Monthly Archives: April 2025

Spanish Power Outage

On April 28, 2025, most of Spain, Portugal, and a tiny piece of France were plunged into darkness when the power grid covering the Iberian peninsula unexpectedly crashed.  Since the system had to be restarted from scratch, it was 23 hours before everyone had power and the system was declared back to normal.  Lights went out, trains had to be evacuated, and a large portion of mobile phones ceased to function.

The image above shows one of the busiest streets in downtown Vigo, Spain, population 293,000.  The Wikimedia Commons photographer, Seoane Prado, notes that only the faintest glow is shown from the residential windows.

There was a time when electric power was properly regarded as a luxury, and something the people could do without if they had to.  I’m not aware of any catastrophes resulting from this power outage of almost 24 hours.  But especially if you were in an elevator, or a train car, or even on a dark street, it would have been a major inconvenience.  And if much more time had passed, it could have been catastrophic for some.

Are you prepared for a power outage?  We suspect that most of our readers are, but it doesn’t hurt to mentally run through your checklist.  We have pointers for preparing for a power outage at this link.  For the more serious case of a power outage during winter, we have this further advice.  Although it has definite limitations, one device that you have can be a godsend (if you’ve done some advance preparations) is your cell phone, and we provide that information at this link.



1955 “Tiny Tim” Portable Station

1955AprQST1Seventy years ago this month, the April 1955 issue of QST contained the plans for this miniature station. Dubbed the “Tiny Tim,” the station weighed in at a mere 18 pounds, including batteries. It could be used for CW on 80 and 40 meters, and the self-contained station made you ready for any emergency, or for plenty of fun from home, on a boat, at the beach, climbing a mountain, or wherever.

The receiver was a two-tube regenerative. The author, Stuart D. Cowan, III, W1RST (later W2LX) advised that a single coil could be used for both bands, but it was better to use separate coils for enough bandspread.

The transmitter was almost identical to the 1947 “Last Ditcher” that we previously featured. It ran about two watts, using a 1JG6 twin triode operating as a push-pull crystal oscillator.

An antenna was mounted on the side of the set, and was a base loaded four section automobile antenna from Montgomery Wards.

The author noted that his 11-year-old son, WN1BRS, assisted with its construction and manned the home station during tests. According to the 1954 call book, the son was Stuart A. Cowan, who is also listed with his novice call sign in 1955. However, he is no longer listed in the 1956 call book, meaning that he didn’t upgrade to General in the one year of his novice license.

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Converting an AA5 to Shortwave, 1950

1950AprPSSeventy-five years ago this month, the April 1950 issue of Popular Science showed how you could, for about $2, convert your radio to pull in signals from Europe, Africa, China, and other locations. Specifically, it showed how to convert an “All-American Five” receiver to pull in shortwave signals.

The first step was to add a 4PDT (actually, a 3PDT would work, but weren’t generally available).  This was actually the trickiest part, since space might be tight.  The article cautioned that you might need to shop around to find one small enough.  With that done, you added the new wiring as shown below (in pictorial and schematic diagrams).  You added new antenna and oscillator coils to be switched in, and also added a terminal for an external antenna in series with a capacitor.

The last step was to add a dial scale to the front of the radio, which could be on a piece of cardboard.  The set would now tune 17 to 40 meters, and back to the standard broadcast band at the flip of a switch.

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E-Z-Toon Knobs, 1925

Screenshot 2025-04-01 12.53.26 PMThis small ad appeared a hundred years ago today, in the April 26, 1925, issue of the Washington Evening Star. It illustrated just how popular radio had become. Not only were radios being advertised in the newspaper, but for those who already owned a radio, there were advertisements for radio knobs.

The knobs in question were E-Z-Toon knobs from the E-Z-Toon Radio Company, 3234 W. Washington St., Indianapolis, Indiana.  As the name suggested, the knobs would make the radio easier to tune, especially in the problematic summer season, with a vernier drive.  If you’re looking for an example of an E-Z-Toon knob, you can find it at this e-bay listing.



