While London Burned: Scout Edward John Cox

The February 1944 issue of Boys’ Life carried the stories of a number of British Scouts who had demonstrated bravery during World War II. Shown here is Scout Edward John Cox. During a heavy air raid, he was stationed at his post on the roof of St. George’s-in-the-East Church.

His mother and younger sisters had taken refuge in the crypt under the church. Incendiary bombs crashed around him, and he seized sandbags to quickly extinguish them. But as the raid continued, a big bomb blast into the church belfry, which almost immediately became a roaring mass of flames.

One of the men around him realized that eventually, the belfry would collapse, causing the massive bells to fall through the church and into the crypt. He raced down and gasped out the news to the marshal. Together, they started evacuating the mothers and children. Scout Cox kept going back again and again until all of the children were evacuated.

The last person had just been evacuated when the timbers of the belfry broke through the church and into the crypt.

The UK Scout Association awarded Scout Cox the Silver Cross, an award for acts of bravery in the face of danger where life has been at considerable risk.

1924 Telephone Workers: Risking Life and Limb

A hundred years ago, the telephone had become an essential part of American life, and the public had come to take it for granted as part of their normal business and social lives, as well as relying upon it in emergencies.

But The Telephone Company and its workers didn’t take it for granted. Despite fire or storm or flood, the telephone operator stuck to her switchboard. And the lineman and a quarter million employees risked life, limb, and even health to make sure that messages continued to go through.

All the public had to do for all of this was to pay the moderate cost.

This ad appeared in the February 1924 issue of Boys’ Life.

1939 British One-Tube Regen

The plans for this one-tube–er, I mean one-valve–regenerative receiver appeared 85 years ago this month in the January 1939 issue of Practical Mechanics.

The article begins by noting that “the small receiver is apt to be despised in these days of 7 and 8 -valve superhets, there is still a very wide field of application for the simple one-valver. Many schoolmasters, for in- stance, have asked for details of a set which may be used as a demonstrating model, either for handycraft instruction, or to explain many of the theories underlying modern radio technique.”

The circuit relies upon a pre-made coil, which is no doubt unobtainium these days. But the article does describe how to make a very similar coil, which can be used with slight modification of the circuit. Either way, the set did tune both longwave and mediumwave bands, thanks to a band switch which shorted out the longwave portion of the coil. The set uses a D210, which is a British model, but almost any triode would probably work well.

1939 Typing Class

As shown here in the January 1939 issue of Radio Retailing, it looks like a few boys 85 years ago got the memo that the place to meet girls (and learn a useful skill) was to take typing class.

And this school was doing it right. Above the blackboard, you can see a loudspeaker, which is playing an amplified recording. The magazine notes that this delivers a rhythm, which is desirable for the student typists to develop a uniform touch.

1974 Digital Watch

Fifty years ago, the hobbyist with nimble fingers and a sharp eye could have their own digital watch, thanks to this project in the January 1974 issue of Popular Electronics.

If you bought one, it would set you back $200, but you could make your own for about $80. The construction article gave the source for the case, you could make the small PC board, or you could buy the whole thing as a kit. If the tip on your soldering iron wasn’t small enough, the article suggested attaching a piece of copper wire and filing down the end. Accuracy was said to be several seconds a month.

1964 Grocery Prices

For a snapshot of grocery prices sixty years ago, these ads appeared in the January 27, 1964, issue of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette.

Some of these prices look like a bargain, but there’s been a lot of inflation since 1964. In fact, 1964 was the last year that American coins were made out of silver. So one dollar meant one silver dollar, or four silver quarters, or ten silver dimes, each about one ounce of silver. Today, that ounce of silver is worth about $23, so you can multiply these prices by 23 for a fairly good idea of the value in today’s money. So the hamburger for 39 cents a pound is about the same as $9 per pound today.

If you were shopping for dinner 60 years ago, what would you buy?

1949 Combination Receiver/Signal Generator

This utilitarian-looking three-tube British device appeared in Practical Wireless 75 years ago this month, January 1949. It has considerable utility, as it functions as both a regenerative receiver and signal generator.

The regenerative receiver, of course, causes oscillation that can be radiated through the antenna jack. But this circuit does one better, because it turns the audio amplifier into an oscillator, which modulates the signal. Therefore, when working on another piece of equipment, you have a handy source of tone modulated RF. And when you’re done troubleshooting your other device, you can tune in programs from 3000 to 10 meters. Thanks to the second harmonic, you can use it as a signal generator up to five meters.

1924 One-Tube Loudspeaker Set

The plans for this handsome one-tube receiver appeared a hundred years ago this month, in the January 1924 issue of Popular Science. The regenerative set, when used with a high-quality loudspeaker, was capable of producing volume to fill a large room, with but a single tube. The secret was the antenna coil, which served as an autotransformer to boost the signal in the regenerative circuit.

The set was both sensitive and selective. When tested in New York City, within a couple of miles of some strong broadcast stations, it easily pulled in more distant stations. And with a 100 foot antenna, the author reported pulling in Chicago with loudspeaker volume.

1924 Phone Hands Free Device

Shown here in the January 1924 issue of Popular Mechanics is an early telephone hands-free device. The unit clamped on to the side of the telephone, with a counterweight under the base of the phone, to hold the receiver in any position. It included a clips that held the hook down or released it. It allowed both hands to be used while talking on the phone.

1944 Intercom

Eighty years ago, there was a war going on, but in his workshop, this gentleman had a power supply capable of putting out 250 volts and six volts. He also had a few tubes lying around, so he put together this audio amplifier, which he used as an intercom. The master station was down in the shop by his power supply, and he mounted a speaker in the kitchen. It was fed with a single wire, with water or steam pipes serving as the second conductor.

From the shop, he could monitor what was going on in the kitchen. And when his wife announced that lunch was almost ready, he let her know he was on the way up. The amp could also be used for a phonograph, as shown in the schematic.

The circuit appeared in the January 1944 issue of Popular Science.

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