| IN
CASE YOU'VE NEVER SEEN ONE OF THESE. |
|
This is the original Popular Electronics Short-Wave
Monitor Certificate of Registration, issued to me in 1966 when I was ten years
old. |
| The certificate has held up considerably
better than its owner who still monitors the international broadcast bands when
not operating in the ham bands as WB8CAC. |
| (Not
all that exciting, I just found it in the files, and decided to imortalize it
on the web) |
One of these certificates and 25 cents could get you a cup of coffee most places. If you didn't have the certificate, the coffee cost 10 cents. Popular Electronics magazine issued these registrations to anyone who owned a short wave receiver and demonstrated even minimal ability to operate it. Weirdly enough, a large number of the "registrants" went on to become ham radio operators. Many even became employed in the radio communications field after getting involved in radio via this route.
For more details on this nearly forgotten program, click here ( it's worth it )