We’re not sure we entirely agree with the premise, but the September 1956 Popular Electronics construction article for this one-tube superheterodyne receiver begins with the observation that “single-tube radio receivers are always in the novelty class.” But notwithstanding that observation, it shows how to make a one-tube superhet that will drive a loudspeaker, at least on strong local stations.

The circuit uses a dual 6U8. The pentode half of the tube is reflexed to serve as both IF and AF amplifier. The triode section is the local oscillator, and semiconductor diodes are put into action for the mixer and detector stages. Before a beginner starts on the project, the editors warn that you’ll need a 250 volt DC power supply, and to align the radio, you’ll need a signal generator.

But novelty or not, you get loudspeaker volume from a single tube.

One hundred years ago this month, the September 1926 issue of Popular Mechanics showed this self-explanatory idea for installing an antenna on a narrow city lot. It was particularly helpful if you needed an antenna running a certain direction, which happened to be the narrow dimension of your lot. The problem is solved in a neighborly fashion, and both properties benefit.

Sixty years ago this month, the September 1966 issue of Popular Mechanics showed how to put together this simple one-transistor regenerative receiver for the broadcast band. It was said to be sensitive, and provided adequate headphone volume. The set was a particularly good one to make if you had a rotary switch and a bunch of trimmer capacitors lying around, since it provided ten presets for local stations, in addition to a manual tuning dial for pulling in DX stations.

It was dubbed the “autogen” due to combining automatic tuning with a regenerative detector. It called for an antenna of 100 feet, and also had a switch on the ground connections. For normal use, the ground was not connected, as doing so would make the set less selective. But if more volume was desired, the ground could be switched back in.

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.

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.

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.