Merry Christmas from OneTubeRadio.com, and from Teddy Roosevelt, who is seen here calling on his neighbors a hundred years ago today, Christmas 1917.
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Christmas Eve
Caruso Sings O Holy Night, 1916:
Santa Goes to War!
As a public service, we once again bring this reminder of the critical importance of keeping your name off the naughty list.
This 1942 poster was produced by the War Production Board.
Christmas 1917
This painting by J.C. Leyendecker appeared on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post a hundred years ago today, December 22, 1917. The American soldier is sharing his meager Christmas meal with a French girl.
Radio Christmas Dreams, 1927
This self-explanatory image appeared on the cover of Radio News 90 years ago this month, December 1927.
1927 British Crystal Set
The plans for this British crystal set appeared 90 years ago in the December 17, 1927 issue of Amateur Wireless.
The set was billed as an ideal Christmas gift for someone living close to a BBC station. “A receiver such as this is inexpensive to build and would make an admirable Christmas gift to someone who lives near a B.B.C. station and has facilities for the erection of a reasonably efficient aerial-earth system.”
According to the article, if the set was equipped with a good aerial and earth, it would work two pairs of headphones with good volume, at a range of up to 12 miles from a main BBC station, or about half that distance from a relay station. The set was simple to operate, since it used a “permanent” crystal detector.
The article used quotation marks, since apparently the detector (available from either R.I. and Varley, or the Jewel Pen Company) was capable of an initial adjustment. “When testing on actual reception, carefully adjust the crystal detector until loudest results are obtained, and then leave well alone, as far as the detector is concerned.”
M. Adaire Garmhausen, 3BCK, “The First YL”
Shown here in the October 1922 issue of QST is Marion Adaire Garmhausen, who the magazine reports was “born on May 28, 1899, but swears she does not look a day over sixteen.”
Miss Garmhausen was a telegraph operator who went to wireless school just after the war. There, she found an issue of QST that had been left lying about. She was struck by the spirit of the organization and became licensed as 3BCK. She was the author of a number of articles for QST, including “How to Build a Wireless Station” in the July 1920 issue and “Breaking Out” in the May 1921 issue.
She was featured in the September 2002 issue of QST which revealed that she was “The First YL.” That article reproduces a 1920 letter to her addressed to “My Dear YL,” which pointed out that the new phrase was created for her benefit, “as you will readily see that OM will not fit and OL would certainly be most inapplicable.”
Air King A-410 Radio-Camera
In 1947, Santa undoubtedly received many requests for one of these little beauties. It was obviously an idea before its time, but Air King obviously anticipated the cell phone camera. With the available technology of the day, they produced this combination camera-radio, the model A410, shown here in the December 1947 issue of Radio Retailing.
The camera featured a 50 mm lens, and could take either black and white or color pictures on standard 828 film.
The four tube radio ran on one flashlight battery and a 67-1/2 volt B battery.
1927 Medium Wave DX’ing Report
Meager putting the finishing touches on the Magnaformer.
Ninety years ago today, the December 17, 1927, issue of Radio World carried the report of DX Hound Thomas F. Meagher. Meagher described his location in New York City as the one bad disadvantage he was saddled with, due to the proximity of so many local stations. But despite the disadvantageous location, Meagher was able to pull in over the course of six nights a total of 98 different stations in 43 cities. His log included stations as far west as WHO Des Moines and WCCO Minneapolis/St. Paul.
Meagher pulled this off with a loop antenna and the Magnaformer 9-8 receiver, the construction details of which were included in earlier issues of the magazine.
Meagher pointed out that he lived only 3/4 mile from WABC, and also close to other stations. The advantage of the Magnaformer was that it was able to “get in between” the stations with good selectivity. For example, he noted how he was able to go between WOR and WHN and pull in five out-of-town stations, WHJ, CFCF, WCCO, WFI, and WTAM. He reported that he took full advantage of the set’s loop antenna to null out the strong local stations.
Meagher’s home at 7765 75th Street, Glendale, New York, is shown in the article. And lo and
behold, the same house is still recognizable in the Google Street View shown below.
1947 Philco Christmas Ad
Seventy years ago, Santa was getting ready to head down the chimney with some of these Philco radios and phonographs shown in this ad from the December 15, 1947, issue of Life magazine.
The featured console was the Philco 1270, with a list price of $359.70. It featured an FM tuner, and also promised to let you say goodbye to record noise, with the “Philco Electronic Scratch Eliminator, the device that separates noise from music for the first time in the history of record-playing.”
If you wanted to add some scratches to those records to test the capabilities, the ad also featured two phonographs that could probably do the trick, models 1200 and 1201. The record was inserted into a slot on the front, and the ad promised “no more fussing with lids, tone-arms, or controls.” Model 1200 was just a record player, while model 1201 also featured a radio. Both were portable and could be carried anywhere.
You can see the 1270 in action at the following video. While not mentioned in the ad, you can see from the video that the set also tuned 6-15.5 MHz shortwave.