Eighty-five years ago, it was customary to put on a tie before learning Morse code, and this young man honored that custom. He’s practicing with a self-explanatory device shown in the February 1939 issue of Popular Mechanics.
To hear perfect code, he simply runs the test lead over the cardboard cutout over a copper sheet, and the code sends itself. We’ve seen similar ideas before, such as here.
Eighty years ago this month, the January 1944 issue of Radio Craft carried this circuit for a receiver to run directly from 32 volts. Specifically, a reader requested a circuit that would “work from a 32-volt lighting system.” The circuit used three tubes, 1T4, 1S5, and 1S4. The filaments were in series with a 550 ohm resistor, and 32 volts was sufficient for the B+.
The “32-volt lighting system” was undoubtedly a Delco Lighting Plant, designed for lighting up the farm. It consisted of a motor generator which charged 16 2-volt batteries. The generator would kick in automatically when the batteries needed charging, and shut off when they were fully charged.
The only mystery here is the reader’s return address, New York City. While some parts of the city had DC power at the time, it was 110 volts. He must have been designing the circuit for someone on the farm without electric service.
A hundred years ago this month, the December 1923 issue of the British journal Wireless Weekly showed how to build this two-tube regenerative receiver. The exact frequency/wave length coverage is not stated (quite likely because the author didn’t really know for sure), but it was designed to receive long wave radiotelephone and radiotelegraph signals, as well as BBC broadcasts. So presumably, it covered the long waves and the medium waves.
It was said to pull in all of the BBC broadcasts with good volume.
The circuit isn’t all that different from similar receivers from subsequent decades. So it would be a good performer, even today. The picture above is somewhat deceptive, as it doesn’t show the components below the chassis. It is designed to be mounted in a a box about 3 inches deep, which is shown in the article.
Seventy years ago this month, this electronics hobbyist is undoubtedly the first on her block to own a transistor radio of her own construction. She is showing off three coveted CK722 transistors, complete with red dots. They had been developed by Bell Labs only five years earlier, and they were still costly devices. But the venerable CK722 was “only” $7.60 each ($87.39 in 2023 dollars). As such the well-heeled experimenter could start using them in simple circuits.
The October 1953 issue of Popular Mechanics shows two radio receivers using the new transistor. The one-transistor set is within the grasp of the beginner. And for the advanced student, the three transistor set could drive a loudspeaker. It was assumed that the expensive devices would be re-used in other circuits, so they plugged in to transistor sockets. The magazine noted the importance of marking the sockets so that the transistor was plugged in correctly. It warned that before turning on the power, to check the polarity, and then check it again. Turning it on with the wrong polarity would prove costly, since the transistor junctions would be destroyed immediately.
In 1954, the Saturday Evening Post named Thorofare Markets of Pittsubrgh as the “Brand Name Retailer of the Year” for 1953. To commemorate the honor, the supermarket took out this ad in the Pittsburg Post-Gazette, Sept. 16, 1954, honoring the Post, and also serving as its newspaper ad for the week. As such, it give a snapshot of grocery prices in 1954. While these prices look low, keep in mind that there’s been a lot of inflation since 1954. According to this inflation calculator, one dollar in 1954 is the equivalent of $11.36 in 2023 dollars. So the Campbell’s tomato soup for 11-1/2 cents per can works out to about $1.30 per can. Sirloin steak was 79 cents per pound, but that’s the same as $8.97 per pound in today’s money.
What would you make for dinner in 1954 if you did your shopping at this store? For a full-size copy of the ad, you can click on the images above.
Sixty years ago today, schools were desegregated in Alabama, as reported here in the September 5, 1963, issue of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. A hundred white persons were on hand to protest the two black children, Dwight and Floyd Armstrong, but according to the paper, the disorder was short lived.
Democratic Governor George Wallace didn’t intervene, but he did state that this was only the first battle. About a week later, the 16th Street Baptist Church was bombed, killing four young girls. Shortly thereafter, the church received over $300,000 (about $3 million in 2023 dollars) in unsolicited donations.
This young woman is now about 90 years old, but in the September 1938 issue of Popular Mechanics, she is shown helping her father pull in a shortwave signal with the simple one-tube receiver described in that issue. It uses an RK-43 dual triode tube as regenerative detector and audio amplifier.
The set can be initially constructed for the standard broadcast band. Then, to pull in the shortwaves, a fixed capacitor is switched in series with the main tuning capacitor to lower its capacitance. In addition, shortwave coils are used in place of the coil for the broadcast band.
Sixty years ago, if you wanted a small television that you could watch anywhere, it was available, but it wasn’t cheap. Shown here, in the August 1963 issue of Electronics World, is Sony’s ad for its Micro-TV. Weighing in at only 8 pounds, the 25-transistor set could be powered with AC, DC, or an optional rechargeable battery pack.
The retail price was only $189.95. According to this inflation calculator, that works out to about $1897 in 2023 dollars. If you lived in an area with one of those elusive UHF channels, you weren’t out of luck, because an optional UHF adaptor (and yes, that’s an alternate spelling) was available for only $49.95 extra. The prices weren’t given, but other accessories (such as the rechargeable battery) were available, including a “luggage carrying case.”
I guess I would pay extra for the carrying case. If I was taking my $1897 TV with me on vacation, I’d want it to be well protected in transit.
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Seventy-five years ago, the June 14, 1948, issue of Life magazine carried this ad from RCA, showing the company’s lineup of portables, and suggesting that your sainted dad might enjoy one of them for Fathers Day.
The lowest cost option was the model 54B at $29.95, which was battery only. The four-tube set measured about 6 by 4 by 3 inches. The model 8BX5 at $34.95 could run on AC or DC power or battery. It featured five tubes, since it also included a rectifier.
The top of the line was the 8BX6, dubbed the Globe-Trotter, for $49.95, which also had three-way power. This set had six tubes and a four-inch speaker.
Wartime toy shortages didn’t mean a shortage of war toys 80 years ago. And even if our leaders get us into another war, Junior can still have the coolest (but most politically incorrect) toy on the block, courtesy of this homemade sidewalk tank from the May 1943 issue of Popular Mechanics.
Realistic machine gun sounds are courtesy of a hardwood ratchet hitting two bamboo splints. Four roller skates are pressed into service as the wheels. Even Fido gets in on the action as these two young soldiers go after the enemy.
