Seventy-five years ago, if you wanted to see the most exciting radio and TV show, all you had to do was go to your nearby Motorola dealer. This ad appeared in Life magazine 75 years ago today, October 17, 1949.
Eighty-five years ago today, the October 15, 1939, issue of Broadcasting magazine carried this ad for the Green Hornet. The radio program had originated three years earlier on Detroit station WXYZ, and was carried on various networks over the years. This ad indicates that it was in syndication in 1939, with its roots still in Detroit. The ad promised a movie to be released soon, and it was indeed serialized in the 1940s.
The Green Hornet was actually the great nephew of the Lone Ranger, who also got his start on WXYZ.
Shown here from 75 years ago is the Heathkit All-Wave Radio. While the ad does not specify the model number, it is the Model K-2, which had recently replaced the similar K-1 which came out the previous year. The set runs on AC power, using one 1626 triode as the rectifier, and a second 1626 as regenerative detector. The 12A6 amplifies the audio to power either headphones or speaker (the only components you need to buy separately, as everything else is included).
There’s a very informative article at the Orange County Amateur Radio Club website by AF6C. At that site, you can find a schematic and more information. The ad shown here is from Heath’s October 1949 flyer. The ad notes that the set can be built by either adults or boys–it apparently didn’t occur to them that a girl might want to build one. It had been successfully constructed by 10 year old boys and was billed as a great start in radio. Boys would enjoy it for years, and it had the added benefit of keeping the family radio for adult programs, while Junior listened to what he wanted.
It covered 550 kHz to 6 MHz, apparently with a single plug-in coil. It sold for $8.75 plus shipping, which works out to $115.73 in 2024 dollars. But chances are, Mom and Dad would be willing to cash in a war bond if it meant freeing up the family radio.
Eighty years ago this month, the October 1944 issue of QST showed how to build this two-tube regenerative receiver. The set was a good performer. The pentode detector provided great sensitivity, and the pentode audio amp was enough to drive a small speaker, or headphones. It even featured a volume control that, while not absolutely necessary, would prove helpful if you wanted to listen with headphones.
Plug-in coils covered the broadcast band up to 32 MHz, and the article boasted that, unlike many similar designs, a single coil would cover the entire broadcast band.
The magazine cover boasted that you could laugh at wartime parts shortages. The articles was a little unclear as to exactly how, but it was probably due to the fact that you could substitute various tubes. The set could be built for use on AC power, or with a 90 volt B battery.
Sixty years ago this month, the October 1964 issue of Radio Experimenter reviews the large number of 6 and 2 meter transceivers available to the ham. The article is penned by Tom Kneitel. He begins by noting that even those who view CB radio as a blight on society have to admit that there was a bright side. The concept of the transceiver–a combination transmitter and receiver–predated the CB craze. But the idea really caught on after CB manufacturers started cranking them out.
Hams were the beneficiaries, since the article gave details of many such units in production, from manufacturers such as Clegg, Gonset, Heath, Lafayette, Olson, Utica, and World Radio.
We’re not sure this is a good idea. And even if it is, the young woman in the canoe ought to be wearing a Coast Guard approved personal floatation device, or at least have one on board.
But a hundred years ago, there were a lot of surplus gas masks available, and the October 1924 issue of Science and Invention gave this idea for making use of them for diving.
You simply selected a garden hose, one sufficiently rigid so it wouldn’t collapse under the pressure, and attach it to the gas mask. It supplied your fresh air while diving, and you simply exhaled bubbles into the water. The magazine suggested adding lead shot to the canister of the mask to help weight it down, and recommended weights on your feet and belt to keep you under water. But the system was said to be good for depths of up to 20 feet. It looks like the girl is listening to the hose for continued sounds of breathing, which is probably a good idea.
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A hundred years ago, these young men (Bill and Sam) kept in touch and built up their code speed with this telegraph system linking their houses. All they needed was two buzzers, two keys, two switches, and enough wire to connect their houses down the street. And, of course, they needed some batteries, but this ad warned them not to just walk into the store and ask for a dry cell. Instead, they were to ask for Columbia Eveready by name. Those peppy batteries made the buzzer yelp at the slightest touch of the key, allowing them to quickly build up their speed. And for easy connections, you could get the batteries with Fahnestock clips.
The ad appeared in the October 1924 issue of Boys’ Life.
Shown above, via Facebook, is the view I hoped to see for myself on October 2, 2024. There was an annular eclipse of the sun that day for Easter Island, and portions of southern Argentina and Chile. Other places, it was just a partial eclipse. And as any eclipse chaser will tell you, a partial eclipse really isn’t a very big deal. The sky doesn’t get dark, and you can really see anything special.
But there’s an exception, and that is if the eclipse takes place at sunrise (or sunset). As anyone who has ever watched a sunrise or sunset can tell you, it is safe to look at the sun momentarily. (Of course, if you do more than a momentary glance, then you should get some eclipse glasses from our sister site, MyEclipseGlasses.com.) And you can see it’s shape. Normally, that shape is a circle as the sun hits the horizon. But if the sunrise is in the middle of a solar eclipse, then it’s not round. The sun is instead a crescent. I tried to see one in 2021, and got clouded out. And, unfortunately, I’m now zero for two when it comes to sunrise eclipses. My family travelled to Hawaii to see it, and we viewed the sunrise at a beach near Laie, Hawaii. Unfortunately, the clouds were just a little too thick, and they obscured the crescent shape. Our view, while a beautiful sunrise over the Pacific, is shown at the left. We had a nice trip to Hawaii and saw a nice sunrise. But we’re still zero for two. Our next chance will be March 29, 2025, when the Northeastern U.S. and Maritime Provinces of Canada will experience a Sunrise Eclipse.
The photo above was taken by Stan Honda, October’s artist-in-residence at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.
Seventy years ago, the Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol and Civil Defense Council operated this state-of-the-art mobile communications center. The need for such a facility had been shown by recent disasters such as the Gulf Coast hurricane of 1949, the severe ice storm of 1951, and the December 1953 Vicksburg tornado.
The state’s basic police radio network consisted of nine 3000 watt stations, and this one would be the tenth, ready to roll at 60 MPH to wherever disaster struck. In addition to the state radio, the van was equipped with VHF low-band and high-band stations, complete with crystals for local departments. At the scene of the disaster, the correct crystals could be installed, and that station manned by personnel from that department. The van included a conference room and bunkroom with six bunks. A power generator was in a trailer. With the exception of the antennas, everything was operational while in motion.
The amateur station consisted of a Johnson Viking 2 transmitter and National NC-125 receiver. Six separate booths were available for the radio operators.
The photo is from the cover of Radio News, October 1954.
Eighty-five years ago, this young man is making the final tuning adjustments for the one-tube radio he built from plans in the October 1939 issue of Popular Mechanics.
The set was simplicity itself, but it boasted a loudspeaker and AC power, so there was no need to mess around with headphones or a B battery. It was really a crystal set, with a fixed crystal detector. The single tube was a 25A7GT, which combined a pentode AF amplifier with a rectifier. Of course, it had a hot chassis and the familiar “curtain burner” cord to power the filaments.
It was best suited to tune permanently to the same local station. It wouldn’t tune the entire broadcast band without changing the fixed capacitor in parallel with the tuning capacitor, and tuning was very broad. But if you wanted to listen to a local station with loudspeaker volume, the simple design couldn’t be beat.
