A hundred years ago this month, the June 1920 issue of Talking Machine World carried this ad for the Columbia Grafonola phonograph, and reminded readers that the joys of vacation are redoubled when music is brought along.
The compact instrument in its traveling kit could be tucked away safely in any corner of an automobile, motor boat, or even canoe. It stayed out of the way until needed for the latest music for dancing.
Fifty years ago this month, the June-July 1970 issue of Science and Electronics showed how to put together this electrostatic generator, as well as the accompanying Leyden jar and electroscope.
It consisted of a plastic jar which was turned by the crank to rub against a piece of wool. A pickup wire collected the charges and conducted them to the metal ball. This could be used to charge the Leyden jar. For bearings, the device used roller skate wheels.
Emergency preparedness buffs will notice that the electroscope, at left, looks very similar to the venerable Kearney Fallout Meter (KFM) used for detecting nuclear radiation. Indeed, they do rely on the same principle. In the presence of ionizing radiation, the charge will slowly dissipate, allowing the leaves to get closer together. This electroscope is not calibrated. Therefore, it would not be able to provide an accurate radiation dose reading. However, this generator would be useful to charge the KFM.
For young scientists without any ionizing radiation at their disposal, the magazine describes a number of interesting experiments, any one of which would be sure to bring home the blue ribbon at the next science fair. To guarantee the top prize, one interesting experiment would be to purchase a small uranium sample. Charge up the electroscope and see how long it takes to discharge. Then, repeat the experiment with the uranium inside the electroscope and see how much faster it discharges.
Eighty years ago this month, this father-son team lived in an area with poor ground conductivity due to dry sandy soil. Undaunted, they still managed to hook up a good ground for their radio, thanks to this self-explanatory helpful hint from the June 1940 issue of Popular Mechanics. The funnel is permanently soldered to the pipe serving as ground rod. Therefore, whenever the ground conductivity gets poor, it’s a simple matter to pour in some water and squeeze the last mho out of the soil.
If the idea sounds familiar, it’s probably because you previously saw it here.
This illustration appeared a hundred years ago today on June 14, 1920, in the Washington Evening Star.
The paper reported that the 143rd anniversary of Old Glory would see celebrations around the city. Children in all of the schools took part in special exercises, and veterans of the World War took part in paying tribute. The evening culminated with a mass meeting an patriotic pageant on the east steps of the Capitol.
President Wilson was unable to attend, but sent a message. The Marine Band (presumably, about 2-5 Mhz) played, along with a chorus of a thousand voices singing patriotic and folk songs.
Secretary of State Bainbridge_Colby had spoken the prior evening, stating:
The American flag speaks today, as it has always spoken, a message of cheer and help to the oppressed; a clear note of leadership to the aspiring in all lands, a note of aid and succor to liberty wherever liberty falters or is assailed. It speaks for the redemption and not the repudiation of the nation’s pledges.
It is the flag of work, of service, of courage. It is the flag of chivalrous men and noble women. It is a flag of glory. It is a flag which has moved forward on every field, never backward, and today and at this hour it cannot be an emblem of a moral retreat upon the field of highest service, the rescue of the world, to which our destiny as a nation calls us.
When Secretary Colby spoke those words, American boys, and a few girls, had only recently returned from the fields of Europe. Some of them never returned.
Did they rescue the world? They tried, and they did so very imperfectly. A quarter century later, their sons (and a few of their daughters) went back under the same flag. They didn’t do a perfect job, either. But the flag moved forward, and not backward, toward the rescue of the world.
Today, on the flag’s 243rd anniversary, it has two more stars, is still a flag of glory, and can’t be an emblem of moral retreat. Do we have a perfect Union? No. We have disease; we have racism; we have violence; and we probably have a hundred other problems that we can’t even see. But as heirs of those men and women who went before us, we too can move forward to make this a more perfect Union and a more perfect world.
This young woman, shown in the June 1945 issue of Radio Craft, is demonstrating the power of the alnico magnet, which, according to the accompanying article, can lift 4450 times its own weight. Wartime progress in the development of magnets promised many new postwar consumer products.
A hundred years ago this month, the June 1920 issue of Electrical Experimenter showed this ingenious metal detector. Like most metal detectors, it relies upon the inductance of a coil increasing in the presence of metal.
This one uses two identical coils. A buzzer is pulsing a voltage through them, but they are wound such that they are 180 degrees out of phase. Thus, the two signals will cancel out, and nothing will be heard through the headphones. But if one of the coils comes near metal, the inductance changes, and the two signals no longer cancel out. Thus, the buzzing can be heard through the headphones.
The circuit was said to be able to detect a one square foot piece of iron down five feet, or a quart of washers a foot down.
Field Day 1940 should give some inspiration to those who are operating Field Day 2020.
Eighty years ago, the U.S. was still 18 months away from being drawn into the war, but the subject was on the mind of the FCC. Amateur radio operators were not silenced until Pearl Harbor, but there were already restrictions in place, as described in the June 15, 1940, issue of Broadcasting magazine.
The magazine noted that non-essential services, such as amateur, experimental, and special private radio might be curtailed or shut down due to wartime conditions. On June 5, 1940, the FCC banned all amateur communications with hams in foreign countries.
