The plans for this somewhat “retro” looking receiver appeared in Elementary Electronics magazine forty years ago, May-June 1978. The two-transistor regenerative set tuned 550 kHz to 14 MHz with the use of three plug-in coils.

Good performance was obtained through the use of “spiderweb” coils, which also added to the nostalgic appearance of the set. As the article noted, this type of coil was very popular in the early days of radio, since such coils exhibit a very high Q factor.

Another advantage of this type of coil is that it doesn’t require the use of now-unobtainium plug-in coil forms, since the article explains how to make the form. A template is included in the article, which is to be traced onto tissue paper, and then used as the template for cutting the forms from a sheet of plastic with a jigsaw or hacksaw. Brass eyelets (“available at notions counters in department stores”) were then used as the plug connections.

The plans for this ambitious looking receiver appeared fifty years ago in the May-June 1968 issue of Elementary Electronics.  The transistorized set is written up as being for the SWL, but as the design suggests, the article points out that it’s also a suitable receiver for the “yachtsman.”

Construction is simplified by the inclusion of two pre-wired circuit boards available from Lafayette, the IF amplifier and audio amplifier stages. An additional four transistors make up the portions of the circuit that needed to be built. The completed receiver tuned longwave (150-420 kHz), standard broadcast (550 to 1700 kHz), and shortwave (1.6 to 4.3 MHz). In addition, a separate detector tuned VHF (144-162 MHz). A BFO was included for tuning in CW signals.

The actual construction consisted of building four separate modules, and then assembling them into the completed unit. There were actually two bandswitches, one for the preselector stage, and another for the main receiver. Switching bands meant flipping both switches.

While not explained in the article, the purpose of the rotating loopstick antenna was for use in radio direction finding, as explained in an earlier post.

Sixty years ago this month, the first issue of Electronics Illustrated, May-June 1958, rolled off the presses of Fawcett Publications, the publisher of Mechanix Illustrated. Construction articles in the first issue included the 40 meter novice transmitter shown here, as well as a code practice oscillator featuring a 2N107 transistor. For the more ambitious, the magazine also included plans for a garage door opener system, using tube type transmitter and receiver. (The B+ for the transmitter came from the rectified output of a small inverter designed to operate an electric shaver in the car.)

For those starting out in electronics, the issue also included a tutorial on how to solder.

My own introduction to electronics came largely from discovering this magazine amongst the offerings of the Publishers Clearing House (sent to me personally by Robert H. Treller, who added a number of personal notes to the mailing).  It looks like the first issue I received was the one for May 1970, and I even managed to get my name in the March 1972 issue as a finalist (but alas, not a winner) in their “Win The World” SWL contest by sending in a batch of QSL cards.

Emboldened by seeing my name in print, I was strategizing as to how I could win the next year’s contest. Unfortunately, the magazine ceased publication with the November 1972 issue, so that second chance was not to be.

The remainder of my subscription was satisfied with a subscription to Mechanix Illustrated, which for a time included something to the effect of “including Electronics Illustrated” on its cover.

This early ad for Heathkit appeared in Popular Science 70 years ago this month, May 1948.  These were among the Heath Company’s first offerings in electronic kits, which they offered from 1947 to 1992.

Their offerings included a regenerative receiver for $5.95, which covered the standard broadcast band and shortwave. It was available as either a two-tube battery set, or for AC operation, a three-tube set including rectifier tube.

Also included was a compact one watt 80 meter transmitter, complete with tube and crystal for only $3.95.

I’m not sure what the difference is between a “Micro” tube and a “Micro DS” tube, but apparently it was a big difference, and the Micro DS was much better, as shown by the illustration above, which appeared on the cover of the May 1928 issue of the Soviet magazine Радио Всем (Radio Vsem, Radio All) magazine.  The smaller illustration at the left was inside the magazine, and made clear that the DS had the upper hand.

The issue contained two receivers using the Micro DS tube, including the two-tube reflex set shown here.

The issue also carried detailed plans for constructing the variable tuning coil shown below:

Shown here on the cover of the May 1948 issue of Radio News is Diane VanDusen. But the radio isn’t hers. It’s a rental, and the magazine provides some pointers for radio dealers thinking of getting in on the lucrative portable radio rental market.

The article details the experiences of a radio dealer in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, New York. He reported great results simply from positioning himself in front of his store on Coney Island Avenue with a sign reading “Portable Radios for Rent.” He charged 35 cents an hour, with a $1 minimum, and reported being sold out every sunny day.

The article stressed that an over-emphasis on security would be conterproductive, since the secret of success was a volume business, and being able to quickly get the transaction over with was key. The sets were marked in large letters “Brighton Rental,” but the dealer required only payment of the fee, as well as a glance at some identification. Despite the casual nature of the transaction, he reported zero thefts.

A batteries were reported to last a couple of days, with B batteries needing replacement every hundred hours or so. Therefore, cost of batteries was a small percentage of the fee.

The dealer reported that he also benefited from sales of portables, since the rental system allowed prospective customers to check out a portable, which listed for $39.50.

Miss VanDusen rented her radio from some other dealer, since she was relaxing at the beach in Florida.  She was one of the famous Aqua-maids at Cypress Gardens in Winter Park, Florida, now part of Legoland Florida.