Author Archives: clem.law@usa.net

Radio Bargain House, Birmingham, AL, 1941

Seventy five years ago this month, Pearl Harbor was still a month away, and the end of civilian radio production was still five months away. But radio retailers were starting to feel shortages, since many parts were in short supply due to wartime material priorities, and in some cases, the numbers of new sets available didn’t meet demand.

This led many retailers to take a closer look at selling used sets. Trade-ins were often viewed as a headache, and little effort was made to realize a profit from them. But the wartime economy made many retailers consider selling used radios. The November 1941 issue of Radio Retailing carried advice from the experience of M.M. Law, the proprietor of Radio Bargain House of Birmingham. Law got into the radio business by accident when running a hotel. A hotel guest turned a radio over to him for sale, and he placed a classified ad in the paper. He received fifteen calls in response to the ad. When he eventually lost the lease on the hotel, he decided to get into the radio business.

Law typically made a net profit of about $2 on each set. He often bought in bulk from other dealers looking to unload their trade-ins, sometimes as low as $1 per set. He typically invested about $3 fixing up each set, and quickly sold many for $6.95. He estimated that his average sale was between $12 and $15.

He continued advertising in the classified ads, since his experience was that this was where bargain shoppers looked. He always kept a set outside his shop, marked “today’s special,” and reported that he would often sell this set, with the buyer not bothering to look for others. In other cases, however, the set outside would entice a buyer to come in the store to buy a better set on the floor.

1936 Two Tube AC-DC Regen

The plans for this simple two-tube set appeared eighty years ago this month in Radio Craft magazine, November, 1936.

With plug-in coils, the set tuned 10 to 600 meters, and the author reported picking up numerous European and other foreign stations in New York City with excellent volume. The set employed two tubes, either type 37 or 76. One served as rectifier, with the grid and plate terminals tied together. The other served as the regenerative detector which was “capable of picking up even the faintest of signals.” An antenna of 30-100 feet was recommended. No ground connection was necessary, since the house current took care of the ground.

1956 Boys’ Life Radio Contest

Sixty years ago this month, the Boys’ Life Radio contest was once again underway, and radio made the cover of the November 1956 issue of Boys’ Life, depicting a ham who took a break from his duties in the school Thanksgiving play to work some DX.

This cover was the work of frequent Boys’ Life artist Harold Eldridge. According to the magazine’s description:

Miles Standish thought he had it touch, having to defend the pilgrims with just a handful of soldiers armed with blunderbusses. But pity the poor dramatics coach who has his Indians better trained than his hams. That friendly Algonkian in the window probably pictures the coach back in the high school auditorium, sweaty hands clutching the curtain ropes, but not John Alden, no Priscilla Mullen, and no Miles Standish yet appearing in the wings.

According to the magazine, the artist never did tell whether the DX’ing ham ever got back in time to cut some turkey on stage.

1941 One Tube Broadcast Receiver

The duo shown here are putting together the one-tube receiver described in the November 1941 issue of Popular Mechanics.

The set was billed as being for the beginner who wanted to graduate from the crystal set stage, or for the radio experimenter who enjoyed pulling in some DX, an ability this set possessed. The single tube was a 117N7-GT, so it required no A battery. Instead, the filament was powered by the AC line. The set was so efficient that it would run on a 30 cent 4.5 volt battery supplying the B+ voltage. The required parts, including the tube and battery, but not including the headphones, priced out at about $4.50, even accounting for recent price increases.

Cpl. Maurice Masterson, 1895-1918

During the centennial of World War 1, this page periodically remembers American servicemen who gave their lives in that war.

Corporal Maurice Masterson, the son of Edward J. Masterson and Florence Dalton, was killed in action on this day 98 years ago. He was born on August 8, 1895, in Pomeroy, Iowa. The family moved to Barnesville, Minnesota, in 1905, where he and his brothers excelled in school. In 1917, the three brothers dropped out of college to join the Army. Maurice served in the 151st Field Artillery, Rainbow Division.

On September 18, 1918, Cpl. Masterson was severely wounded or gassed. He was killed in an artillery barrage in France on November 1, 1918. He is buried at Saint Mary’s Cemetery, Barnesville, Minnesota. American Legion Post 153, Barnesville, Minnesota, is named in his memory.

The photo here is from Soldiers of the Great War, Volume 2, Page 114.

References

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween from OneTubeRadio.com!

