The dapper outdoorsman ham shown on the cover of Electronics World for July 1959 is none other than Don Stoner, W6TNS.

We wrote about Stoner previously in connection with his 1959 design for one of the first CB transceivers, a design which became widely popular, and which served as the basis for the Heathkit CB-1 and the “Benton Harbor Lunchbox” series of transceivers for 10, 6, and 2 meters. Stoner was also the idea man responsible for Project OSCAR, amateur radio satellites. He outlined the project in a February 1961 QST article.

In the cover photo, he is operating a 6 meter walkie talkie transceiver which he designed, the construction details of which are contained in the magazine. The set was actually available in two versions, either standard or deluxe. Either version used two tubes and three transistors. The tubes were used for the transmitter, with the superregenerative receiver being completely transistorized. The main difference was that the deluxe version had a transistorized power supply which allowed use of four dry cell batteries to completely power the set. A set of flashlight batteries were said to run the receiver for up to 2000 hours. The standard version used a 90 volt B battery, but Stoner made a compelling case that the small added expense for the deluxe version would pay for itself in short order with lower battery cost.

With the built-in whip antenna, the set had a range of about five miles. With an outside beam antenna, the author had worked stations fifty miles away. In the cover picture, he is working the station in the lower left corner, which is pulling him in with a Hallicrafters SX-101 Mark IIIA receiver, which could pick up 6 and 2 meters with a converter. The station also includes a Johnson Viking 6N2 transmitter and VFO.

Stoner died in 1999 at the age of 67.