On June 7, the FCC banned portable and mobile operations with a couple of exceptions. First of all, such operations were allowed above 56 MHz, the thinking being that there was little threat from these line-of-sight signals.
Operators at W8QLU/8 getting ready to launch a balloon-supported antenna, Field Day 1940. Photo, QST for December 1940.
In addition, there was a blanket exception allowed for stations participating in the 1940 ARRL Field Day, which the magazine described as “tests of portable transmitters designed for special use in time of emergency.”
Despite the restrictions, hundreds of ham stations took part in Field Day. One of the high scores was from the St. Paul (MN) Radio Club, W9KYC/9, which made 505 contacts on all bands from 160 to 10 meters. 228 of those contacts were with other Field Day stations, the rest presumably being with home stations.
This year again, Field Day is subject to emergency restrictions, and many of the large multi-transmitter operations will be off the air. Despite initially saying that they weren’t going to do so, the ARRL finally relented and will allow points for contacts between home stations operating with commercial power.
While this rule change is understandable, it would seem odd to stay home and get on the air, while pretending to be in a Field somewhere. While many hams won’t be able to do Field Day this year in the normal fashion, they can operate in an honest-to-goodness Field if they use a bit of creativity.
In 1940, despite a war looming and government restrictions, at least 228 groups of hams were able to lug their bulky transmitters, receivers, and generators to remote locations and get on the air.
One of the purposes of Field Day, then and now, is “tests of portable transmitters designed for special use in time of emergency.” This year, there’s an actual emergency going on. But despite that actual emergency, there’s nothing stopping hams from taking their equipment–which is much smaller and more portable than it was 80 years ago–into an honest-to-goodness Field to put it on the air.
This year, my wife and I will be operating from a city park near our home. The tentative plan is to be in the two-transmitter class, probably covering 20, 6, and 2 meters. Power will be supplied with the trusty fish-finder battery, and the antenna will be supported by the trusty golf ball retriever. As a trial run this weekend, I set up in our own backyard for the annual Cookie Crumble QRP Contest. Despite poor conditions, I made contacts with Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, New York, and Texas. On Field Day, I’ll repeat the operation. Even though I’m physically distancing myself from others, there’s no reason for me to sequester myself in the basement. I can just as easily operate from a bona fide Field for Field Day.
The ARRL made another temporary rule change this year, and will publish a cumulative score for clubs. I think the idea was that, even with club members operating from their home stations, they can still be part of a club effort. I guess they can pretend they’re all in the same virtual field. And by operating from the comfort of their own home, they can get an even larger score than when they set up multiple transmitters in a real field.
But that rule change applies to all classes of entries–even those who are operating a traditional Field Day from the field. Therefore, I have taken the liberty of forming a new club for the hundreds of hams who figure out a way to operate Field Day as it was meant to be–in the Field.
The new club is named “The Outstanding In Their Field Amateur Radio Field Day Club.” It is open to any and all hams, worldwide, who plan to operate Field Day as a Class A or Class B station, namely, from a remote location with emergency power and temporary antennas. Your setup might be elaborate, or it might be as simple as a $30 Baofeng. If you believe that one contact in such conditions is better than filling up an entire logbook from your air conditioned home station, then this club is for you.
Membership in the Outstanding In Their Field Club is simple. There are no dues or long-term commitment. You can join in one of three ways. If you are gung-ho, then you can sign the club’s articles of association, which you can view at this link. If you’re on board, but not quite to that extent, you can just send me an e-mail to w0is@arrl.net. Or if you’re not sure and want to wait until the last minute, you can join simply by naming the club in your Field Day entry.
Despite war looming, at least 228 hams hit the Field for Field Day 1940. There’s no reason why we can’t do the same. If you also think so, please consider joining The Outstanding In Their Field Amateur Radio Field Day Club.
Shown here, from the June 1940 issue of Radio Retailing, is the ad for an unusual portable, the Setchell Carlson Model 66.
As the ad states, the unique feature is the lack of a “B” battery. Instead, it ran on flashlight batteries, what we would today call D cells. The set accomplished this by virtue of the fact that the power supply, like that in a car radio, used a vibrator to produce the high voltage. Some pictures and discussion of the set can be found at this link.
You can read more about Setchell Carlson at our earlier post.
An unnamed soldier at Camp Gordon Johnston, Florida, sent in this receiver circuit to Radio Craft magazine, which published it in the June, 1945, issue. The soldier reported that he constructed it in his barracks, using various parts gathered around camp. He reported that it pulled in all local stations loud and clear with loudspeaker volume, using a 45 volt battery.
One half of the 1D6GT tube was used for the detector, with the other half serving as audio amplifier.
Shown here are just a few examples of how fun in the summer of 1940 could be augmented with this handy portable receiver, as described in the June 1940 issue of Popular Mechanics. The set ran off a commercially available (at least until the war came along) combination A/B battery which would allow the set to be run on trains, boats, camps, summer homes, or the lawn for up to 200 hours. Provision was made for an external antenna, but the set’s internal loop antenna would pull in signals from up to 100 miles away, and 1500 miles at night.
Parts for the four-tube superhet were said to cost about $7.50, not including the battery and case.
