Monthly Archives: July 2026

Electroplating

A student looking for ideas for the next science fair might get some ideas from the July 1966 issue of Elementary Electronics, which gives some pointers on home electroplating. You probably have most of the components lying around the house, or readily available. If you don’t have the transformers shown here, it’s possible to do it with batteries. Even though the old-fashioned dry cells aren’t available, a set of alkalines from the dollar store will do just fine. You need an anode of the metal that you want to be the plating, and the cathode is the object you want to have plated. You just fire up the current, and the electricity does all of the work!



1966 Two-Tube 40 Meter CW Transmitter

Sixty years ago this month, the July 1966 issue of Electronics Illustrated showed how to make this 40-watt transmitter for 40 meters. It was geared mostly to the needs of the Novice, but a General-class operator could certainly make good use of it. The main feature was the fact that ten crystals were mounted internally, meaning that one could quickly change frequency with the flip of a switch.

It uses a 6CL6 oscillator and 6DQ5 final. No power transformer is required, since it uses a voltage-doubler circuit to supply the B+. Voltage is kept off the key with a relay. It is equipped with a spotting switch to quickly find your new frequency after switching crystals.



Detroit Power Outage

According to recent news reports on July 4, 2026, about 300,000 customers in the Detroit area are without power.  99 degree temperatures pushed the electric grid to the limits, and when a storm passed through, thousands were left without power.

If you’re able to see the above meme ported in from Facebook, it points out the irony–on Independence Day, all of those residents became independent from electricity.

Of course, for most of our loyal readers, it’s not a matter of irony.  You already know that with minimal preparation, you can be independent from the power grid.  The air conditioner won’t work without some serious investment upfront.  But with a little bit of preparation, life will continue more or less as before, with only a few minor adjustments.  For example, the meme suggests that the unprepared might need to abandon their holiday barbecue.  But our readers know that the barbecue is the perfect place to cook if the power is out.

There was a time when electric power was properly regarded as a luxury, and something the people could do without if they had to.  We believe that most of our readers still remember this.

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.



#America250

07/04/1976 – USS Forrestal – New York Harbor, New York City, New York – Gerald R. Ford – walking, waving; tall ship in background – Operation Sail, American Revolution Bicentennial Celebration  Ford Library & Museum image.

Happy Birthday United States of America

Today marks the semiquintennial of the signing of the U.S. Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776, Above, President Ford celebrates the Bicentennial, 50 years ago, as a flotilla of tall ships from around the world descend on New York Harbor.

At left, President Coolidge makes an address in Philadelphia on July 5, 1926, on the occasion of the Sesquicentennial.  Likewise, President Grant had appeared at the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition in 1876, shown below.

 

 



1946 One-Tube Ten Meter Receiver

Eighty years ago this month, the July 1946 issue of Popular Science carried the plans for this simple one-tube superregenerative receiver for ten meters. Ten meters was one of the first bands allowed by the FCC after the war, and as a result, the magazine noted that hams were busily firing up their ten-meter transmitters and getting on the air. The band was hot at that time, and the magazine promised that you were likely to hear stations 5000 miles away, often more than you would be able to hear stations 500 miles away. With just a handful of parts, the magazine promised that you could be listening the same day.