Category Archives: Radio history

Superior Radio Service, Westfield, MA, 1944

1944JulyradioRetailingSeventy-five years ago this month, the cover of the July 1944 issue of Radio & Television Retailing showed this scene of downtown Westfield, MA, specifically, Supreme Radio Service, 28 Main Street.  The store’s owner was Joseph R. Davich, who had gotten his start in radio at the age of fourteen, when he built sets “using a piece of coal or potato for a detector.” He reportedly also had a spark transmitter with a range of about six miles. He had been in the radio business since 1932, and had expanded into both large and small appliances in 1935.

With wartime consumer manufacturing shut down, Davich had sold his last radio in the fall of 1943. Washers and ranges were soon also out of stock for the duration. The service business continued, but all of his regular technicians had departed, four to the armed forces, one to teaching, and one to a war plant. “Not a man of prejudices, but concerned solely with getting the work done, Davich is willing to train women, if they are interested and willing to learn.” His most recent protege was a 17 year old gird who had just graduated from high school.

The store’s record department was holding its own during the war under the management of a young woman. The magazine noted that records were paying the rent, with service completing the volume. Davich also had a government subcontract to produce plastic radio parts for submarine detector radar equipment. This contract employed five to eight men.

1944JulyradioRetailingGoogleStreetIf the New England church steeple looks slightly out of place in the picture, well, that’s because it is.  A modern view of the shop from Google street view.  The 1944 radio shop is in the spot where the Rovithis Realty sign is, and the building next door is very distinctive.  But there’s no church steeple in the modern view.  But this isn’t because the church isn’t there.  It’s actually located a half block away.  It’s actually the steeple of the First Congregational Church, as shown in the modern image at the right.  Apparently, the magazine editors took a bit of artistic license and “photoshopped” in the nearby steeple.1944JulyradioRetailingGoogleSteeple



WDGY Minneapolis, 1944

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This ad for WDGY radio appeared 75 years ago today, in the July 10, 1944, issue of Broadcasting.  The ad maps the station’s impressive coverage area, and notes that letters were recently received from over 96,000 letters from listeners.  The letters all included a boxtop for Waldorf Crackers, and were part of a promotion for an afternoon program.

The station is currently KTLK, with a similar pattern with its nine-tower array beaming north at night.  The WDGY call letters are in use by an oldies station serving the Twin Cities market from its Hudson, WI, city of license.



1949 One Tube Radio/Lamp

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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.

1949JulyPM2The 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.1949JulyPMschematic



Kids: Don’t Try This At Home!

1939JulPSEighty 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.

1935UnderwoodApparently, 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.



Radio Amateur News, 1919

1919JulyRadioAmateurNewsA 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.



Learning the Code: 1959

1959JulyEIThe 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.

1959JulyEISchematicBut 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.

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On The Radio, Nobody Knows You’re a Dog: 1939

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Thumbnail for version as of 15:43, 14 February 2014

1993 New Yorker cartoon, via Wikipedia.

According to the familiar adage, on the Internet, nobody knows you’re a dog.  But as shown by the photo above, the general concept predates the Internet by decades.  The photo, from the July 1939 issue of Boys’ Life, shows Maud, an English Bulldog, at the controls of W2KBA, the station owned by Vincent S. Barker, who had written a feature about Amateur Radio for the magazine’s April issue.

Maud appears to prefer operating CW, and is busy putting a weak DX station in the log.



Treaty of Versailles 1919

Fighting in the First World War ended on November 11, 1918, with the signing of the Armistice. And one hundred years ago today, the war officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles. Confident that he had made the world safe for democracy and ended all wars, President Wilson set sail for home.

It’s likely that the news headline shown above made its way to the American press (the same day as the treaty was signed, no less) via the key of Don Wallace, later W6AM, who served as Wilson’s radio operator.



1934 One Tube Shortwave Receiver

1934JuneSWCraftCoverEighty-five years ago this month, the June 1934 issue of Short Wave Craft showed how to put together this one-tube receiver, which the magazine promised would pull in foreign stations with a ten foot antenna.

The set used a type 19 dual triode, one half of which was detector, with the other half serving as audio amplifier to drive the headphones. The set could be used either as regenerative or superregenerative. This meant that it had excellent sensitivity on AM signals in the superregenerative mode, but it could also be set as a standard regen to copy CW signals.

The author, George W. Shuart, W2AMN, reported that on the first night after building the set, he was pulling in German stations in the heart of downtown Manhattan. He promised that anyone who built the set would be more than pleased with its smooth performance and simplicity.

1934JuneSWCraftSchematic