Eclipse Glasses Mania

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Eclipse glasses line in Whitechapel, Londoner by Ali Reza.

Here and at our sister site, MyEclipseGlasses.com, we encourage everyone to buy eclipse glasses well before an eclipse. It doesn’t matter if you buy them from us, or from another reputable seller of ISO 12312-2 certified glasses. (But it’s best to avoid the cheap ones made in China.)

The picture above shows exactly what happens if you wait too long. There were multiple news reports in the U.K. focusing on the long line at the AM2PM convenience store in Whitechapel, London.  The Londoner, from which the top image came, ran it under the headline “London ran out of eclipse glasses. Then chaos began.”  Even the BBC had coverage.

Eclipse glasses line at Whitechapel, the Independent.

The image shown at left is the queue (line for those of us on this side of the Pond) outside the shop, from the Independent.  That article quotes the owner, Mr. Ali Raza, as saying that a shipment arrived from Spain at 2:30 AM the day before the eclipse, and was sold out by 9:30.  I am proud to say that was my son who flew in at the last minute in the middle of the night with more glasses.  And after that shipment ran out, Mr. Raza himself jumped on a plane, and brought back one last supply of glasses from Spain.

The video below is an interview with Mr. Reza by a Sun Express reporter. When he mentions a “guy from America” that was my son. (It’s a little unclear at the start, because he mentions China. But at the end, he makes clear that he didn’t want anything dodgy in his shop–he properly insisted on ISO certified glasses made in Spain.)

We didn’t make it to Spain for totality this time around.  But of course, after the work was done, he did view the eclipse from near a castle between Madrid and Valencia.  We will have photos soon.

The next eclipse is August 2, 2027.  Once again, buyers in Europe and North Africa will be scrambling for glasses.  If you want to have a long line in front of your store full of eager buyers, please contact us at eclipse-glasses@usa.net.



1966 Space-Age Xtal Set

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Sixty years ago, this youngster was pulling in a favorite program without disturbing the rest of the family, thanks to a one-transistor “Space-Age Xtal Set” shown in the August-September 1966 issue of Radio-TV Experimenter.

The accompanying article laments the fact that we were in the space age by then, but to satisfy the radio needs of children, we often resorted to crystal sets (even though the cat’s whisker was replaced by a 1N34 diode).  To move into the space age, something more was required, in the form of a triode crystal.

Sixty more years have gone by, and there’s still something to be said for building a crystal set.  But for those who wish to move into the space age, this set is a good place to start.



1946: Hams Back on the Air

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Eighty years ago this month, the August 1946 issue of Popular Mechanics carried this reminder that hams were back on the air, after being silenced for the duration of the War.  And they were back in force.  There had been 60,000 before the War, but by December 1946, there would be 100,000.  And more might be on the way–250,000 veterans had received radio training, and getting the license would be a piece of cake for them.



1941 Code Practice

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Eighty-five years ago, these persons, quite likely mindful of the implications for national defense, were learning the Morse code, thanks to the oscillator shown here. It had a speaker, but it also included plug-ins, one of which is shown mounted to the table, for each student to conveniently plug in key and headphones.

From a notation in the margin of the magazine, it appears that the oscillator was from Bud Radio, 5205 Cedar Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio.  The illustration appeared in the August 1941 issue of Popular Mechanics.



Wilderness Survival Overnighter: 1951

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One of my more memorable experiences from Scouting was earning Wilderness Survival merit badge.  Surprisingly, my favorite and most memorable requirement is no longer a requirement. While the current merit badge asks scouts to demonstrate making a shelter and building a fire, it doesn’t have a requirement to tie it all together. The final requirement when I earned it was to spend the night alone, with only minimal supplies. I put together some kind of shelter, and cooked my own meal without utensils. Even though there were no utensils, I was miraculously provided with the food, which included some raw ground beef. Using green twigs, I was able to construct a basket to cook my hamburger over the fire. I believe I was also allowed a match, so I didn’t have to resort to a more primitive method of fire starting.  Overall, it was kind of a miserable night, but it was miserable in a good way, enjoying my half-cooked hamburger and sleeping under some makeshift twigs.

Seventy-five years ago, the August 1951 of Boys’ Life showed the same general experience. A group of Explorer Scouts decided to do a “survival overnighter.” They were more fortunate than I was when it came to shelter–they were allowed a sheet, which they could form into a tent. Other than that, they were allowed ten feet of cord, a blanket, a poncho, some charred cloth in a waterproof envelope, a pocket knife, canteen, and first aid gear.

They didn’t get any ground beef. Their food consisted of some biscuit mix and salt. Other than that, they were to live off the land. They managed to catch a few fish, and they demonstrated a deadfall trap, although they noted that trapping was prohibited in some states. One big fish was caught with a handmade line and hook, and other smaller fish were simply caught by hand. Unlike me, they didn’t get a match, and had to use friction to get their charred cloth going.

Elsewhere in the magazine, scouts were shown an example, shown at left, of what might go in their pockets, to help ensure survival if they got separated from their pack.



1926 Parks On The Air

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One hundred years ago this month, these proto-POTA hams were on a camping trip, and their natural inclination was to bring along a rig and make a few contacts.

In 2016, the ARRL’s National Parks On The Air (NPOTA) program brought a boost to operating from parks. After that program ended, it gave a boost to the already existing Worldwide Flora and Fauna (WWFF) program, from which Parks On The Air (POTA) spun off. But for many hams, including myself, operating from remote portable locations has always been a natural.

This picture appeared on the cover of QST, August 1926.



1966 Harley-Davidson 50cc

I was unaware that Harley-Davidson ever produced a 50cc motorcycle, but they did, as shown by this ad in the July 1966 issue of Popular Mechanics.  Despite the Young America monicker, the bike was actually made in Italy, where only 10,500 rolled off the assembly line.  Helmets apparently weren’t a thing back then, but a cape was.  They started at around $225, which works out to $2319  in 2026 dollars.



1951 Western Union Telecar

Shown here on the cover of Radio-Electronics magazine, July 1951, is a Western Union messenger in a specially equipped telecar. The last mile was a challenge for Western Union delivery of telegrams. In the central business district, a messenger could be dispatched from the office. But in residential areas, the system was not efficient. Therefore, Western Union equipped vehicles with a two-way radio and facsimile machine. Even when unattended, the fax would print out an incoming telegram, delivered by 30-50 Mhz radio, and the messenger would quickly deliver it to an address in his area. According to the magazine, the system was already in operation in Baltimore.



1966 Six Meter Superregen

Shown here on the cover of QST for July 1966 is a transistorized “rush box” superregenerative receiver for 6 meters, designed by Technical Editor Doug DeMaw, W1CER (later W1FB).

The main design consideration was low cost, but the circuit was very sensitive. And it put out two watts of audio, making it suitable for use in noisy environments.



1966 Two-Transistor TRF

Sixty years ago this month, the July 1966 issue of the British Radio Constructor carried the plans for this two-transistor TRF receiver for the medium wave band. The magazine noted that the TRF (tuned radio frequency) set would never match the performance of a superhet, but for the beginner, it was easy to understand and build, and no complicated alignment procedures were necessary.