Shown here on the cover of Radio Mirror, October 1945, is eleven-year-old radio actress Lorna Lynn. When this photo was published, she had already had an eight year career in radio, and was on the air five days a week. She appeared on the CBS show Danny O’Neil, and had previously been on The March of Time, Salute to Youth, We the People, Arthur
Hopkins Presents, Big Sister, American School of the Air, Here’s to Romance, and Appointment with Life. She later appeared on the Lux Video Theatre, The Billy Rose Show, and Crime Photographer. She passed away in Florida in 2011.
Eighty years ago, the October 1945 issue of Radio Craft showed this circuit for a simple one-tube portable receiver. Almost any tube could be used, including the 1S5, 1A5-G and 1N5-G. It had been sent in to the magazine by one Harold J. Shaffer of San Francisco, who noted that the regenerative circuit, while unconventional, proved to be unusually stable. For that reason, the set could be carried around and provided pleasant headphone reception for local stations.
L1 was a spiderweb loop, and Shaffer intentionally made the set large so that it could have a large loop. The other two coils were wound on a one-inch tube. The A battery was a flashlight cell, and while this circuit used 45 volts, the B battery could be as low as 15 volts.
Eighty years ago, Eveready introduced the “Mini-Max” B battery, model number 412. The 22-1/2 volt battery measured only 2 x 1-1/32 x 5/8 inches, and weighed only 1-1/2 ounces. It was about the same size as the still-in-production 9 volt battery, although rather than having both terminals on one end, the 412 had positive on one end and negative on the other.
It was originally intended for use as the B battery in tube portable radios, but it was also used in instruments, and even in some early transistor radios, such as the Regency TR-1. The carbon-zinc battery remained in production through at least the 1980s.
Eighty years ago, the war had been won, and a lot of people were happy about it. And that included these two on the cover of Radio Retailing, October 1945. The woman on the right was happy because she was able to buy a new radio, for the first time since 1942. And the gentleman on the left was even happier, because he was a radio dealer, and was able to once again make it a Radio Christmas.
Eighty-five years ago, this gentleman is pulling in a program with a receiver he built for only $4.06, following the plans in the October 1940 issue of Popular Science.
The three-tube circuit was simplicity itself. It was an AC-DC set that used a 25Z5 rectifier, 6C6 regenerative detector, and 43 AF amplifier. It could provide loudspeaker volume on the broadcast band.
The chassis was an aluminum cake pan, which had the added advantage of being easy to work with. If no drill or punch were available, it could be cut with an ordinary pair of scissors. It was housed in a metal cabinet found in the home scrap pile. The coils were honeycomb-style and were easy to wind. A 25 foot antenna was called for.
Shown here is an artist’s conception of a possible solution for communications with aircraft on transatlantic routes. Aircraft equipped with only VHF radio experienced significant gaps when they were incommunicado while crossing the ocean. There were some plans to extend their VHF range by use of directional antennas aboard the aircraft, but there were still gaps.
One proposed solution was two to four floating communications platforms mid-ocean. They would be linked by cable to shore. With these, aircraft could be continually in line-of-sight communication.
Of course, HF communication is also available on aircraft. But the article noted that this communication was not 100% reliable, due to occasional HF blackouts and the vagaries of HF propagation.
For those stationed on these platforms, it looks like a lonely assignment.
The illustration appeared in the October 1965 issue of Radio-Electronics.
Seventy years ago, the British radio hobbyist with 30 shillings in his or her pocket might want one of these receiver kits. The broadcast portable would allow private listening nearly anywhere, and the other set would inexpensively introduce him or her to the short waves.
Eighty-five years ago, this thoroughly modern housewife made sure she didn’t miss her favorite program. The timer on the electric stove was primarily designed to control three cooking circuits on the stove. But she was also able to plug in a radio to make sure it came on at just the right time. The picture appeared in the October 1940 issue of Popular Mechanics.
As shown in this announcement in the October 1965 issue of Boys’ Life magazine, the Electronics Merit Badge (along with Space Exploration) is sixty years old. Metallurgy was also new that year, but was renamed Metals Engineering in 1972 and then discontinued in 1995.
I recently had to replace the windshield washer nozzles on my 2014 Dodge Journey. My son helped me, but it was an extremely easy and inexpensive job.
Previously, the hose running to the nozzles broke at the point right where the hood hinges. I replaced that originally with a piece of tubing and two hose clamps. It leaked somewhat, but it worked well enough. But eventually, the connections to both nozzles broke, and it stopped working entirely. So, of course, I went to YouTube and found this video, which shows the entire repair process:
Interestingly, mine broke in exactly the same three places, and other people reported that theirs also broke in those three places. Armed with the knowledge of how simple the project was, I ordered the replacement parts on Amazon. I probably could have found the nozzles at an auto parts store, but for probably less money, the Amazon kit included all of the parts that I might potentially need to do the repair. As you can see from the
Leftover parts from kit.
unused parts at left, it included as much hose as might be needed to do a complete replacement, as well as enough fittings, just in case I needed to replace everything. According to the Amazon listing, the same parts are used on a number of Chrysler vehicles, including the following: 2008-2017 Grand Caravan, 2007-2012 Caliber, 2001-2010 Chrysler Pt Cruiser, 2005-2010 Chrysler 300, 2005-2010 Jeep Grand Cherokee, 2008-2015 Patriot, 2009-2010 Dodge Ram 1500 2500 3500 Pickup, 2006-2010 Dodge Charger, 2007-2016 Journey, 2011-2017 RAM 1500 2500 3500 4000, 2008-2011 Dodge Avenger, 2004-2009 Dodge Durango. The OEM part numbers are 5116079AA, 4805742AB, 5113049AA, 5303833AA, 55077460AA, 5160308AA.
Old broken nozzle.
The repair job is very simple. If you examine the new nozzle, or the old nozzle shown at right, you can see that you just need to push a tab, and the whole nozzle then slides out from the top of the hood. You can’t see where the tab is, but it’s an easy matter to find it by pushing a screwdriver into the hole, as shown at left.
You then place the included gasket on the new nozzle, and snap it back in to the hole. You then simply slide the old hose onto the nozzle. If the old hose is no good, you can replace it with the new hose that comes with the kit.
I could have lived with the leak near where the hood hinges, but we decided to fix that as well. Unlike the old tube I had found at the hardware store, the new one was just the right size and flexible enough to make a tight fit over the two pieces of original hose. The hose clamps probably weren’t necessary, but since I had them, I just put them back on.
The new nozzles aren’t quite as good as the original ones. I think they are designed for a sedan, and don’t spray quite high enough for the Journey. But they do the job, and they should be good for another 11 years of service.
Some links on this site are affiliate links, meaning that this site earns a small commission if you make a purchase after using the link.
Shown here on the cover of Radio Mirror, October 1945, is eleven-year-old radio actress Lorna Lynn. When this photo was published, she had already had an eight year career in radio, and was on the air five days a week. She appeared on the CBS show Danny O’Neil, and had previously been on The March of Time, Salute to Youth, We the People, Arthur
