Monthly Archives: June 2018

High School Radio Training, 1943

1943JuneQSTShown here in the June 1943 issue of QST are students at Northbridge Senior and Junior High Schools, Whitinsville, Mass., learning Morse Code under the tutelage of assistant principal James Perkins Saunders, W1BDV.

Before the War, there had been some instruction in radio for interested students, but it had consisted mostly of informal coaching of students interested in obtaining their ham licenses. But with war, radio became a vital skill, and the school vigorously undertook pre-induction training in the radio arts, including both theory and Morse Code.

1943JuneQSTKeyTo accommodate code training, the school’s schedule was adjusted. Two minutes were shaved off each of the seven class periods, and the lunch period was reduced by one minute. This allowed the time period from 8:05 to 8:20 AM to be set aside exclusively for code practice. Each day, Saunders manned the key in the school office, as shown here, and code was piped throughout the building. Later, a tape machine was procured, and Army-Navy code training tapes were played. A student assistant monitored the tapes and copied along, and at the end of the session, he read back the text that had been sent.

The code training was intended primarily for students in the high school, but since the P.A. system was shared with the junior high, the younger students were also encouraged to participate.

Participation was optional, and some students used the period as a study hall. Initially, 250 students were participating, but this number dropped to 75 at the end of the term.  Each week, a test was given, and teachers sent the classroom’s copy to the office for scoring.  At the start of the next term, the program again started from scratch, with advanced students moving on to a dedicated 45 minute class.

1943JuneQSTMillThe typing class, shown here, was conducted by Saunders one day a week. Instead of their normal typing lesson, the students listened to code being sent by Saunders, and they learned to copy on the “mill”.

Other typing students were trained to transcribe the paper tapes being used to run the code machines. They intently watched a character of the tape be revealed and typed the corresponding letter. Many students were particular fond of this activity, and expressed disappointment that the fun ended when the bell rang.

Students were also trained to copy by flashing light. After they had mastered copying code by sound, they were instructed to watch a flashing light which flashed along with the aural code. Then, the sound was turned off, and they continued to copy by sight.

Sending practice was also given, with sending stations being set up on old laboratory tables. These were wired up so that students could listen to perfect code from the machine and then listen as they tried to duplicate the sounds with their own fists.

1943JuneQST4Interested students, both boys and girls, also took part in classes in radio theory, largely following ARRL study materials. By rounding up defunct receivers, they were able to scrounge components to build projects such as code oscillators, as the students here demonstrate.

Saunders reported that it had been a lot of work getting the school geared up to study radio, but he and the students were very enthused about it. He reported that the many extra hours spent at school working on it were a suitable substitute for ham radio’s being off the air for the duration. In fact, his wife reported that “it is even worse now than before the war” since he was at least at home–albeit in his shack–in the prewar years.



1943 One Tube BC/SW Regen

1943JuneRadioCraftSeventy-five years ago this month, the June 1943 issue of Radio Craft carried this schematic for a simple one-tube all-wave receiver.  The set used a single  6F7 dual tube, half of which was used as the regenerative detector, with the other half serving as an audio amp. The circuit had been sent to the magazine by one Allan Hurd of Kelworthy, Ontario, who reported that the set pulled in the local stations with loudspeaker volume, and would even provide loudspeaker volume on shortwave from the London and Berlin stations. Presumably, weaker DX required headphones.

He also reported that no bandspread condenser was needed, as long as a good vernier dial was used on the main tuning condenser.



WTCN Minneapolis Remote Unit, 1948

1948JuneFM

This picture of the remote unit of WTCN radio in Minneapolis appeared in the June 1948 issue of FM and Television magazine. It operated in the 152-162 MHz range. According to the accompanying article, the FCC had moved the allocation for that service to the 450-460 MHz band, which caused some consternation for broadcasters, since equipment for that band was not yet available. Existing licensees would be able to continue on the old allocation for a few more years, but the cost of installing a new system would be prohibitive, since it could be amortized over only a few years, due to the pending change.

The WTCN system was provided by Link Radio Corporation of 125 W. 17th Street, New York. The mobile unit was a 50 FM transmitter operated by a 12 volt dynamotor. Twelve volts was chosen rather than six due to the power consumption and long duty cycle. It was also possible to switch over to operation from AC power where available. A vertical antenna was mounted on the roof.

At the receiving end, the station had a vertical antenna mounted on top of its FM broadcast antenna on the Foshay Tower, which was also pictured in the article. A rack-mounted receiver picked up the program for delivery to the station. Other types of antennas could be employed.

Bell 47B. Wikipedia photo.

For a history of the WTCN call sign, see this link and this link.  The station was owned by the Twin Cities Newspapers, hence the call sign.  Since the article is about the remote unit, there’s no explanation of the Minneapolis Star and Tribune helicopter shown next to it.  It appears to be a two-seat Bell 47B, as shown at left.