A Ham in the Making
October 1962 Popular Electronics

October 1962 Popular Electronics Table of Contents Wax nostalgic about and learn from the history of early electronics. See articles from Popular Electronics, published October 1954 - April 1985. All copyrights are hereby acknowledged.

Here is a little more tech comic artistry from Bill Hutchinson. Bill created a lot of work for Popular Electronics over the years in addition to his semi-regular Hobnobbing with Harbaugh series. One of the comics mentions an operator being referred to as a 'lid.' In Hamdom, the term means a person who is incompetent or stupid. The history of 'lid' is apparently uncertain (as is 'Ham') per many sources I checked, but two explanations seem the most feasible to me (not that either is necessarily correct). The first is that in the olden days of land telegraphy, less skilled Morse code operators supposedly placed the lid of a tobacco can over the speaker to clarify and amplify the sound. The second is that 'LID' stood for "License In Doubt," meaning the operator was so bad that he likely was not certified. Enjoy.

Sources: QRZ Forum, AC6V's Amateur Radio & DX Reference Guide, QSL.net

A Ham in the Making

By Bill Hutchison

"Just because I had a little tough luck with birdhouses and bookends..."

"Now, for $64,000.00, what operating characteristics distinguish the electron-coupled type oscillator with regard to frequency stability?"

"He overheard someone refer to him as a 'lid'!"

"One more 'dit-dah-dit', and I'll let ya have it!"

"Someone actually answered him."

"I am NOT a toaster-fixer ... I'm a radio technician!"

"No, I'm not after a license ... I want to know what he's saying on that contraption!"

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