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The Day Before Christmas
December 1935 QST

December 1935 QST

December 1935 QST Cover - RF CafeTable of Contents

Wax nostalgic about and learn from the history of early electronics. See articles from QST, published December 1915 - present (visit ARRL for info). All copyrights hereby acknowledged.

I saved this poem from the December 1935 edition of the ARRL's QST magazine for now since it might be the last day of work for the year for many people. "The Day Before Christmas" was penned by radio amateur Robert H. Votaw after the manner of the classic "The Night Before Christmas." It is rare to see such a poem printed in a technical magazine these days, but it was fairly common back in the day. To wit: "Ravin" (1942), "Power Supply" (1944), "Pre-Radio" (1944), "A Radioman's Nightmare" (1945). If you happen to be related to or knew Mr. Votaw, please send me a note.

The Day Before Christmas

By Robert H. Votaw, W7WY*

 

The Day Before Christmas, December 1935 QST - RF Cafe'Twas the day before Christmas,

And all through the shack

None of the floor could be seen-

Not even a crack!

For traffic was plastered

Knee-high on the floor,

And every few minutes

'Twas "QTC more."

The poor op. was sweatin'

O'er "mill" and o'er "stick"-

Couldn't finish one asked

Before his next "trick."

After QSG 5 - My gosh!

What a shock!

"QRM," says the other guy,

"Put in that other 'rock.' "

Three hours later

He leans back with a groan.

Thinking, at last,

He has some time of his own...

But, "CQ, CQ North"

Comes the far-away cry-

The op. tunes him in

With blood in his eye...

Some time later

He pauses to stare-

Hark! The tinkling of bells

Floats out on the air!

Can it be Santa??

Oh, boy! What a sight!

"Ye gods! 'Tis the alarm clock-

I've been working all night!!"

 

 

Posted December 22, 2020
(updated from original post on 12/20/2013)

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Copyright: 1996 - 2024

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RF Cafe began life in 1996 as "RF Tools" in an AOL screen name web space totaling 2 MB. Its primary purpose was to provide me with ready access to commonly needed formulas and reference material while performing my work as an RF system and circuit design engineer. The World Wide Web (Internet) was largely an unknown entity at the time and bandwidth was a scarce commodity. Dial-up modems blazed along at 14.4 kbps while tying up your telephone line, and a nice lady's voice announced "You've Got Mail" when a new message arrived...

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