OPEN CHANNEL D

 I was sent a small gift by my aunt which arrived a few days ago. She is aware of my hobby of archeology and thought I might find this  of interest. It is an oddly thick pen with the NBC Logo which is a peacock with in small letters NBC. Written the side are the words Open Channel  D. Aunt Marian wrote in her letter it was given to her son Bill  by a neighbor who worked for I believe the Hartford Connecticut television station WTIC. The phrase on the pen jogged an old  , meaning atleast 40 plus years , memory. Open Channel D , so after a little Google action I discovered  that it was an oft used phrase on the old spy show The Man From Uncle. If memory serves me well , it was the phrase that agent Solo {Robert Vaughn} used to activate his  communication device. He would say those words into his pen radio and within a few moments he could talk with UNCLE Headquarters in New York City. As he once said it takes a couple of seconds  the signal has to bounce off the Telstar Satellite . My best speculation is that this was one of the little gifts given out at affiliate meetings usually held in NYC. I believe WTIC was at that time with NBC. So after a trip to Staples and a new refill purchased I now have a working pen  with a trivial phrase on it. One more memory of the sixties era recaptured by this gift.