This young man is about 90 years old today, but in the July 1938 issue of Popular Mechanics, he was demonstrating how to get good radio reception aboard your boat. The antenna was, of course, important. But putting a copper sheet below the water line ensured an excellent ground connection.
Seventy years ago, this young man is enlivening the family picnic by trying his voice on the mike of this project from the July 1953 issue of Popular Mechanics. The project is billed as a “just for fun” audio amplifier, but it’s actually quite a bit more. In addition to the two-tube battery operated audio amplifier, the project contains provisions for a crystal microphone and phonograph input from a spring-wound record player. It’s not an early prototype karaoke machine, because you can use only one at a time. But the magazine notes that it’s a lot of fun in a group for everyone to try their voice on the mike. It notes that almost everyone talks too fast, some get mike fright, and others use an unnaturally high pitch. It noted that placing the mike was an art, and the set provides a good opportunity to learn a lot about PA systems.
And in addition, the circuit included a built-in germanium diode crystal set which would pull in clear signals from local stations.
A hundred years ago, the radio was becoming a reality on the farm, as shown by this article appearing in the July 18, 1923, issue of the Cody, WY, Northern Wyoming Herald. The article appears to be a press release taken directly from GE, extolling the virtues of the Radiola II receiver. At a mere 18 pounds, the battery set could pull in stations as well as larger sets.
Eighty years ago this month, these two young women were learning the finer points of voltage indicators under the tutelage of this Purdue University engineering professor. They were “Radio Engineering Cadettes,” and were paid trainees at RCA.
As you can read here, 86 women from 17 states began the 44 week program in 1943. Because of wartime labor shortages, they were the first women to attend the engineering school. The picture above appeared in the July 1943 issue of Radio Retailing.
Getting QSL cards in the mail has traditionally been an exciting part of Amateur Radio, as immortalized here on the cover of QST 100 years ago this month, July 1923.
The artist is Clyde Darr, 8ZZ, who provided at least 69 such illustrations for the magazine prior to his death in 1929 at the age of 50.
Eighty-five years ago, the July 1938 issue of Popular Science showed how to make this handsome radio to proudly put in the middle of your dining room table. The five-tube (really four tubes plus a ballast) TRF was said to be a good performer. The sides were decorated with mirrors, and it also had two flower holders. They were made of plywood, with a cut down tobacco tin inside to allow you to water the flowers.
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Distance learning is nothing new, as shown by these New York high school students 100 years ago, pictured in the July 1923 issue of Popular Science. While the magazine identifies the school as “Haarken High School” in New York, this is almost certainly a typo, and it should read Haaren High School, as confirmed by this site and others reporting the same accomplishment.
This is the accountancy class at Haaren, and the students are listening to a series of accountancy problems broadcast by WJZ in Newark, NJ (now WABC New York). A receiver and loudspeaker had been installed, and the students are seated at their adding machines. Problems were read slowly and distinctly, and the correct answers were read a few minutes later. “The general correctness of the classroom work was testimony of the clearness with which radio waves carried.”
Witnessing the successful demonstration are officials of the city Board of Education, as well as more than 25 principals of city high schools.
Seventy-five years ago, this young man was safe listening to the radio unattended, thanks to the “safety radio”. As we’ve reported previously, most radios of that era had a “hot chassis“. One side of the line cord was connected to the metal chassis. The connection did go through a capacitor, but those were known to short out. Depending on which way the cord was plugged in, the result could be a 120 volt shock if you touched any metal on the radio and a grounded object. In this safety radio, the set was safely housed in a one-piece plastic cabinet. The description notes that there is ample provision for required cooling, and there was a handle for convenient portability.
I would be curious to know whether there are any screws on the bottom. And if one of the knobs fall off, the volume and tuning controls are probably made of metal and attached directly to the chassis. The magazine, July 1948 Popular Mechanics, doesn’t name the manufacturer or the model. Maybe one of our readers could identify it.
The plans for this nondescript by effective one-tube portable radio appeared in Practical Wireless, July 1948. The set uses a 6K7 pentode, and uses a singl 4.5 volt battery as its power source. According to the author, F.G. Rayer, G3OGR, the set would pull in local stations with just a short piece of wire. With a longer outdoor antenna, it could pull in foreign stations, although lack of selectivity limited its usefulness. The power switch and band switching was accomplished with three terminals on the front of the radio. For longwave reception, terminals 2 and 3 were shorted out. For mediumwave reception, all three terminals were shorted, effectively shortening the coil. For mediumwave reception only, another coil could be substituted.
According to the author, “it should be unnecessary to point but that the receiver is intended mainly as a novelty, but that even so it is capable of surprising results under certain conditions.”
Eighty years ago, domestic radio production had been shut down for over a year, and there would be no new radios for the duration of the war. Therefore, it was every American’s patriotic duty to keep their current radio in working order.
In this ad in the June 1943 issue of Radio Retailing, the makers of Tung-Sol tubes was making available to dealers this display of booklets, containing hints for consumers on how to keep their radio working. The ad noted that many Tung-Sol tubes were available to dealers, so that if repairs were needed, they were probably possible.
