Eighty-five years ago this month, the September 1937 issue of All Wave Radio carried the plans for this transmitter-receiver combination for portable or emergency use. The set had a built-in AC power supply, or it could be used with a 6 volt battery with the use of an external “Vibrapack” power supply, which was commercially available. It featured rugged construction on an aluminum chassis, and was housed in a portable phonograph case.

Interestingly, the article doesn’t even mention what band the rig is for, although 40 or 80 meters would be the most likely. The final choice would boil down to the choice of coils in the transmitter and receiver and, of course, the transmitter crystal.  The article calls for an antenna of 32-33 feet, so it’s a safe bet that the author, Myron Morris, W2IOJ, made his for 40 meters.

The transmitter consisted of a single 6L6, and was said to have an input power of 10-20 watts. The receiver used a 6K7 as regenerative detector, and 6F6 audio amplifier to drive either headphones or a speaker. The internal AC power supply used a 5Z4 rectifier.