Monthly Archives: May 2021

Nestle In Your Daddy’s Arms: 1921

1922MayTalkingMachineWorldA hundred years ago this month, the May 1922 issue of Talking Machine World carried this ad promoting the song “Nestle In Your Daddy’s Arms” from its publisher, Leo. Feist Inc., located in the Feist Building, New York City. Presumably, everyone knew where that was, since the ad didn’t bother giving the address. But for those of us not in the know, it was at 231 W. 40th Street.

The song is performed in this video on Columbia Records by Frank Crumit.  If that name sounds familiar, it’s because we previously profiled his wife, Julia Sanderson, with whom he went on to have a popular radio program.  He’s also famous for his thousands of ukulele recordings.

And here it is on the player piano:

You can hear a Victor recording by a quartet at this Library of Congress link.

Music for band in 23 parts is available at this link, and sheet music for piano is available at this link, where it is revealed that the song was penned by Lou Herscher and Joe Burke. Burke went on to pen “Tiptoe through the Tulips” in 1929 and Rambling Rose in 1948. It’s unclear which
came first, but the sheet music also contains French lyrics, “Repose Mon Enfant sur mon Épaule” written by Jean Nelis.



WRGB-TV Schenectady, NY, 1946

1946MayRadioNewsSeventy five years ago, the cover of the May 1946 issue of Radio News showed the busy studio of GE’s pioneer television station, WRGB, Schenectady, New York. The magazine noted that between 1939 and September 1944, the station had telecast 958 talent shows like the one depicted here.



1951 Regency TV Signal Booster

1951MayRadioRetailing2There was a time when people dressed up to watch television, and 70 years ago was one of those times, as shown by this ad from the May 1951 issue of Radio & Television Retailing magazine. This viewer obviously lived in a fringe area, and the signal wasn’t quite strong enough to produce a good picture. This was solved with the addition of a Regency booster, a preamplifier that went in the line between the antenna and TV.

In particular, the booster appears to be Regency’s model DB-410A.



Two Tube Broadcast Receiver: 1951

1951MayPM

Seventy years ago, this gentleman was pulling in a program on the standard broadcast band with headphones, but in the following months, he would be able to listen to the shortwaves with loudspeaker volume. He is shown here listening to the first iteration of a progressive receiver featured in the May 1951 issue of Popular Mechanics. In coming months, additions would be made to the set to allow shortwave reception and loudspeaker operation.

The set was battery powered, and the magazine pointed out that there were a number of good reasons for putting together a battery set. The most important reason was having a set capable of operation independent of the power lines for civil defense purposes. The circuit was also simpler and saved having to deal with baffling power supply troubles.

This version of the set used a 1U4 tube as regenerative detector followed by a 3V4 audio amplifier. An indoor antenna and ground could be used for local statioms, but an outdoor antenna would be best for long distances. “With a battery-operated emergency receiver of this description, you are not cut off from outside news and vital civil-defense information should local power sources fail. Most of us do not realize how important this could be.” You would, of course, need to keep fresh batteries on hand. The circuit called for flashlight batteries for the filament, and a 45 volt battery supplying the B+.

1951MayPM2

 



1921: First Radio Fog Signals in NY Harbor

1921May8NewYorkTribuneA hundred years ago today, May 1, 1921, navigation in New York Harbor became a safer proposition thanks to being equipped with a system of radio warning signals aiding navigation. Lighthouses and light ships had long been present, but they were of very limited usefulness in foggy conditions. Therefore, the lighthouse at Sea Girt, NJ, as well as the light ships Ambrose and Fire Island were equipped with powerful radio beacons.

Official notices had been made to mariners, and many vessels were already equipped with radio compasses in the form of a rotatable loop attached to the receiver. The beacon would identify in Morse, and the bearing could be fixed to within one degree.

Radio had been in operation on the Fire Island for some time, as we recounted previously. That ship was equipped with both a wireless transmitter and a bell. By measuring the time between reception of the radio signal and the bell, distance could be accurately measured.  The Sea Girt lighthouse, however, was the first land-based radio fog beacon in the U.S.

This description of the system appeared in the New York Tribune, May 8, 1921.