Eighty years ago, the newcomer to amateur radio could get on the air with this transmitter kit from the 1939 Allied catalog.  It was patterned after the transmitter shown in the ARRL publication How to Become a Radio Amateur, and used two type 47 tubes running push-pull. The set could be put together in about two hours, and would put out up to 10 watts on 80 meters.

The cost of the kit itself was $2.60, but it wasn’t quite ready to go. The accessory kit included the two tubes, a crystal, and key. If the beginner was lacking all of those items, that would be an additional $4.80.  If the new ham already had a commercial receiver, then he could probably tap into the power supply to run the transmitter. Otherwise, the power supply would be an additional $5.35, for a grand total of $12.75.

If he didn’t have a receiver already, then the bare minimum would be the kit shown here on the same page. The kit, using a single type 30 tube, cost $4.45. The tube and battery would be an additional $1.75. The coils that came with the radio covered the broadcast band, so getting on the ham bands would also require the shortwave coils, for 85 cents.