Eighty years ago, this handsome listening post was located in Sussex, England and was owned by a member of the British Long-Distance Listeners’ Club. Due, undoubtedly, to wartime security needs, the owner was identified only as Member 5490, who had sent the sketch and description for inclusion in the May, 1941, issue of Practical Wireless.

The main receiver was an Eddystone All World Two.  You can read more about that receiver at this link.  The member also had three other homemade receivers as well as amplified speakers. He reported that for light entertainment, he could drive one of the sets with the gramophone pickup and get an output which was quite sufficient for a fair-sized shack. At times when reception was not good, he got quite a bit of fun with home broadcasting, using not only the turntable but the microphone as well.

The member reported that he was waiting for his call up from the Royal Navy as a telegraphist. His normal speed was 32 WPM, but he “managed to take down a couple of pages of French at 42 WPM.” At times, he had managed 53 WPM, but only for one minute.

He reported having 112 QSL cards, covering 83 countries and all continents.