Fifty years ago this month, the August 1972 issue of 73 magazine devoted its cover and an extensive article to the May 12-15, 1972 KC4DX DXpedition to Navassa Island, a two-square-mile island nestled in the Caribbean between Cuba, Haiti, and Jamaica. The island is a U.S. possession, although also claimed by Haiti. Surrounded by cliffs on all sides, it has no beaches, and the only access by sea is a wire ladder dangling down from a platform cantilevered over one of the cliffs.

The magazine’s publisher, Wayne Green, had done a DXpedition to the island in 1958 with the call KC4AF, and when he caught wind of plans to go in 1972, he signed on as photographer.

The 1972 expedition used only three radios, a Swan 500C transceiver, as well as a pair of Heathkit SB303 receiver/SB401 transmitter. Two gasoline generators powered the stations, which operated for only 54 hours. The Swan transceiver was incapable of “split” operation. That, coupled with the fact that only modest antennas were used, hampered the operation somewhat, although 5500 contacts made it into the log.

In addition to the 73 article, which you can read at the link above, you can find this account, complete with some videos, by W4GKF.

At the time of the 1972 operation, the island was under the control of the U.S. Coast Guard, who still operated a lighthouse there. It was last activated in about 1997 until a 2015 DXpedition, K1N, again put it on the air. By this time, the island was administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which had traditionally been reluctant to allow civilians on the island. This, however, was arranged, and the operators and equipment were brought in by helicopter, since the famous ladder had been removed when USFWS took over administration. This time, 140,000 contacts were made, with 30,000 different stations. As you can see, I made it in the log in 2015:

Seventy-five years ago this month, the August 1947 issue of Radio Service Dealer featured this ad for Meissner radio’s “Brewster” line of radios, from Maguire Industries Incorporated, 936 N. Michigan Avenue, Chicago.  The ad showcased the company’s Model 6D, a table set “beautifully styled in rich ivory plastic.”  The set tuned the broadcast band as well as 5.75 – 18 MHz shortwave, and contained five tubes plus rectifier.

By a hundred years ago, it was already quite apparent that radio was, indeed, going to be a thing. This is clear from the radio page of the Washington Herald, August 27, 1922, shown above.

To show how vibrant the industry was already, the page contained nine ads, as well as the editorial content. The lead story, how to build the two-tube superregenerative receiver shown, was written by Thornton P. Dewhirst, a student at Washington Central High School. He reported using the hookup to pull in all of the local stations, as well as WSB Atlanta.

In recent years, the ARRL has billed Amateur Radio as being the thing that will get through “when all else fails,” but this is not a new concept. Seventy-five years ago this month, the August 1947 issue of QST described how to build a little transmitter called “The Last Ditcher.”

According to the author, QST Technical Assistant John Paddon, VE3BLZ, most emergency situations saw the bulk of amateur traffic carried by stations running car batteries, storage batteries, or gasoline generators.

“But suppose an emergency appeared under conditions such that it was utterly impossible to reach the scene except on foot and that all gear had to be back-packed. An example might be a plane crash on a mountain in broken country or a spot in a flood that could only be reached by wading.” In other words, a rig was needed when all else failed.

The solution was the one-tube transmitter shown here, using a 1J6G tube, mounted in a steel card index file box. Two flashlight batteries powered the filament, and the B battery could be anywhere between 22.5 and 180 volts. The author reported making a number of successful QSOs running 135 volts at 17 mA, which works out to an input power of just over 2 watts.  The set could cover either 80 or 40 meters.

According to the author, “with the ‘Last-Ditcher’ on the shelf you are ready to go should any emergency arise. Let it be hoped there never will be a call for it. When there is no emergency a surprising amount of fun can be had–if you have a yen to operate from a mountain top or a bush camp it is a lot easier to shove this little box in with the lunch. You won’t have to run leads into your car, unload storage batteries or drag out the gas putt-putt.”

The article didn’t mention which receiver you would take with you on foot, but as our readers know, there were many available options.  One good choice would be the “one tube flashlight” set we previously described.

A hundred years ago today, the August 22, 1922, issue of the Washington Evening S carried this ad for the radio department of Lansburgh’s Department Store.

The store was offering this complete crystal set for only $5. Adjusted for inflation, that’s about $88 in 2022 dollars. But it was a bargain considering that it included the headphone. It was guaranteed to pull in the locally broadcast concerts, and I have no doubt that it would do so.

Of course, the store also carried a full line of sets, accessories, and parts.

A hundred years ago this month, the August 1922 issue of Science and Invention carried this self-explanatory radio idea, which had been sent in to the magazine by one Edward E. Young. The combination radio-table lamp was “more adapted for radio than for lighting purposes, but it will give sufficient light to enable a person to read.” The author noted that the Audion tube produced quite a bright light. He also noted that a crystal detector set could be built in the same fashion, with a regular lamp built on top, which would provide a distinct novelty.

A hundred years ago today, the young entrepreneur wishing to acquire a wide variety of interesting products couldn’t go wrong by getting him or herself into the bluing business, courtesy of this ad from the Washington Times, August 20, 1922. I suppose a few kids might have desired the football, the doll, or the dollhouse, but we would like to think that the more popular items were the telescope, the camera, the air rifle, or the moving picture machine. The “school box with fountain pen” is notable for the fact that it includes a knife. If a kid today showed up with a school box containing a pocket knife, the SWAT team would probably be called in, and the poor kid expelled. But a hundred years ago, it was perfectly normal for a kid to bring this useful tool with him to school.

Of course, the most interesting item available was the radio. According to the ad, this fine Radio Receiving Set was a genuine scientific instrument, made of first class material. It included the tuning coil, detector, and condenser and was capable of pulling in stations from 15-25 miles away. With it, the young salesman could catch messages, singing, lectures, and radio news of all sorts. The whole family would enjoy it.

To earn the radio, the youngster would need to sell 28 packages of bluing at 10 cents each. Now, if that youngster reads the ad carefully, he will notice that the ad doesn’t say anything about a headphone being included. So unless Junior happened to already own a headphone, he would need to sell 28 more packages of bluing to earn the radio ear piece.

But still, making sales totaling $5.60 seems pretty reasonable and achievable. So to get started, the young salesperson just needed to write to the Bluine Mfg. Co., 150 Mill St., Concord Junction, Mass.

Perhaps some readers have gotten this far and don’t know what “bluing”  is.  It was more common back in the day, but it’s not used so much any more. “Bluing” is simply a blue dye, a small amount of which is added to the rinse water when washing white items. The effect is to make the whites whiter, since they turn grey or yellow with age. The blue dye covers up these colors, giving the illusion that the cotton fabric is whiter. The bluing provided by the Bluine Mfg. Co. was impregnated into pieces of paper, which were sold a dozen to the package. Therefore, they were easy not only to toss in the wash, but also to send through the mail, making the product ideal for this type of distribution.

Even though it’s less popular today, to the point where most people haven’t heard of it, the laws of physics haven’t changed since 1922, and adding a bit of bluing to the whites will still have the same effect of making them whiter. And as with everything else, you can still buy it on Amazon at the links below.  Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear to be available impregnated in small pieces of paper.  Instead, it comes in a liquid, or in a small solid square.  You cut off a small piece and mix with warm water to make your own liquid.  Since you use only a few drops, and of these will probably last the typical household years.

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