The dapper outdoorsman ham shown on the cover of Electronics World for July 1959 is none other than Don Stoner, W6TNS.

We wrote about Stoner previously in connection with his 1959 design for one of the first CB transceivers, a design which became widely popular, and which served as the basis for the Heathkit CB-1 and the “Benton Harbor Lunchbox” series of transceivers for 10, 6, and 2 meters. Stoner was also the idea man responsible for Project OSCAR, amateur radio satellites. He outlined the project in a February 1961 QST article.

In the cover photo, he is operating a 6 meter walkie talkie transceiver which he designed, the construction details of which are contained in the magazine. The set was actually available in two versions, either standard or deluxe. Either version used two tubes and three transistors. The tubes were used for the transmitter, with the superregenerative receiver being completely transistorized. The main difference was that the deluxe version had a transistorized power supply which allowed use of four dry cell batteries to completely power the set. A set of flashlight batteries were said to run the receiver for up to 2000 hours. The standard version used a 90 volt B battery, but Stoner made a compelling case that the small added expense for the deluxe version would pay for itself in short order with lower battery cost.

With the built-in whip antenna, the set had a range of about five miles. With an outside beam antenna, the author had worked stations fifty miles away. In the cover picture, he is working the station in the lower left corner, which is pulling him in with a Hallicrafters SX-101 Mark IIIA receiver, which could pick up 6 and 2 meters with a converter. The station also includes a Johnson Viking 6N2 transmitter and VFO.

Stoner died in 1999 at the age of 67.

Ninety years ago this month, the July 1929 issue of Popular Science carried this graphic showing how daily news dispatches were consistently making it to the New York Times from Richard E. Byrd’s first Antarctic expedition. Since the ship left New York, more than 150,000 words had made their way from the expedition to eager news customers in the United States. The dispatches were received each night at 10:00 New York time, the largest being an 8500 word dispatch sent one night. At the receiving end, a radio operator was set up in the New York Times Annex building. A backup station at Woodside, Long Island, was also receiving, and in the cases where the signal couldn’t be heard in Manhattan, the message was quickly relayed via telegraph from Long Island.

Within in hour, the story was going to press in New York, and was going over the wires to other papers throughout the world. After the news dispatches, personal messages from Commander Byrd and his men were sent. Then, a news summary was sent to the men in Antarctica.

At Byrd’s camp at Little America, Bay of Whales, the illustration here (based upon descriptions contained in those dispatches) appears to show a horizontal Delta Loop antenna at seventy feet.

The gentleman shown here has plenty of light to read, and he’s able to pull in local radio stations thanks to this combination radio-reading light described in the July 1949 issue of Popular Mechanics.  The magazine noted that the set was easy to build, and was ideal for the family member who frequently wanted to listen to programs that weren’t popular with the rest of the family.  With this headphone set, he was able to excuse himself and listen to what he wanted, while the rest of the family was listening to a different program in another room.

The 60 watt lamp allowed him to read in peace. The whole set was built into a cookie jar, which made an ideal base for the lamp and cabinet for the radio. The set was a one-tube regenerative receiver using a 117N7GT tube. One half of the tube was the rectifier, with the other half serving as detector. A volume control mounted on the base was actually a regeneration control. According to the magazine, the set would pull in the local stations with just a short piece of wire tossed on the floor. The set was of the AC-DC type, meaning that there were some safety issues, but the domestic tranquility achieved was probably worth it.

The cookie jar and lamp shade could be had for about a dollar each at the local “ten-to-a-dollar” store. A short piece of curtain rod was used to hold the lamp in place.

Eighty years ago this month, the July 1939 issue of Popular Science shows Mr. H.B. Funston of Columbus, Ohio, who enjoyed putting a hot soldering iron on his tongue.  According to the magazine, “how he applies the iron to his tongue without injury remains a mystery.”  We suspect that some injury is, indeed, involved.  Therefore, we offer the reminder to kids not to try this at home.

Apparently, Mr. Funston was a typewriter repairman employed by the Underwood Elliott Fisher Company, as he appeared in that company’s magazine in April 1935, where he was applauded for his prowess in selling service contracts.

A hundred years ago this month, the first ever issue of Radio Amateur News rolled off the presses. The publication remained in existence for many decades, although the name changed over the years.  The first issue, as shown above, was Radio Amateur News, although the issue contained a survey asking whether it should remain that, or be simply Radio News.

Apparently, Radio News won out, since the magazine changed to that name in June 1920.  In 1929, the publisher, Hugo Gernsback‘s Experimenter Publishing Company, went bankrupt. Almost immediately, Gernsback started Radio Craft magazine.

Starting in May 1929, Radio News was in the hands of the bankruptcy trustee. Ownership changed hands over the years, and the name changed to Radio & Television News in July 1948. In September 1959, the name changed again to Electronics World. It merged into Popular Electronics in January 1972.

In the cover art of the first issue, this listener is hushing those in the room, as an important bulletin from NAA’s powerful Arlington, VA, transmitter is about to come in.

The students shown here are mastering the Morse Code by adhering to some hints contained in the July 1959 issue of Electronics Illustrated.

The article, penned by prolific writer Len Buckwalter, W2GKI, reviewed some of the records and tapes that were currently available. Most of them were on 33 RPM records, but one set was available on 45, and another was available on tape. The reader was cautioned not to accidentally erase the tape, but the article also pointed out for those interested in economy, that the tapes could be erased and reused after the code was mastered. In addition, the venerable Instructograph paper tape system was covered.

But the article also stressed the importance of either taking a class or simply teaming up with another person learning the code. The schematic for a simple code oscillator was provided, and it is shown in the photo above next to the key. The photo below shows a class put on by Allied Radio in Chicago. According to the caption, over a hundred students, “young and old,” took part, although the old seem to make up the majority of the class.  In addition, it appears that the class is almost entirely male.