The electronic entrepreneur 75 years ago always had his eye open for a business opportunity, and

Ray W. Winter of Jenk’s Electric in La Habra, California, was no exception. In the December 1940 issue of Radio Craft magazine, he offers a case study of how he sold sound to local funeral directors and ministers.

A prominent physician had been killed in an auto accident, and an overflow crowd was expected for his funeral. The evening before the funeral, the minister and funeral director contacted Winter to set up a public address system covering the lawn and sidewalk outside the church. The diagram above shows the setup that was used.

A single microphone was used, about 5 feet from the pulpit and 8 feet from the choir and singers. This was close enough to ensure good pickup, but far enough away to avoid loud blasts if someone spoke too loudly too close to the microphone. The amp was set up a moderate distance from the speakers where the operator could monitor the levels. At the end of each solo or talk, he momentarily lowered the volume to avoid a loud blast, and then readjusted it for the next portion of the program.

The amp put out about 4 watts to each of the speakers. The amp had ten tubes, and could accomodate two mike inputs. In addition, for other work, the owner had a turntable and tuner available. He charged $6-12 for a funeral, and he reported that the total cost of all of his equipment was about $340. He always carried a few extra tubes as a safety factor.

Winters hoped that his idea would prove useful for other sound men. He noted the importance of making contacts with the local funeral directors.

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