Category Archives: Radio history

1960 Squelch for Benton Harbor Lunchbox

Sixty years ago this month, the January 1960 issue of Electronics World carried a simple modification for the venerable Benton Harbor Lunchbox, in this case, the Model CB-1 CB transceiver.

James Green, the Chief Engineer of WELO, Tupelo, MS. The station had purchased two of the sets for communicating with one of the station’s engineers “living in a rural area devoid of telephone services.” For that reason, the set was going to be in operation for 18 hours a day, and the constant rushing noise of the superregenerative receiver “simply could not be tolerated.”

Green came up with a simple solution to the problem. Contrary to what one might think, the voice peaks of a received signal are louder than the rushing sound. Therefore, he simply used a sensitive relay from the rectified output of the audio output transformer. Then, the volume was turned to just to the point where the voltage was too low to energize the relay coil. At that point, the relay switched the speaker out of the circuit. When a call came in, the voice peaks generated a higher voltage, and the speaker kicked in. A capacitor kept the relay engaged for a short time so that the relay wouldn’t chatter between words.

A switch bypassed the squelch, so that the volume could be turned up or down.

The remarkable thing about this article is that a rig as simple as the CB-1 was actually put to a business use. For those who malign CB, I’ve noticed that 11 meters is so quiet these days that it can probably be used for useful communications, just like it was 60 years ago. As shown below, CB rigs are dirt cheap, and an antenna can be made for next to nothing. For short-distance communications, they can be useful for many applications.

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Official BSA Radio Kits: 1960

Sixty years ago, Scouts looking to put together their own radio receiver could head down to the local BSA authorized dealer and pick up one of these official BSA radio kits, as shown in the January 1960 issue of Boys’ Life magazine.

There were two sets for the standard broadcast band. A two-tube set for $11.95 had a built-in loudspeaker. For headphone use, the one-tube set sold for $7.25. Both reuquired batteries. The filaments on both sets ran off a 1.5 volt battery for 20 cents. The two-tube set’s 90 volt B battery sold for $3.95, and the one-tube set’s 22.5 volt battery sold for $1.50.

For Scouts who already had radio building experience, it was time to move up to the short waves. That set, which looks like a regenerative receiver with one or two tubes, sold for $15.95. It ran off standard household current, so no batteries were necessary. Headphones were an additional $2.95, and “3 extra coils,” presumably to tune the short waves, were $2 for a set.

There was also an official BSA crystal set sold complete for $2.95. We actually had one of these around the house when I was a kid, and the chassis for this set was the bottom of the cardboard box it came in.

Finally, for Scouts working on their code, the Official S-O-S Signal Set sold for $1.95 for a single unit, or $3.95 for two units. The mathematically astute will realize that you paid a nickel extra if you bought two, but that presumably included the wire to hook the two units together.

This issue of the magazine also contained a reminder of the upcoming February Boys’ Life radio contest, and in anticipation, contained some SWL’ing pointers by none other than Tom Kneitel. Kneitel’s article contained some tips for pulling in DX, and a listing of some of the loudest and most likely to be heard stations from 3.2 to 25 MHz.

1960 Kit Building Venue

The hottest night spot in Greenwhich Village 60 years ago was a loft at 732 Broadway. A wide cross section of New Yorkers gathered there–school kids, attorneys, mailmen, a concert violinist, and a lady psychologist. For a dollar an hour, they had access to a workbench, tools, soldering irons, and test equipment where they could assemble electronic kits.

The workshop was the brainchild of Dave Muirhead and Elliot Gorden, described by the magazine as experienced audio men. In addition to the physical facilities, there was plenty of expert advice available as the customers put the finishing touches on their Heathkits, Knight Kits, and Eicos.

That address is currently the home of Universal Musical Instrument Co. From their Yelp reviews, I wouldn’t be surprised if there were a few old Heathkits buried under the musical instruments. According to one review, it’s a great place for those building or inventing their own musical instruments in search of affordable parts. “The proprietor often will let you browse, chaperoned, once he understands what you are there for.”

The profile shown above appeared in the January 1960 issue of Electronics Illustrated.

