Sixty-five years ago this month, the February 1955 issue of Popular Electronics carried the plans for this CW transmitter especially designed for the Novice. The rig used a single 6AQ5 tube to put out a signal on the 80 or 40 meter bands. Tuning up was accomplished by using a 6 volt bulb attached to a 1-1/4″ loop of wire. This was held near the transmitter’s coil and the rig tuned for maximum brightness.

To keep the circuit as simple as possible (and keep hum producing components at bay), the transmitter did not contain its own power supply. Instead, it required about 250 volts DC at 1 amp. “Most experimenters keep a small power supply of this type on hand for general use.” For those who didn’t, the magazine suggested that they were cheaply available as surplus. For portable use, batteries could even be used.

One interesting feature was the use of an octal tube socket for the crystal socket. The pins were such that a crystal would fit. The unused pins were used as a terminal strip for other components.