The Classic Old Ham Sketch

I've seen this picture on at least a dozen QSL cards and wondered where it came from. What stood out to me at second glance was the code ".- -... -.-. -.. ..-. --. " Which is rendered as ABCDFG. He skips the letter E. For some reason that made it more memorable. In this caption we have the artists callsign and signature W2HEU Howard. Hamcall.net tells me that was E. Paul Howard in Briarwood, NY back in 1952 and 1954.

Usually that signature is missing. The reason I've finally put it together is that by chance I've found what may be it's origin: the February 1947 issue of CQ Magazine. The article was by Eric R. Adams VWE3ALG from Toronto, ON. The article is just a character piece on cranky tinkering radio hobbyist neighbors. I's accompanied by 3 drawings of the old ham. the largest and most easily scanned is the one above.

It must have struck a cord with people because I continue to see it five decades later.

QSL Finland

For your browsing enjoyment: A set of QSL cards from Finland. This batch stretches from 1976 to 1981. Most of these appear to still be active today.

United Nations Radio

Yes, Even the United Nations have radio stations. Seems counter intuitive since they are not a nation of any kind. So where did they put it?

The United Nations Radio programs are carried on short-wave, distributed by satellite and broadcast by national and regional radio networks in most parts of the world. Information about United Nations Radio, the short-wave broadcast schedule and about partner radio stations in different regions and other production languages can be obtained from the Audio-Visual Promotion and Distribution Unit (AVPDU): fax (212)-963-6869, telephone (212)-963-1807.

In 1946, the United Nations was mandated to disseminate information on radio broadcasts. Since then the United Nations has been continually produced radio programmes. At this time they produce 29 weekly and monthly radio programs in 15 languages. these are broadcast in 180 countries and territories.

These programs vary in length and style and cover a wide range of issues. Some are traditional News casts others are more like documentaries. These radio programmes are available in cassette and are accompanied by a script or blurb to radio broadcasters only.

For the life of me I cant find a list of the damn stations anywhere just jpegs of hard to read QSL cards. If I get something specific, I'll update this post.

Radio Applause Cards

These eventually morphed into what were later called QSL cards.
In the mid-1920s the first AM stations were just getting established. At the same time, large radio corporations started experimenting with shortwave stations. The hams using shortwave had a goot notion of who was listening via return transmissions. But these BCB stations never knew who was listening.

This buisness need was filled with something called the applause card. As the name imples, an applause card was a card that conveyed a message of appreciation by US mail. (Actually, shortwave applause cards came from other nations as well) Applause cards were in common use in the years around 1923 to 1926.
Applause cards were basically postcards with pre-printed lines for certain programs and other station specific data. Some cards also contained space to list the listeners equipment and reception quality. There were many sources of applause cards. Some listeners printed their own. Some companies printed generic applause cards. a number of radio equipment companies were known to use them for promotional purposes.

great peice here: http://www181.pair.com/otsw/AppCards.html