Broadcasting and the 2010 Haitian Earthquake

U.S. Marine shows Haitian man how to operate crank radio. US Dept. of Defense photo.

Today marks the 10th anniversary of the catastrophic magnitude 7 earthquake that hit Haiti on January 12, 2010. The epicenter of the quake was about 25 kilometers west of the capital, Port-au-Prince, where tens of thousands died.

The actual death count will never be known, but estimates range from 100,000 to 316,000. The morgues were overwhelmed by the sheer number of bodies, and most were buried in mass graves.

Over a quarter of a million residences, along with 30,000 commercial buildings, had collapsed or were severely damaged. Not surprisingly, the country’s communications infrastructure was severely damaged. The public telephone system was totally unavailable, and cellular service was severely impacted.

A bright spot in communications was radio broadcasting. The Port-au-Prince region was served by 50 radio stations prior to the earthquake. All but one of these, Radio Signal FM, were initially knocked off the air. Within a week, however, about 20 stations, including Radio Lumière, a Christian station serving most of the country, were back on the air. Radio Lumière’s staff moved the station’s equipment to a tent outside its main building in order to resume broadcasting. Also, within about a week, a French community broadcasting association had a 300 watt transmitter flown in from Paris.

Additional broadcasting came from foreign countries. The U.S. Air Force Commando Solo aircraft was broadcasting Voice of America programming in Haitian Creole, which was also transmitted from the VOA’s 1180 kHz transmitter in Marathon, Florida. The BBC World Service also launched a Creole service with information about aid and rescue programs, as well as messages from people trying to locate family members. Initially, broadcasts were on shortwave, but were later relayed by FM relays from stations in Haiti as they came on the air.

One of the first voices on the air came from station 4VEH in Cap-Haïtien. That city, in the north of Haiti, was largely unaffected by the quake, and broadcasts continued on its AM station and FM network. The 10,000 watt AM signal on 840 kHz, would be listenable 136 kilometers away in Port-au-Prince. But to make sure, the station quickly made arrangements with Trans World Radio (TWR) on Bonaire to simulcast the 4VEH program. While the distance covered was over 800 kilometers, the entire path is over saltwater, and TWR’s then-100,000 watt 800 kHz signal (it’s now 400,000) watts was beamed directly toward Haiti. It put in a formidable signal which could easily be picked up on even the most inexpensive AM radio. The Creole program from the Christian radio station shared both practical help and a message of hope.

For those without radios in Haiti, a number of groups distributed solar or crank radios in Port-au-Prince. Among these was the U.S. military, which distributed 50,000 radios in the city.

This story serves as a reminder of the importance of having a battery-operated radio available in case of disaster. Even though the cellular network is down, and there is devastation for many miles in every direction, radio signals can be picked up, even with an inexpensive radio, for hundreds of miles. A battery-operated radio is a minimum requirement, as long as you have plenty of batteries. A radio that can be operated with a hand crank and/or solar power is an even better option. Shown below are some inexpensive options.

Battery Radios

Solar and/or Crank Radios

U.S. CDC image.

References

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Ken-Rad Tubes, 1945

This ad for Ken-Rad tubes appeared in the January 1945 issue of Radio Service Dealer.

Arvin Model 302 Radio-Phono

If you needed an inexpensive radio-phonograph 80 years ago, then the Arvin model 302 (brown with ivory trim) or 302A (ivory with chrome trim) was just the thing. The four-tube (12SK7, 12SQ7, 50L6GT, and 35Z5GT) superhet would pull in the local stations, and the would also play either 10″ or 12″ records.

For full portability, a carrying case was available for only $2.95 extra.

The ad, which also shows a car radio, table radio, and portable, appeared in the January 1940 issue of Radio Retailing.

Radio Scouting: 1940

Eighty years ago this month, the December 1940 issue of Boys’ Life shows this enthusiastic group of Atlantic City Scouts preparing to get their ham licenses. Fifty Scouts were taking the eight month class, and were hoping to be able to render important communications assistance in the event of disaster. The council’s camp already had its own station.

Bringing the Car Radio Inside: 1945

During World War II, one recurring theme in radio and handyman magazines was bringing the radio from the car inside the house. There were two practical reasons for doing this: First, no new radios were being manufactured, so if you needed another one in the house, you had to use some ingenuity. Second, the radio wasn’t doing much good in the car, anyway, due to gas and rubber rationing.

