Shown here is a one-tube radio kit covering the broadcast band, from the Gaertner Co. of Los Angeles. The battery version was $6.95, and there was also an AC version for $8.95.
It was shown in the November 1955 issue of Popular Electronics, which stated that it could be assembled readily by someone with no previous knowledge of electronics. The address for more information was A & M Company, 616 S. Serrano Ave., Los Angeles.
Eighty-five years ago this month, the November 1940 issue of Popular Science showed off this novelty radio disguised as a miniature grand piano. The volume and tuning knobs were above the keyboard, the the speaker and tuning dial appeared below.
The magazine does not give the manufacturer, but it appears to be General Television and Radio model 534, and if you would like to restore one, it looks like it’s available on eBay.
Armistice Day Blizzard, Excelsior Blvd., West of Minneapolis. Minn. Historical Society photo, NOAA.
Today marks the 85th anniversary of the Armistice Day Blizzard of November 11, 1940. Here are some of our previous posts:
Sixty years ago this month, the November 1965 issue of Electronics Illustrated introduced the Zenith Model M660A “Explorer” receiver. It covered longwave, the standard AM band, and shortwave, and included a BFO. The picture here doesn’t really do it credit, but the handsome set really would have been in place in the living room.
You can see the set in operation at this video.
This helpful hint appeared 85 years ago in the British Practical Wireless magazine, November 1940. At first, I thought the idea had been sent in by Rube Goldberg, but it was actually one J. F. H. Aspinwall of Wirrall. who sometimes plugged in the soldering iron and forgot about it. His solution solved that problem, and also let him know when the iron was hot enough. He rested a piece of solder between one buzzer contact, with the other end on the iron, perched precariously above the other contact. When the iron was hot enough, the end of solder melted and the piece dropped onto the other contact, completing the circuit and sounding the buzzer.
Eighty-five years ago, this couple enjoy a favorite radio program as the pedal the streets and roads, thanks to a three-tube radio that works in practically the same manner as a car radio. Two of the tubes are triple purpose, in addition to the power tube feeding the 4-inch speaker. The set came with antenna, mounting hardware, and the battery, which can be seen on the frame.
The radio appears to be the Motorola B-150, which we have previously written about.
Despite its nondescript looks, this one-tube broadcast receiver from 70 years ago was a good performer. It was designed to be small and efficient. It consumed about the same amount of power as an electric clock, meaning that it could be run constantly. And because of the low power consumption, it put out little heat and could be mounted in a wall or a piece of furniture, without having to worry about ventilation. It was said to put out enough volume to fill the room, but not enough to bother the neighbors.
When tested 100 miles from Chicago, it pulled in all of the major Chicago stations during the day with just a 12 inch antenna. This was accomplished by reflexing the 6AU6 to serve as both RF and AF amplifier. A diode was used as detector, and the rectifier was selenium. It appeared in the November 1955 issue of Popular Electronics.
If you were listening to the radio 100 years ago tonight, October 30, 1925, in Indianapolis, you would be able to tune in to the Claypool Trio, composed of Alma Miller Lentz on the violin, Carolyn Turner at the piano, and Consuelo Couchman Rettig on cello. The program was heard on WFBM (now WNDE), and this photo appeared in the Indianapolis Times, October 29, 1925.
Seventy years ago this month, the British Practical Wireless magazine showed how to make this “set analyzer”, which we would more commonly call a signal tracer. The probe could be switched to AF or RF, and could trace the signal to zero in on the defective portion of a receiver.
And since the circuit contained an entire receiver, it could also be used as a backup for another radio, with the addition of a tuned circuit.
Seventy years ago, the October 1955 issue of Radio Electronics showed how to build this receiver, dubbed the DX Tiny Tuner. It was a miniature unit, designed for long-distance reception on the broadcast band. From a suburb of New York, the set picked up stations in Bridgeport (600 kHz), Philadelphia (610 kHz) and Newark (620 kHz). This compared with a good transistor set that picked up the 600 kHz station with a background of the one on 620, with no sign of the station on 610.
The author noted that the tiny set would pick up any station heard on a communications receiver of S2 or stronger. And surprisingly, it did it with the built-in antenna.
The superhet circuit used three subminiature tubes and one transistor.
