Deep in the myth and lore of amateur radio is the story of The Old Man’s Wouff Hong. This was an instrument of punishment for any radio operator who used bad and rude operating habits on air.

It was invented by “The Old Man” (T.O.M), a writer for QST magazine.

As The Old Man heard it, the Wouff Hong was being used on some hapless offender so effectively that he investigated. After further effort, “T.O.M.” was able to locate and identify a Wouff Hong. He wrote a number of QST articles about contemporary rotten operating practices and the use of the Wouff Hong to discipline the offenders.

In 1919 The Old Man sent QST a real Wouff Hong. It was presented at a meeting of the ARRL and the board voted to hang it in the office of League Secretary where it remains to this day.

No one knows exactly how it is used.