September 1942 QST
 Table
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.
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 This is yet another example of humorous - and
clever - poetry written by Hams from back in the 1940s... November 1942, to be exact.
It appeared in the ARRL magazine QST. As alluded to in the title, "Ravin,"
it is a play on Edgar Allen Poe's famous "The Raven" poem. Enjoy.
Here are a few other electronics-themed poems:
A Radioman's Nightmare,
The Day Before Christmas,
Sonnet of a Ham,
Unpopular Electronics,
Ode to a New Rig,
Power Supply,
More "Tower" to You, Requiem,
Pre-Radio,
What Is It?,
Ravin
Ravin
(With apologies to Edgar Allan Poe)
By Meyer Dolinko
ONCE upon a midday dreary, while I pondered weak and weary
In the class laboratory, idly tracing some old set;
As I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping
As of something gently rapping - rapping in my superhet.
Ah - I sharply recollect it came so fast I'd ne'er expect it,
But I quickly did detect it - and began to trouble shoot.
Took my faithful long-nosed plier, poked into my amplifier,
Deftly pulled upon a wire - one, or two - or four.
Then I spent ten minutes praying, heard myself quite softly saying,
"Quoth the speaker: 'Nevermore!'"
Stunned and filled with indignation, I withdrew in consternation
As the mystic oscillation kept on drumming in my ears.
"Stray capacitance!" I muttered, but the word was hardly uttered
When the speaker coughed and stuttered - adding greatly to my fears.
"Either this, or else distortion!" So I quickly seized a portion
Of my set, and threw all caution out the door -
With a swiftly mounting fever and the patience of a beaver
Swore I'd fix that damned receiver. Quoth the speaker: "Nevermore!"
Now I looked up rather smartly, thought I had the answer, partly,
For it was my shunt-feed Hartley that was troubling me - I guessed.
Posted May 24, 2019
(updated from original post on 3/24/2011)
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