Seventy years ago, the January 23, 1956, issue of Life magazine carried this ad from Delco touting the “Wonder Bar” radio that could be had in your new General Motors car. You would preset the sensitivity, and then by touching the Wonder Bar (or a foot switch), the radio would automatically seek the next station.
A television, or even a radio in your car, was a status symbol 70 years ago, as evidenced by this item from the November 1955 issue of Popular Electronics:
The Snyder Manufacturing Co. has announced that not all homes with television antennas on the roof have a TV set in the living room. Likewise, not all automobiles with radio antennas have auto radios.
A year-long survey has been completed by Snyder’s distributors and field men. It was discovered that out of every 100 homes with TV antennas visible on top of the roof, 7.3 have no working TV set. Of 100 automobiles inspected by Snyder, approximately 12.1 do not have radio receivers.
Non -working TV antennas were attributed to home owners who put up cheap an- tennas to give the impression that they owned TV sets. Some families (about two out of every 100) owned TV sets that went bad and had not been repaired. One family out of every 500 explained that they were anticipating color TV and had not installed a black-and-white receiver to go with their antenna.
As for the 12.1 cars with “phony” car radio antennas, the Snyder survey indicated that virtually all such motorists were putting up a false front. To meet this demand ( ?), the Snyder Co. will soon market a “Tenna-Phony.”
Apparently, the good folks at Snyder were true to their word, and the Tenna-Phony did hit the market. You can see a New Old Stock example at this auction link.
The new nozzle, as installed.
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.
A hundred years ago, this young woman experienced a flat tire. But fortunately, she had brought a radio with her, so she was able to keep herself entertained until this gentleman arrived and fixed the tire for her.
The illustration appeared on the cover of Radio in the Home, July 1925, and the artist is Ralph Pallen Coleman.
Sixty years ago this month, the May 1965 issue of Popular Electronics showed this simple circuit for a headlight reminder. I remember that starting in the 1970s, cars started including a noisemaker to remind you of various things, such as not wearing your seat belt. But the one helpful thing it could be used for would be to prevent leaving your headlights turned on.
The circuit shown here is simplicity itself. All you needed was a buzzer, a diode (the cheapest one you could find) and a resistor (unless you had a 6-volt car, in which case the resistor could be omitted). You connected one side to the light switch, and the other two the ignition switch. If both the lights and the ignition were turned on, then there would be zero voltage difference, and the buzzer would be quiet. If the ignition were on and the lights were off, then the diode would block the flow of current. But if the lights were on and the ignition was off, then current would flow and the buzzer would sound.
Eagled-eyed observers will notice that something is missing from this picture on the cover of the April 1950 issue of Popular Science. That’s right. This Studebaker is missing the clutch pedal, and the magazine features an expose of those newfangled automatic transmissions.
x
Seventy years ago this month, the March 1955 issue of Popular Mechanics showed off Chrysler’s “defense minded” radios. The dials were “especially designed to enable motorists to tune in quickly for emergency Civil Defense instructions.” As far as I can tell, that meant that the dials had the required CONELRAD markings on 640 and 1240.
Shown here, in the March 1925 issue of Science and Invention is “a good idea of the probable appearance of New York’s skyscrapers in the year 2025.” It was to include triple and even quadruple-decker streets. The lower level would be occupied by trucks, with lighter vehicles on the upper levels. Sidewalks would be moving. The subways, both long distance and local, would be in multiple layers underground, with daily commutes of a hundred miles, such as to and from Philadelphia, commonplace. The skies being filled with aircraft would be almost quaint, as they were to be there by 1950.
While the image above is not recognizable, the image below doesn’t miss the mark by very much. You can see a modern view from a similar angle at this link.
Perhaps some entrepreneur will be inspired by this photo, and the self-explanatory concept will make a comeback. 85 years ago, the February 1940 issue of Radio Craft featured this mobile puppet show. The truck was equipped with a 1500 watt generator, which powered amplifier and lighting, along with a record player, mixer, and fader. The amplifier was a Lafayette Model 269-T, which put out 20 watts to two ten-inch speakers.
Sixty years ago, there was no better way to impress the chicks than installing a CB radio in your sportscar, as demonstrated here by one Dave Hallow, KLK6733. We have a hunch, however, that he’s actually shown here with his kid sister. In any event, the car was an Austin-Healy Sprite, and Hallow needed to figure out how to install a CB without disturbing the lines of the car. He accomplished this, first, by replacing the existing AM antenna with an Antenna Specialists M-103 combination AM-CB antenna. Since there was no room under the dash, he installed an E.F. Johnson M-III transistorized transceiver under the dash, along with a Johnson suppression kit to eliminate interference.
He’s shown wearing a Telex DYB-10 boom microphone headset to allow hand-free communication. The photo appeared in the February 1965 issue of Popular Electronics, which noted that the headset provided the ability to receive clear signals above 40 MPH. Perhaps regulators hadn’t gotten around to re-writing traffic codes yet, but a dual headset for the driver would be illegal in most states today, since it doesn’t allow road noises to be heard. These days, single-ear Bluetooth headsets, complete with noise-cancelling mike, are available.
We asked ChatGPT to write a story based upon this picture. I don’t think we have to worry about job security–just yet. But here’s ChatGPT’s take on it:
The Radio Roadtrip
In the summer of 1965, young Tommy had a dream–to make the ultimate road trip using nothing but his wits, his radio, and his dad’s old convertible. His little sister, Sally, wasn’t about to be left behind, even though she wasn’t quite sure what “ham radio” even meant.
“Are you sure you can drive this thing?” Sally asked, gripping the side of the car as she climbed in.
Tommy, adjusting his oversized headset and pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose, gave her a confident nod. “Of course! Well… kinda. But that’s not the point. The point is, we’re gonna talk to people all over the world—while driving!”
Sally giggled, excited despite herself. “Like astronauts?”
“Exactly! Or people in Australia! Or maybe even spies! Who knows?” Tommy grinned as he flipped a few switches on the makeshift radio setup he had wired into the dashboard. The soft crackle of static filled the car, and then a voice came through—
“CQ, CQ… this is W6XYZ. Anyone out there?”
Tommy’s eyes widened. He quickly grabbed the microphone. “W6XYZ, this is Tommy—uh, I mean, this is K0TOM, mobile unit, coming in loud and clear!”
Sally clapped her hands. “It works! It really works!”
Their adventure had begun.
Would they make contact with a scientist in Antarctica? A pilot flying high above the clouds? Or maybe even a fellow kid with a radio of their own? One thing was for sure—this was going to be a summer to remember.
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.