Author Archives: clem.law@usa.net

1946 Compass/Match Case/Fire Starter

1946OctBLSeventy-five years ago this month, the well equipped Scout might have in his pack this combination compass, match safe, and fire starter. A compass was at the top, with a window to view the direction. To avoid confusion, the window was labeled “YOU ARE LOOKING” to make clear that if you saw an N, then you were looking north, rather than having the N printed on the north side of the dial.

Matches were stored in a watertight container, but just in case you ran out, the side had a “flint of pyrophoric metal” that could be struck by a knife. The ad declared that it was the only compass “that can build a fire in a split second,” and I’m guessing that would be done with one of the matches inside. With practice, the flint would probably work, but it would take some practice, and probably wouldn’t happen in a split second.

The product was manufactured by the DuPage Plastics Company, 10 South LaSalle Street, Chicago. It was officially approved by the BSA, and is advertised here in the October 1946 issue of Boys’ Life.


While this particular model is no longer available, there is a modern replacement, shown at left. I have one of these, and while I’m not sure it’s from the same manufacturer, it looks identical. There’s a compartment for storing matches, and as far as I can tell, it is waterproof. Strike anywhere matches are still available, but they’re often hard to find. I simply use regular strike on box matches and include one of the strikers from the box inside with the matches. If all else fails, it does include on the side what is now called a ferro rod.

The modern version also includes a whistle, which is quite loud, as well as a tiny mirror inside the cap, which presumably could be used for signaling.

I’m guessing that the compass on the 75 year old version was better than the modern one, but the modern one does, indeed, work. You have to be careful, however, because if you don’t hold it perfectly level, it will bind up and not move. The best way to use it is to check it once, and then check a second time to make sure that north hasn’t moved.

Especially if you buy the three pack, the modern version is very inexpensive.  Like this Scout 75 years ago, it’s not a bad idea to have one of this in your pack.



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CBS Berlin Correspondent William Shirer

1941Oct11RadioGuideShown here, in the October 11, 1941, issue of Radio Guide is a photo of CBS correspondent William Shirer, conferring with a German naval officer acting as his censor. Shirer had recently returned to America after being posted in Berlin, and the magazine offers some of his recollections.

For most of his term in Berlin, Shirer had lived in an apartment, but for the last year of his assignment, he had lived at the Adlon Hotel.  Since the hotel catered to foreigners, it was one of the last places in Berlin to have hot water constantly available. In fact, Shirer often met with officials in his room, and was able to provide those officials with a hot bath.

The article served partially as a tease for Shirer’s forthcoming book, Berlin Diary,  which is still available. The book recounted his years in Berlin. Shirer is best known as the author of The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich.




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1951 Mobile TV Service

1951OctRadioElectSeventy years ago, the state of the art in television service was provided by Appliance Distributors Inc. of Chicago using a fleet of vehicles that included three mobile service vans like the one shown here. Repairs were usually done the same day thanks to a very efficient operation. The company had begun by having servicemen in cars, and the system worked well, since most repairs could be done in the field with limited tools, and only about 10% of the jobs required bringing the chassis back to the shop. But with a large business, that ten percent amounted to a lot of work, and those sets would take a few days to finish.

To streamline the process, the shop purchased three vans like the one shown here. At the beginning of the day, the trucks, along with servicemen in cars, would be stationed strategically throughout the city, often at service stations. The men in cars would handle the calls, but if the job required time in the shop, the truck was dispatched right to the home in question. The chassis was brought outside and worked on in the truck. Power was provided by a shore power cord that could be plugged in to the customer’s house. In situations like an apartment building, where no outlet was available, the set could be taken to a nearby service station where the company made arrangments to use the power. Virtually all jobs could be finished the same day, meaning that customers could watch their programs.

The company also serviced radios and phonos, but time was less critical on these jobs, and they were handled back at the shop.

The photo and accompanying article appeared in the October 1951 issue of Radio-Electronics.



9YY, University of Nebraska, 1921

1921OctRadioAgeShown here, on the cover of the October 1921 issue of Wireless Age, is H.O. Peterson of the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, at the controls of station 9YY, which he had designed. The station was part of the laboratory equipment of the Department of Electrical Engineering.

The station used four 50-watt type 203 tubes, and an additional two five watt audio tubes.

The station transmitted musical concerts twice daily at noon and 7:30 PM, and had been picked up in Nebraska, South Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, and Kansas. During daylight hours, the station had been pulled in 340 miles away in Aberdeen, South Dakota.

One summer concert had been carried live from the American Legion Band at a local amusement park. It was picked up by three microphones at the park, carried by Lincoln Telephone Company lines to the station, and transmitted to listeners in the neighboring states.

The station was under the general supervision of Dean O.J. Ferguson of the University’s Engineering College.



Wiring Churches for Sound: 1941

1941OctRadioRetailingThere was a time, not so long ago, when an absolutely necessary skill for any kind of orator was the ability to project one’s voice. Entire books were written on the subject, such as this one that notes:

Bear in mind that as voice is dependent upon a copious supply of air, under the control of the will, so breathing is dependent upon pure blood, which, in turn owes its existence to proper and sufficent food and physical exercise.

Whenever you read a speech that predates electronic amplification, whether it is the Gettysburg Address or Teddy Roosevelt’s “Big Stick” speech, it is well to remember that if those in the crowd heard what the speaker was saying, it was only because they were able to hear the voice. This began to change in the 1930s and 1940s. For example, we previously reported, the legislative chambers of the Iowa State Capitol were first wired for sound in 1939. Before that date, the legislators had to project their voices so that they could be heard throughout the chamber.

