GROL vanity question

[surfacemount]

I don't like the current certificate. I'd like one similar to how the old ones look.

Is there a legal way to get an older version? Sorry, proud of the accomplishment, but printing my own certificate in my printer just doesn't appeal to me...

 

[PACNWDude]

I do not know how to get a nicer version of FCC license. Although some co-workers of mine went and bought certificate plaques at art stores. These are stained wood certificate holders that have plastic sleeves for a certificate to be placed into. These make the printed license look a little better for the wall.

Of course these are the same types that did the same with their FEMA ICS online course certificates too.

 

[surfacemount]

Of course these are the same types that did the same with their FEMA ICS online course certificates too.

Ouch

Well, I don't think fancy framing will help. The old ones look impressive compared to the current ones. ICS used to look better too, but I can't imagine framing any of them.

 

[902]

These don't exist anymore, but here's something to try:

1) Type into a search engine "FCC first class license."

2) Look at the images.

3) Pick one that's clear.

4) Using GIMP or Photoshop, take out the other person's information and put in factual information about yourself. No embellishing. If there's an endorsement indicated, and you don't have it, either earn it, or remove it.

5) Edit out the First Class, because that's not what you have. There's also a General Radiotelephone Operator License JPEG out there that could be used as a template.

6) Print it using a color printer (they were various colors over the years).

7) Sign it.

8) Frame and hang it for display. It should look pretty neat.

-----
Finally, if you're a potential employer and someone shows you one of these, go into ULS and verify it rather than accepting it for face value. Doing that means a lot to everyone who have earned the credentials.

 

[surfacemount]

902, thank you.

I never thought about simply making my own. I don't feel good about the concept. So, I think, for now, I'll pass. Thanks though!!

sm

 

[Rred]

If you shop around, you can get all sorts of engraved and fancy bordered sheets for use in any laserjet or inkjet printer. Certificate Paper - Printable Certificate Design Varieties | PaperDirect | PaperDirect is one source. Set up a page however you like it, print it first on plain paper and overlay it to see if it lines up. There are also "enhancements" you can use in a laser printer, like gold foil which will adhere to the laser toner only, giving you a "printed gold metallic". And if you print the certificate on a laser printer and then lightly mist it with a spray-on varnish or matte finish, or even cheap hairspray, that tends to bond to the laser toner and "raise" it slightly making it look more like real lithography.

There must be web sites that go into the options you have for doing this. When "desktop publishing" still meant a five or six grand investment and hundreds more for each program, this all used to be old hat for anyone in the trade.

 

[902]

902, thank you.

I never thought about simply making my own. I don't feel good about the concept. So, I think, for now, I'll pass. Thanks though!!

sm

Well, I look at it this way:

You passed the exam (I presume), so the only thing you're doing is making a representation of whatever credentials you were conferred. The certificates were discontinued, so at this point, it's not misrepresentation if you put factual information on something that you consider is nice looking.

Rather than pay for a third party to print you one (they're not certifying anything, your GROL is between the FCC and you), you're printing your own with the applicable parameters on it. Whether you do it yourself or pay the COLEM or some other organization to print one out for you, it's only there to make you feel good about your accomplishment. It doesn't convey anything you don't already have.

I've had mine for several decades (GROL and Ship Radar endorsement) and carry an FCC-issued wallet card around for the last 27 years. I'm amazed I haven't lost it yet. It's not the Form 605 that's available if I print a reference copy today. At one time I enlarged the card and had it over my bench when I worked in two-way, but it always looked "meh." I tried what I described to you and it looks very nice. And, if you go into ULS or look up my FRN, everything that's on my "certificate" is what's in ULS.

At the end of the day, I don't pretend to be anything more or less than I am.

It's bad enough we're in an industry that's cluttered with "junk certs" (you know, those alphabits people put after their names on their business cards and you have to go look them up to find out they were issued by some used-to-be-relevant organization that was trying to close a revenue shortfall and you'll need to spend a couple of hundred dollars every two years to keep up) and now is also making individuals spend more to keep up with information technology junk certs.

Best of luck, though, which ever way you proceed. If you find something that's really nice, please post a sample of it. I'd love to see it.

 

[surfacemount]

You're exactly right, I just had issues with copying something with a signature on it.

Did a little research, turns out we are not alone:

What I received, however,
was a pukey-looking "GROL" and a form letter from the FCC. I think they were getting a lot of heat from licensees because the tone of the form letter was sort of admonishment to anyone who felt it wrong and a final sentence that read something like "there no longer is a 1st class license." (Read" Put up and shut up). The once-beautifully done diploma-like engraved graphics of the FCC's commercial licenses were reduced to, quite frankly, something that looked like it was designed by a junior high school art class. My "GROL" remains in a folder in my file cabinet. Above my ham rig I still hang its proud predecessor even though the Commission felt it necessary to deface it with bold bright purple letters across the middle reading CANCELLED .

It's hard to hold pride in something you bake yourself in a twenty dollar printer. I will look and see if there is a high-resolution GROL floating around on the interwebs, though. Maybe....