Mr. ZIP at the Minnesota State Fair

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I was quite the philatelist when I was a kid, and when I learned that there were stamp exhibits at the Minnesota State Fair, I wanted to enter one. Every year, I check them out, and every year, I decide that I’m going to enter, when I get a Round Tuit.

This year, after about 50 years, I finally got a Round Tuit, and I entered the above collection featuring Mr. ZIP, the beloved mascot of the United States Postal Service, and before that, the Post Office Department. Mr. ZIP retired at some time in the 1980s, but in 2025, he came out of retirement, and is now a YouTuber, starring in “Mail with Mr. ZIP.”

If you get a chance to make it to the Minnesota State Fair, which runs through Labor Day, be sure to stop by the Creative Activities building and check out the entry.

As you can see, Mr. ZIP earned the second-place ribbon for 20th Century U.S. Stamps. If you’re wondering who took home the Blue Ribbon, that entry is shown at left, and is an excellent presentation of error stamps. The first-place ribbon was earned by Michael Hilpisch of Shoreview, Minnesota, who is obviously a serious collector.

(If you want to see better pictures, see my post on Facebook, as one of my friends posted some better images in the replies:)



1966 Two Tube Two Meter Receiver

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This handsome two-tube two-meter receiver was featured in the September 1966 issue of Electronics Illustrated. The magazine noted that there was a great deal of activity on two meters in most areas, and this set would pull those signals in, perhaps with a TV antenna. The set was both superheterodyne and superregenerative. A local oscillator tuned 8 MHz below the band, and the superregnerative detector picked up the resulting 8 MHz signal. A speaker was built in, but there were provisions for headphones, for pulling in the weak signals.



Radio Physic(s)

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The word has gone out of style, but back in the day, “physic” was a polite synonym for “laxative.” This cartoon appeared 80 years ago in the September 1946 issue of Radio News.



1926: How to Meet Girls: Become a Ham!

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One hundred years ago, the August 1926 issue of Radio World explained to young men the secret for meeting girls: Become a ham!

The magazine contained an article by Armstrong Perry entitled, “Be A Ham!” It contained stories of the exciting things that a ham could do once they got their ticket. And within the article is this photo of Albert Bombe, who started out as a ham, and then got his commercial ticket at age 17. He went to sea, and learned enough Spanish to have a tete-a-tete with this young woman he met on shore leave at Teneriffe.

Bombe was mentioned in this 1922 New York Times article, discussing how the Boy Scouts of America had taken up radio with a passion. He was 18 years old at the time, lived at 15 Pearl Street, Far Rockaway, N. Y., and tuned in to the bulletin sent to Scouts by NAH.

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1956 Novice Transmitters

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Seventy years ago this month, the August 1956 issue of Popular Electronics carried this ad from E.F. Johnson for the Adventurer transmitter. This gentleman just passed his novice test (and was undoubtedly wearing a bow tie when he took it) and is looking for a transmitter. His friend gives a solid recommendation, for the Johnson Adventurer.

But for the new novice on a tighter budget, the same issue of the magazine shows the venerable Heathkit AT-1 for a considerably lower price.



1914 Medical Paging

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We recently had occasion to visit the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. They have a small historical display in the lobby commemorating the institution’s venerable history. One particular exhibit caught our eye, with a caption reading: “In 1914, doctors were paged by telegraph tickers throughout the building. They took the call by picking up conveniently located telephones.”

The telephone was safely tucked behind plexiglass, but the telegraph sounder (the plaque’s “ticker”) sat right out in the open—practically begging to be manually clicked. Which, of course, we did.  Nobody answered our CQ, but perhaps that’s because we were using International Morse and not American Morse.

Mayo was an early adopter of communication technology, integrating pneumatic tubes, central switchboards, and telegraph paging when they opened their state-of-the-art 1914 building. Eight years later, the June 1922 issue of The Modern Hospital described the system as an established method of hospital paging:

One method is to install sounders, similar to telegraph sounders, at various points throughout the hospital. These are actuated from a telegraph key or code calling device located at the telephone operator’s desk. When a telephone call is received for a doctor the operator sounds the call on the system and the doctor calls the telephone operator from the nearest telephone. This system embodies one feature sometimes considered objectionable. The signal is given by ticks or dots, as in the Morse code, and its success depends entirely upon the doctor’s being able to distinguish his particular call.

Of course, we don’t see this as a shortcoming. If a physician cannot distinguish their own Morse code call sign, we’re not entirely sure we’d want them treating us in the first place.



Homes for Iowa

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Occasionally, I see a good idea, and wonder why it’s not being done everywhere. One such occasion was at the Iowa State Fair, when I saw a prefabricated house with a sign saying that it could be delivered, anywhere in Iowa, for under $100,000. For someone who owned a suitable lot, this seemed like a way to provide affordable housing. (Larger models are available, at only slightly higher prices.) I went inside the two-bedroom one bath home. It wasn’t a McMansion, but it was a comfortable home.

It turns out that they are being offered by a non-profit, Homes for Iowa.  But their mission isn’t just affordable housing.  They train and rehabilitate incarcerated men at a minimum-security prison, and teach them not only trades, but also “soft skills” needed in the outside world.  Since their founding in 2019, 675 men have been through the program, with a recidivism rate of only 6.1%.

In my humble opinion, it’s a no-brainer.  And yes, if you zoom in, I’m wearing an Underdog shirt.  In his day, Underdog put a lot of bad actors behind bars, but I think he would approve of some of them being turned back into productive members of society.



1966 Motorola Radios

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Sixty years ago this month, the August 1966 issue of Boys’ Life reminded scouts that if they were looking for a radio, they should look for one with reliability.  And they couldn’t go wrong by buying one from Motorola, which had provided semiconductors for all of America’s manned space missions.

Offerings started with the model XP2C 8-transistor portable for $12.95.  The model XP64C portable for $23.95 could also be used with the optional AC power supply.  Table models included the model XT3B for $22.95, and the XC13B clock radio for $26.95.



1956 One-Transistor Portable

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Seventy years ago this month, the August 1956 issue of Radio News carried this circuit for a one-transistor portable receiver, which was really a crystal set followed by a one-transistor (2N107) audio amplifier. According to the magazine, the set gave good reception on local stations.

All parts were widely available, but a complete kit (model KT-80) could be had from Lafayette for only $4.95 (less earphone, which was available for an additional $1.49).



1941 BCI Filter

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Eighty-five years ago this month, the August 1941 issue of QST carried this hint, sent to the magazine by W3QY, to get rid of a pesky case of broadcast interference (BCI). Even though he was running less than 100 watts on 10 meter AM, he was coming through the radios of rowhouse neighbors on their AC-DC broadcast radios. His antenna ran close to the power lines, and he suspected that’s how the interference was getting in to the sets, especially since the tuning dial didn’t make any difference. Moving the antenna wasn’t possible, so he tried filtering. Experimenting on his own set, he built this filter, which did the job. He reported that he provided one for his neighbor, who was also overjoyed.

You can see W3QY’s QSL card, with a picture of his homebrew station, at this eBay listing.