And a member of the clergy had to have something besides a grasp of theology, Greek, and Hebrew. He had to have a strong enough voice. Eighty years ago this month, the October 1941 issue of Radio Retailing put it this way:

Many an earnest young divinity student was advised to leave the ministry because his voice was not considered strong enough.

But the magazine also noted that “today, this condition no longer applied,” and it presented an opportunity for the entrepreneur able to supply the requisite sound system.

The magazine carried the case study of Harbison Chapel at Grove City College, Pennsylvania, which was brought into the twentieth century by F.C. Millard’s Modern Sound Systems of Pittsburgh.

The Gothic chapel could seat 900 and was long, narrow, and tall. Millard was able to provide a satisfactory system at a cost of $632.80 (according to this inflation calculator, almost $12,000 in 2021 dollars), plus installation and wiring. The system consisted of two Western Electric 633A “saltsharker” microphones, one each at the pulpit and lectern, a 12-20 watt 124D amplifier, and a single horn speaker above the pulpit. A mixer was installed at the rear of the balcony.

The college’s president, Dr. Weir C. Ketler, noted that the system functioned so smoothly that the congregation could hear well yet be scarcely conscious that amplification was in use.



1921 Gimbel’s Phono Department

EveningWorld07Oct1921If you were looking for an upscale phonograph a hundred years ago, you couldn’t go wrong by looking at the offerings on the eighth floor of Gimbel Brothers Department Store, as shown in this ad from the October 7, 1921, issue of the New York Evening World.  The store was open until 9, or if you couldn’t make it, you could mail in the coupon.

Upright models started at $49.75, and the handsome console from Emerson sold for $119.



Expedient Tent Frame

1941OctPMEighty years ago this month, the October 1941 issue of Popular Mechanics carried this self-explanatory idea to quickly make an emergency tent with materials that might be at hand. Any poles of similar length could be used, but in this case, it’s two oars and another stick of the same size. To quickly turn them into a tripod, a bucket is placed over the ends as shown. The frame is then covered with a piece of canvas or other available material.

If the idea looks familiar, it’s probably because we previously showed how to make a similar tripod for cooking using an empty can.



October 5, 1946, Radio Listings

1946Oct5WashStarHere’s what was on the radio 75 years ago today, from the Saturday, October 5, 1946, issue of the Washington Evening Star.  (For a larger view, click the image above.)

Highlights included the Philadelphia Orchestra on WTOP (now WFED) under the direction of Eugene Ormandy. On the 7:00 “Americana Quiz” program on WMAL (now WSBN), high school students answered questions on American history. At 9:00 on WRC, the “Saturday Roundup” program starred Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, George “Gabby” Hayes, and the Sons of the Pioneers.

A few smaller stations didn’t warrant listings in the main grid, but had their separate listings, such as WPIK (now WTNT) .  The station had just signed on the previous December at 730 kHz.  The daytimer signed off at 5:30 PM. Two FM stations also had listings. W3LX operated on 98.9 MHz from 11:30 to 9:00 PM. WINX-FM was on the air from 9 AM to 11:15 PM, and simulcast the programs of the AM station. It was operating on two frequencies–43.2 MHz on the old prewar band, and at 92.9 MHz on the new FM band.



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1961 Soviet Radio Hobbyists

1961OctPEThe cover of the October 1961 issue of Popular Electronics had a teaser saying, “you wouldn’t want to be an electronics hobbyist in the U.S.S.R.” The accompanying article, however, didn’t really deliver on that premise. I wouldn’t have wanted to be anything in the old Soviet Union, but as the article shows, a hobby in electronics would actually be a bright spot in an otherwise bleak existence.

The Soviets recognized that a hobby in electronics prepared young people for a career in science, and they did a lot to encourage it, by providing awards for copying Morse code and direction finding and even on-the-air contests. Club stations were plentiful, so a young person wishing to get on the air had many opportunities. The Young Pioneers youth organization employed instructors in Morse code and radio theory.

Along with rifle, parachute jumping, and motorcycle clubs, radio clubs were affiliated with the Red Army through ДОСААФ (DOSAAF), the Volunteer Society for Cooperation with the Army, Aviation, and Navy.

Radio and electronics magazines, many of which we feature here, were popular in the Soviet Union. To view a treasure trove of these and other magazines, be sure to visit Журналы СССР.

The magazine even provided the Moscow phone number of the Central Radio Club, K-5-92-71, and noted that if a reader ever found themselves in Moscow, they should give them a call.

The beginner wishing to get a start in radio needed to first complete the basic DOSAAF electronics course, at which point he or she would take the SWL test to get the SWL license necessary to listen on the ham bands. This included a 10 WPM code test, as well as a written test on subjects such as operating procedures, Q codes, international prefixes, and even first aid.

After some experience, and as long as the prospective ham was at least 14 years old, he would then be allowed to take the test to become a ham. This required a 12 WPM code test and a fairly rigorous written test. Higher class licenses were available with code speeds of 18 WPM and a rather difficult test. There was also a no-code license which allowed 5 watts on 144 and 420 MHz, available to those 12 and older.

For another look at amateur radio in the Soviet Union in 1934 and 1965, see our earlier post.



Emerson Model 523 Portable: 1946

1946Oct3PghPressSeventy-five years ago today, the October 3, 1946, issue of the Pittsburgh Press carried this ad for the Emerson model 523, which tuned the broadcast band and would run off batteries or household current, with automatic switchover.

The set retailed for $47.20, which, according to this inflation calculator, works out to $662 in 2021 dollars, so the set was something that would be purchased by the well heeled.

The ad noted that other models started for $21.60, and also featured the model 512 radio and model 506 radio-phono.