The January 1945 issue of Popular Science contains some pointers for doing the job. The radio probably used 6 volts for the tube filaments, and a higher voltage for the B+. The high voltage came from a vibrator power supply. The mechanical vibrator changed the car’s 6 volts from DC to AC, which was fed into a transformer to increase the voltage. The radio had a rectifier tube to change it back to the DC required by the circuit. To do the conversion, you needed a transformer that changed the 120 volt household current into 6 volts, with another winding of about 120 volts. This replaced the radio’s vibrator and transformer, and the set’s existing rectifier was used. The wiring for two common circuits is shown below.

For an antenna, the article pointed out that about 20 inches of wire would do a good job, since this is about the length of antenna the set was designed for.

Nan Grey, 1940

Shown here, on the cover of the January 5, 1940, issue of Radio Guide, is actress Nan Grey, who was then appearing as the leading lady of NBC’s “Those We Love.”

Grey was born in Houston, Texas, in 1918. At sixteen, she went to Hollywood with her mother on vacation, and was persuaded to take a screen test. Her film credits prior to her radio career included starring opposite John Wayne in the 1936 film Sea Spoliers, which you can view below. She was one of the stars of the 1940 film “The Invisible Man Returns.” In that role, she appeared with Vincent Price. However, Price actually appeared for only a minute or so in the film, and spent most of the time as a disembodied voice.

Those We Love ran on NBC until 1945. In the 1960s, she invented a cosmetic mirror for nearsighted women. Princess Grace of Monaco was said to be one of its users. Grey died in 1993 on her 75th birthday.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fkd2XfitKl8

Freddy Fender Museum, San Benito, TX

We recently had the opportunity to visit the Freddy Fender Museum in San Benito, Texas. We are shown above in front of Freddy’s motorcycle and one of the suits in which he performed. The museum is part of the Museums of San Benito, along with the San Benito History Museum and the Texas Conjunto Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

We were shown around by a friendly volunteer, and the visit was well worth the small detour we took to get there. Unfortunately, the exact future of the museum is in question, and it might not be there when you read this. On the very day we visited in December 2019, some of the Freddy Fender exhibits were being removed. The museum will be moving to a new location, but the exact new location is not known at this time. Some of the exhibits were apparently on their way back to Freddy’s widow in Corpus Christi. The volunteer seemed optimistic, however, that the museum would continue in either San Benito or Corpus Christi. But the exact future location has not been determined. Before making a special trip, I would contact the museum to check on the status. The museum is currently open Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.

Fortunately, some of the exhibits remained, and are shown here. Notably, Freddy’s two gold records are still on display, for Before the Next Teardrop Falls, and Wasted Days and Wasted Nights:

Of particular interest to our readers is this chair, marked “Zenith Arm Chair Radio,” in which Freddy Fender probably sat. I’ve heard of Zenith chairside radios, but this is the first I ever heard of an actual Zenith chair. The tag on the exhibit indicated that the chair was from “the 1970s”. Perhaps it was in use then, but my guess would be closer to the 1930s or 1940s. The tag indicated that the chair was last used at the Rio Grande Music Company recording studio, 1165 Sam Houston, San Benito, TX.

The museum also contained another room displaying some of the equipment from the studio, shown below:

The “Rek-Kut” record cutting machine is shown below. You can click on the images for a larger version:

There were also two Ampex recorders, one identified as a Model 354:

As mentioned above, there were two other museums in the same building, and this radio was part of the display in the general history museum:

I couldn’t make out any brand name, but it appears to be from the late 1930s or 1940s, and covers the broadcast band and 5.8-15 MHz shortwave.

Finally, this shell casing was in the museum. It was from a captured German gun from World War 1, and was engraved with the names of the American soldiers against whom it was directed. The engraved text was very hard to read, and I unfortunately didn’t have time to try to transcribe much of it. It would be a great service if some reader in the area could take the time to transcribe the text and post it online somewhere. I’m sure that the relatives of the soldiers listed would be very appreciative.

OneTubeRadio.com

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