The gentleman shown here would probably be shot dead if he got within a mile of a modern airport or other public building. But it’s not what it seems, since this 1935 radio enthusiast is just out for a stroll with the radio he constructed from the pages of Popular Mechanics, May 1935. He’s sporting the “one tube belt receiver” which allows him to “go for a walk and at the same time enjoy your favorite program, or listen in on a detailed broadcast description of a ball game or other sporting event while watching the action.”

That ominous looking contraption spanning his waist is nothing more than  “flexible ribbon-type B-batteries of new design.” The A battery to run the filaments of the dual triode type 19 tube are contained within the radio itself. The receiver used half the tube for the regenerative detector, with the other half serving as an audio amplifier sufficient to power headphones or a small speaker. 4 or 5 feet of antenna was sufficient for local stations, and for distant stations, the antenna could be clipped to a fence wire. The ground wire was held in the hand.

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