Monthly Archives: December 2019

Radio: A God-sent mission that all other man-made wonders have totally failed to do.

Oak Point School, Oak Point, MB. Manitoba Historical Society.

Oak Point School, Oak Point, MB. Manitoba Historical Society.

Seventy-five years ago this month, the December 1944 issue of Manitoba Calling, the program guide for CKY Winnipeg, carried this reminiscence of the early days of radio and what it meant to rural residents.

What Radio Means To Me

By Mrs. R. Howard, Oak Point, Man.

It all began with a tiny crystal set, and a couple of pairs of headphones, back in the days of depression, when owning a radio was simply out of the question. Even that little set brought untold pleasure to a couple of country dwellers, in the evenings when the children were quietly abed. It brought in only one station, but that suited us alright, and we were satisfied except when it suddenly went off sometimes when a joke was just getting to the point.

We always enjoyed the hockey games most, because Foster Hewitt‘s voice was one you could always hear. But this is developing into rambling reminiscences when I merely want to say that even the simplest form of radio can bring a great deal of pleasure into life, especially when you live where there is no other form of amusement. Now that we do possess a real radio, of course, the enjoyment is doubled many times, and the children, growing up, can share in it, too. It would be impossible for me to cover the whole territory of its meaning in one short essay.

Radio has banished the “hick” from rural life. Radio is the connecting link which is being forged between country and city, and it should establish much greater unity and understanding between the two, and eventually, let us hope, between all peoples of the world. If radio can -and I believe it can -play a major role in creating that understanding throughout the world which is necessary to the establishment of peace and goodwill on earth, it will indeed have accomplished a God-sent mission that all other man-made wonders have totally failed to do. Let us wish it God-speed on this greatest of all services to mankind!



Truck Driver: 1944

1944Dec11LifeShown here on the cover of Life magazine, December 11, 1944, is 23-year-old truck driver Bud Shields of Webster City, Iowa. 97% of the nation’s agricultural products were carried by truck at some point in their journey, and Shields’ job was to get hogs from Webster City to Waterloo. His rig was a Chevrolet cab pulling a 32-foot semi trailer. He made the run about five days a week, starting out by putting wood shavings on the floor of the trailer to keep it clean, and setting off around sunset. The 93 mile trip took about 3-1/2 hours with a stop for food.

After delivering the hogs, he shoveled the shavings into a railroad car and hosed down the trailer. Then, “after a couple of beers, he starts off for home.”



1944 Code Practice Oscillator

1944DecRadioCraftThis simple code practice oscillator appeared 75 years ago this month in the December 1944 issue of Radio Craft. The idea was sent in to the magazine by William McGee of Baltimore, MD, who noted that the idea required fewer parts than most other oscillators. The idea was self-explanatory, as it used “the principle of feedback which all sound men have to combat.” It consisted of a microphone set in front of the speaker of a radio. If the set had a phono jack, it could be connected there. If not, the submitter showed where to wire it into the radio.



Science Fair Idea: What Melts Faster–Clean or Dirty Snow?

1939DecPSIf Junior’s science fair project is due tomorrow, there’s plenty of time for him to take home the blue ribbon, as long as there is snow on the ground. The science teacher demands that the experiment answer a question, so Junior’s question will be: “Which melts faster–clean snow or dirty snow.”

It turns out that the dirty snow will melt faster. This is because the dark particles soak up heat, while the pure white snow reflects it. To prove it, Junior can set up the experiment shown above.

You will need a table lamp with an old-fashioned incandescent bulb. For this experiment, you do not want an “energy efficient” bulb. They are energy efficient because they generate less waste heat, but for this experiment, you want to generate heat. So the most inefficient bulb wins.

To accurately measure the rate of melting, the snow is placed on a piece of screen on top of a glass. There are two ways Junior can do the experiment. He can wait until all of the snow melts, and see which one melts first. Or, he can stop the experiment after a certain time and measure the water to see which one has more.

The teacher will be most impressed with Junior’s ingenuity. He or she will think that many weeks of planning went into it. Actually, 80 years of planning went into it, since the experiment appeared in the December 1939 issue of Popular Science.



