage in developing nations. |
| 1974 | WSR-74 Radar |
Weather Surveillance Radar-1974 (WSR-74) deployment began across the United States, replacing the earlier WSR-57 system.
|
| ~1975 [Late 1960s - Late 1970s] |
Color TV |
The switch to color TV from B&W (Black & White) required the use of more powerful TV transmitters. In 1972 color TVs overtook B&W sales in the USA (Elsewhere?). While many countries started switching efforts in the late 1960s, it wasn't until ~1974-1976 or so that most countries made the final switch.
It was this switch that pushed enough radiation into our atmosphere that caused our magnetic north pole to accelerate and more than double in speed in the 1970s.
Titles will be added later
Wikipedia: Timeline of the introduction of color television in countries and territories The Conversation: A late start then a big boom – why it took until 1975 for Australians to finally watch TV in colour Estimates for color TV transmitter output is 5 GW (Gigawatts) ERP in the 1970s (ChatGPT). |
| 1970s | FM Radio |
FM overtakes AM radio in listening time. A great example of how fast FM was growing in the 1970s was the growth in Italy from late 1974 and into 1975. After a court decision that the state did not have a monopoly on local radio, hundreds of new stations appeared, and by mid-1978 some 2,200 were on the air. This was the most radio stations per person of any country. France also went through a more limited version of the trend. Paris had 100 stations by the early 1980s. More detail to follow.
Britannica: Radio - New initiatives 1960-80 |
| 1976 | Cobra Dane |
Phased array radar system on Shemya Island, Alaska for tracking ballistic missiles and space objects.
1. Wargames - Cobra Dane & BMEWS
2. Overview of Cobra Dane
Tested in 1976, operational in 1977. Added 16.5 MW of ERP.
|
| 1976 | Geomagnetic North Pole Acceleration | Magnetic North Pole acceleration increased from 4 miles/year to 10.9 miles/year and maintained this higher rate. |
| 1976 | Soviet Duga Radar |
Soviet over-the-horizon radar system, known as the "Woodpecker," began operations for early missile detection.
Duga added 10 MW of ERP.
|
| 1977 | AT&T Sideband | |
| 1979 | Japan 1G - NTT | NTT launched the world's first commercial cellular network in Tokyo. |
| 1979 | PAVE PAWS |
Phased Array Warning System (PAVE PAWS) radar stations became operational for detecting sea-launched and intercontinental ballistic missile attacks. The system used powerful phased array radar technology to provide early warning capabilities for U.S. defense.
1. Pave Paws Intro - 1979 (FPS-115)
2. Pave Paws Early Missile Warning Radar 3. Health Concerns - 1978 |
| 1982 | Big Snow UK |
Major winter storm brought heavy snow across the United Kingdom.
Wales in the snow: The Big Freeze of 1982 |
| 1982 | US Winter Storms |
Series of major snowstorms impacted the United States, including record-breaking blizzards in the Midwest.
1. Video 1 Title
2. Video 2 Title |
| 1982-1983 | El Niño |
Major El Niño event with significant weather impacts.
National Park Service: 1982-1983 El Niño |
| 1983 | US AMPS 1G |
Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS) launched commercially in the United States on October 13, 1983.
1. AT&T: AMPS, a 1978 film on cell phones
2. Tech History - Cell Phone Testing Begins 1978 3. AT&T Archives: Testing the First Cell Phone 4. AMPS - Coming of Age 5. CBS San Diego: Mobile phones new technology in 1982 |
| 1985 | Weather Extremes Study |
NOAA climatologists published findings showing abnormally high frequency of extreme winters from 1975-1983 - six years out of eight. The study estimated this concentration would occur only once in several hundred years, perhaps once in a millennium, if it were random fluctuation.
Christian Science Monitor: Climatologists study 89 years of history to find out whether weather is changing |
| 1983-1985 | Ethiopia Famine |
Devastating famine in Ethiopia that led to widespread humanitarian crisis and international relief efforts.
Great Blizzard of 1888 matches with Great Ethiopian Famine of 1888-1892.
|
| 1987 | Australia launches AMPS |
Australia launched its AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone System) cellular network.
|
| 1991 | First 2G / GSM Phone Call |
First commercial 2G GSM phone call made on July 1, 1991, marking the transition to digital mobile networks.
Nokia: Thirty years on from the call that transformed how we communicate |
| 1991 | Australia Drought | Severe drought conditions affected Australia. |