Notwithstanding the microphone and bug shown in the photo, the young ham shown here in the October 1956 issue of Boys’ Life is honing his SWL skills in preparation for the magazine’s forthcoming shortwave listening contest which would be announced the following month.

The accompanying article gives scouts pointers on the shortwave listening hobby, and reminds readers that there were a lot of interesting signals to be pulled in by even inexpensive receivers.  It pointed out that aspiring SWL’s should first take a look at the family’s radio in the living room, since there was a good chance that it pulled in the shortwave bands in addition to standard broadcasts.

The article appears to be a reprint of the same article that appeared in the October 1952 issue.  The author was Roger Legge, who penned the “English Broadcasts to North America” feature in Popular Electronics for many years.  The byline of the 1952 article also identified him as the Frequency Assignment Officer of the Voice of America.

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