Modernizing the Radio Store: 1944

1944DecRadioServiceDealerCoverNo, this is not the scene from a horror movie of giants attacking a radio store. These women are working out a modern store layout, shown on the cover of the December 1944 issue of Radio Service Dealer. With the war still going, radios and appliances were not available. But the end was in sight, and the magazine admonished dealers that it was time to think about how best to display those items when they became available. These women are working out the best display thanks to a demonstration scale model of an average radio-appliance store, commissioned by the Admiral Corporation, 444 N. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, and realized by George Locks, a “Chicago specialist in miniatures.”

The four by ten foot scale model store represented a store measuring 35 by 90 feet. It came complete with scale models of radios, appliances, fixtures, and furniture.

1944DecRadioServiceDealer



Pearl Harbor

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USS Shaw at Pearl Harbor. Defense Department Photo.

Today marks the 78th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941. Here are links to some of our earlier posts marking that event:



1939 Photocell Burglar Alarm

1939DecPM
1939DecPM2The young person shown here is about 80 years old, and was probably never kidnapped, thanks the the alarm shown in the December 1939 issue of Popular Mechanics.

The child’s safety was the result of the photocell operated burglar alarm, manufactured by the National Company (yes, the same company that made radio equipment) of Malden, Mass. The light source, photocell, and amplifier were located in a single unit, and made a beam reflected off a mirror. The beam could be up to 30 feet long, and any break operated a relay which could activate a chime, bell, or light.



Young-McCombs Department Store, 1919

1919Dec05RockIslandOne hundred years ago today, the Young McCombs department store in Rock Island, Illinois, ran this ad in the Rock Island Argus, December 5, 1919.

The store’s radio department appears to be very well equipped, although it’s billed as being part of the toy department.  Receivers were in operation, and the store pulled in time signals and press dispatches on a daily basis, and “the large transAtlantic stations are received at all hours.

At night, the store fired up its radiotelephone transmitter with phonograph music, and the station had been heard as far away as Clinton, Iowa (about 40 miles away).  The store was licensed as 9BY with a transmitter power of 500 watts.

According to the ad, the station was headed up by one Mr. Williams, formerly of the U.S. Navy, although I did not find anyone named Williams licensed in Rock Island.  Another main personality in the store was Robert Karlowa, 9XR, who was also a principal in the Tri-City Radio Laboratory, which was also affiliated with Frank and Don Bailey, 9RD in Clinton, Iowa, presumably the station that picked up the wireless music from Rock Island.  The store sold both transmitters and receivers with the Kilbourne-Clark name.



1939 GE Radios

1939Dec4LifeEighty years ago today, Santa was getting ready to deliver a lot of GE radios, as shown by this ad in the December 4, 1939, issue of Life magazine.

Mother deserved the best, which of course meant that she was getting the Model H-87 console, which meant that she would be able to pull in the short waves in style, with this 8-tube 3-band receiver. The set covered the broadcast band and 2.3-22 MHz and featured a 14 inch speaker and drift-proof station presets for her favorite broadcast stations.

The boy off at college would love the Model H-531  tombstone with its stylish maroon genuine imitation leather finish. And the girl would be thrilled to get the Model H-502 table model with deluxe plastic cabinet.

All of the kids could have music with the model H-708 radio-phono console with an automatic record changer that played both 10 and 12 inch records automatically.



Crosley B-439A Portable Radio-Phono, 1939

1939DecRadioTodayWhen one thinks of a crank phonograph, one normally associates that with a mechanical reproducer and no electronics. But there’s no reason why a particular phonograph can’t be a hybrid. It could have an electric motor but a mechanical reproducer. Here is the opposite, namely, an electronic phonograph with a wind-up mechanical motor, in this Crosley Model B-5549A portable radio-phonograph, as shown in the December 1939 issue of Radio Today.

The reason why this particular unit is a hybrid is because it can operate on either batteries or household current. With an electric motor, the turntable would rapidly run down the batteries, and there would be no convenient way to have a motor than ran on different voltages. So the easiest solution to the problem was to add a hand crank.

The radio in this unit was the same as the Crosley model 549, a five-tube superhet. It employed a 1A7GT oscillator, 1N5GT IF amplifier, 1H5GT detector and first audio stage, and 1A5GT audio output. A 117Z6GT rectifier rounded out the tube complement. The set included a relay which automatically disconnected the batteries when hooked up to AC power. Since the rectifier was a dual tube, one half was used to power the filaments, with the other half providing the B+.

Up to eight records could be stowed inside, and with the unit weighing only 24 pounds, it could be toted anywhere to provide either radio or recorded music.