Combination Book Light-Radio, 1939

BookLightRadioI’m not sure exactly why one would want a combination book light and radio, but if you wanted one 75 years ago, Popular Science for November 1939 showed you how to build it.  It was billed as being extremely useful for reading in bed, assuming of course, that you have a handy aerial and ground connection nearby.

The radio itself is a basic one-tube BookLightRadioSchematicregenerative receiver.  It uses two trimmer condensers, one of which handles tuning and the other regeneration.  The particular tube used in this circuit appears to be unobtanium.  It looks like a standard miniature tube, but it’s actually a Hytron “Bantam Junior,” with a proprietary bakelite base.  The receiver drove a pair of headphones, presumably for quiet bedtime listening while reading.