1965 Fallout Shelter/Ham Shack

1965AprQSTShown here, in QST for April 1965, is the fallout shelter and ham shack of Nathaniel Cole, WA6TOG. He had a contractor cut a deep trench in the hill, into which he lowered a corrugated pipe. At one end was a concrete bulkhead, and the other end was a concrete storageroom. Bunks for 6-8 people (the article reported that he had six kids) were welded to the pipe, and an entry tunnel led from the storage room to the surface, with a door of 2-1/2 inch laminated plywood.

The radio operating position was at the rear, where pipes led up to the antennas. There were an additional three four-inch air vents.



Hart-25 Transmitter, 1955

1955AprPESeventy years ago this month, the April 1955 issue of Popular Electronics showed how to put together this simple two-tube (including rectifier) transmitter for the 80 and 40 meter bands. It was dubbed the Hart-25 and designed by Hartland Smith, W8VVD (later W8QX), whose later Hart-65 transmitter we’ve previously seen.

Smith was a prolific writer and kit designer, and you can find a number of his other projects on this site at this link.

This transmitter had about 25 watts input, and delivered about 9 watts to the antenna. Tune up was accomplished by observing a pilot light in series with the antenna while adjusting the output capacitor, as well as a trimmer in line with the antenna. There was a switch for shorting out the lamp. The article noted that you could turn it on occasionally to check the output, but it should be left shorted out most of the time, as it would consume power that would otherwise go to the antenna.

This video shows the transmitter in action:

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Ham Band Walkie Talkies, 1965

1965AprPESixty years ago this month, the April 1965 issue of Popular Electronics showed the simple process for converting a Knight Kit C-100 walkie talkie to the ham bands. The author, Harland Smith, W8VVD, later W8QX, noted that a walkie talkie is handy for hams in many situations, such as staying in touch with friends at a hamfest, adjusting an antenna, or tracking down TV interference. But there were no low-cost units available for the ham bands.

He showed how simple it was to convert the $9.95 C-100 to 10, 6, or 15 meters. For ten meters, the set needed only a new crystal and a bit of retuning. For 15 or 6, it required rewinding a couple of coils.



1950 Coin Operated Television

1950AprRadioNewsThere was money to be made seventy-five years ago in coin operated televisions, according to the Covideo Coin Operated Television Company, New York, whose ad appeared in the April 1950 issue of Radio News.

Their sets were “specially built” and would play thirty minutes for a quarter ($3.31 in 2025 dollars). Thousands of locations were available, and they would yield immediate profits and steady income.

Unfortunately, they were perhaps a bit overly optimistic in some of their advertising, because a two years later, the Federal Trade Commission slapped them with a Cease and Desist Order.  Among other things, they were prohibited from representing that they manufactured the sets or any component parts. They were also prohibited from claiming that they maintained a staff of competent engineers and technicians, or that they had adequate facilities for research and experimentation.



Converting Your Old Phono to Play 33’s and 45’s: 1955

1944AprPMSeventy years ago, it was starting to look like those newfangled 33 RPM LP records, as well as 45 RPM records, were going to catch on after all. But that handsome radio-phono console in the parlor only played 78’s. Fortunately, a kit was available to add those new speeds. You purchased a new record changer, which came with a mounting board with precut holes to accommodate the new changer. You measured the old board, and cut the new one to fit the cabinet. Connecting the power and phono input were then simple. Depending on which cartridge the new player had, you might also need to add a preamp.

This guide appeared 70 years ago this month in the April 1955 issue of Popular Mechanics.



1925: Coolidge Opens Woman’s World Fair by Radio

Screenshot 2025-03-24 11.49.21 AMScreenshot 2025-03-24 11.24.56 AMOne hundred years ago today, President Calvin Coolidge opened the Chicago Woman’s World Fair by Radio, as shown here in the Washington Evening Star, April 19, 1925.

The event, held at the Chicago Furniture Mart, spanned a week, and was attended by over 180,000, and celebrated women’s achievements in science, art, and business.  In his opening remarks, Coolidge proclaimed that “for long ages past, men have gone forth into the world, more recently they have been followed by women. Each are endowed with the same desire, each attempting to contribute to the satisfaction of the universal longing of the human race to bring something better home. ”

According to the event’s program, among the occupations represented was that of Radio Broadcaster.