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From: Rudolph B Schroeder
W7FCB <w7fcb@juno.com>
The Wouff Hong was an
instrument of grotesque torture used by the Japanese or Chinese of ancient
times. Supposedly it inflicted excruciating pain and made believers of
the victims on which it was used.
I am of the Royal Order
of the Wouff Hong. We of the Order have sworn a solemn oath before our
peers to honor and obey the laws of Ham Radio, stand vigilant to the Radio
Amateurs Code and above all hold in highest regard our fellow amateurs,
those deserving to be identified as Hams. The Order was probably brought
about via the efforts of Hiram Percy Maxim (the Father of Ham Radio).
It's a fraternal Order and is available to all amateurs that wish to take
the oath and pledge to abide by the strictest rules of self discipline
in our Ham Radio hobby.
Today the Order has
only a few active members and is fairly forgotten as the Hams of today
are so far from being or wanting to be fraternal brothers, for the most
part. We never used to have the bitching and squabbling over having to
learn some basic electronics and Morse Code which, by the way, used to
set us apart from the rest of the hobbies of the world by having to prove
something to get in and be a part of - so to speak. Today the license(s)
are a joke, a give away, they're only a putt
away from sending in a cereal box top to get certified to be on the air.
The Hams of today know
little to nothing of the tradition of Ham Radio. How can anyone in a weekend
crash course learn anything more than the standard answers to the standard
questions (simplistic as they have been made)? Granted Morse Code and
code speed do not necessarily make the operator, but it used to be that
we were proud that we mastered this second language and we were a cut
above the ordinary because we could communicate either by tapping or blinking
light when all else failed. We needed only to be able to make and break
a connection of the simplest of transmitters in order to convey a message
over the air. We could communicate with Hams of Third World countries
where they did not have the means materially or economically to get on
phone. And we therefore established a brotherhood and had a mutual respect
for each other at home as well as in distant lands. And woe be unto an
operator that showed any sort of disrespect to a fellow Ham.
Then, to tag an operator
as a LID wasn't disrespectful, but a gentle reminder that he/she had engaged
in some unorthodox practice and their attention to it was suggested. If
the practice continued or flagrant opposition to the standards persisted,
he/she would then deserve only the torture of the Wouff Hong (in thought
and spirit of course). But, that was tradition, another time,
another era. So, wouldn't it be nice to bring back the old tradition of
the Wouff Hong as a warning to those few LIDs that come along every once
in a while? When needed, it was inserted where the sun don't shine, as
a gentle reminder to uphold good Ham Radio operating practices.
CU 73, Rudy W7FCB
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