‰ NOW 13 WPM ‰ TEXT IS FROM AUGUST 2012 QST PAGE 68 ‰ GOVERNMENTAL REGULATIONS OF ANY KIND FOR WIRELESS OPERATORS. ANYONE WHO WANTED TO COULD PUT A RADIO TRANSMITTER ON THE AIR. THEY DIDNT HAVE TO TAKE A TEST. THEY COULD USE ANY POWER, ASSIGN THEMSELVES A CALL SIGN OF THEIR OWN CHOOSING, PICK ANY WAVELENGTH AT WILL AND OPERATE EITHER AS AN AMATEUR OR COMMERCIAL STATION WHEN AND AS THEY PLEASED. POWER WAS ONLY LIMITED BY ONES POCKETBOOK, AND SOME POCKETBOOKS DID NOT STOP SHORT OF THE KW MARK. AS OF 1911, THERE WERE ONLY ABOUT 600 WIRELESS STATIONS IN THE ƒ QST DE W1AW ‰ US, AND OF THOSE 600, ABOUT 150 WERE COMMERCIAL OR US NAVY STATIONS. AND OF THE 450 OR SO AMATEUR STATIONS, MANY OPERATED AT A HIGHER POWER WITH BIGGER ANTENNAS THAN THOSE USED BY THE NAVY OR COMMERCIAL STATIONS. BEFORE 912, IT WAS THE RADIO AMATEUR WHO DOMINATED THE AIRWAVES. WITH NO RULES IN PLACE, THE AIRWAVES WERE A LAWLESS WASTELAND. BETWEEN 1902 AND 1912, A TOTAL OF 28 BILLS DEALING WITH RADIO WERE INTRODUCED IN CONGRESS. ONLY ONE ‰ END OF 13 WPM TEXT ‰ QST DE W1AW ƒ