The illustration above is from a Halloween a century ago, taken from the 1916 book “Handicraft for Handy Girls: Practical Plans for Work and Play.” The book describes how to construct this “Witch’s wigwam,” complete with caldron, harvest moon, and make-believe fire.

Kids a century ago were thoroughly modern, so the make-believe fire is electrical, consisting of an electric light beneath a few sticks, with a piece of red tissue paper covering the lamp. The moonlight effect is created by placing another electric lamp behind the moon. The book suggests that the room can be lighted entirely by the moonlight and firelight thus produced.

1916 One Mile Transmitter

A hundred years ago, the October 1916 issue of Popular Science gave detailed instructions for constructing a transmitter capable of sending one mile, the diagram of which is shown above. The set was powered by nine volts, consisting of twelve dry cells wired in series-parallel.

When the modern reader looks at a diagram such as this one, it’s not readily apparent how the set could actually work, since one critical part of the transmitting coil is not shown. The article noted that plans for constructing the coil were available in many books, but recommended that it was simpler and cheaper to simply buy one. It suggested an automotive spark coil, which could be obtained from a garage or electrician at nominal price. The article noted that even a new coil would cost no more than three or four dollars.

Such a coil is actually a transformer, and the primary is wired at the factory in series with an normally-closed interrupter. When the coil is energized by the nine volts, it creates a magnetic field, which opens the interrupter contact. This breaks the circuit, and the coil de-energizes, which results in the interrupter closing again, allowing the process to repeat. The net result is that an interrupted direct current is produced in the primary, and this induces an alternating current in the secondary. The secondary is a large enough voltage to make a one-inch spark in the attached spark gap.

The spark gap, shown here, is constructed from two pieces of zinc mounted on a hardwood base boiled in paraffin. The key could be an ordinary telegraph key, which sold for about 75 cents, or could be homemade.

The article stressed that the loading coil, shown here, was required to keep the transmitter on the correct wavelength, below 200 meters, to comply with federal law. It was constructed between two square boards, about 12 by 12 inches. FInally, an aerial of no more than 75 feet was required, and the article contained pointers for its installation as well.

Finally, the article described operation of the set:

Whenever the key is pressed, if the set is properly connected and adjusted, a bright, snappy, singing spark will jump across the gap. Each spark starts a train of high frequency currents oscillating back and forth in the aerial wires, and a train of electromagnetic waves is radiated into space. A suitable wireless receiver located where a portion of these radiated waves will reach it, will pick up some of their energy and produce from it a sound which indicates the dot-and-dash buzzes of a Morse signal.

Winston Churchill: Never Give In

On this date 75 years ago, October 29, 1941, Winston Churchill gave his “Never Give In” speech.

Never give in, never give in, never, never, never-in nothing, great or small, large or petty – never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.

WW2 CBS Broadcasts

One of the fascinating parts of collecting old radios is pondering the kinds of programs they pulled in over the years. Chances are, the radio was used to listen to countless hours of news, music, entertainment, and sports. They were a witness to history, but the frustration is that we can no longer listen to the programs that were broadcast. Programs generally weren’t recorded, and most of the live programs that were broadcast were lost.

Fortunately, there are exceptions, although most of them were the result of accidental preservation. One example is documented in this news story from KIRO in Seattle:

KIRO Radio accidentally saves American history

Even though it was contrary to network policy, KIRO made a practice of recording CBS network news on 16 inch discs, so that they could be replayed at a more convenient hour for West Coast listeners. Fortunately, someone rescued these discs when they were to be discarded, and they are now in the collection of the University of Washington. They are gradually being digitized, and many are available at this link. The first one in that collection, for example, is a broadcast from September 1, 1939, and include a report from London of the declaration of war.

No Serviceman Would Sneer at an Extra $5: 1936

The 1936 radio serviceman shown here is netting an extra five dollars is netting an extra five dollars for the service call, simply because he uttered the words, “any other electrical appliances in your home need repairing?”

The accompanying article, in the October 1936 issue of Radio News points out that no serviceman would sneer at an extra $5, but these words often reminded customers of other repair needs that had slipped their mind.

One serviceman noted that during a recent call, he was delivering a midget radio decorated with Mother Goose characters for the customer’s nursery. After installing the set, he replaced a belt on a vacuum cleaner, repaired a few frayed electrical cords and damaged outlets, and replaced an old iron with a new automatic model. “Most people prefer to have radiomen repair their vacuum cleaners and other appliances since dealers too often send out high-pressur salesmen to attempt to sell new apparatus when only the simplest repair is required.”