Category Archives: Radio history

1924 Two Tube Loudspeaker Set

1924DecPSOne hundred years ago, the December 1924 issue of Popular Science showed how to build this two-tube loudspeaker set. The set took advantage of reflexing, since the first tube served as both RF and AF amplifier, with the second one serving as regenerative detector.

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Merry Christmas!

1924DecRadioHomeMerry Christmas from OneTubeRadio.com!

One hundred years ago, it was a radio Christmas. This gentleman was on the way home with the latest and best in Christmas presents, a radio! The picture appeared on the cover of the December 1924 issue of Radio in the Home magazine.



1964 Analog Computer

SScreenshot 2024-12-11 11.48.23 AMixty years ago, if you wanted to be the first on your block to own an electronic computer, then you couldn’t go wrong making this electronic slide rule from the December 1964 issue of Popular Mechanics. With it, you could multiply or divide. Just like with your conventional slide rule, you would be on your own when it came to placing the decimal point in the right spot.

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1954 Emergency Communications Truck

1949DecPESeventy years ago this month, the December 1954 issue of Popular Electronics showed this mobile radio station of the Inter County Amateur Radio Club in Detroit, W8IGS. Shown in th epicture are a number of executives of the Dodge Division of Chrysler, which had donated the truck to the club.

The vehicle was equipped with stations for 2 and 10 meters, including 2 meter Radio Teletype. The club had also assembled 25 portable walkie-talkies for use in conjunction with the station.



1954 British Valve Tester

1954DecPracticalWirelessSeventy years ago, this British gentleman was putting the finishing touches on his valve tester or, as we would say on this side of the Pond, tube tester. The plans were found in the December 1954 issue of Practical Wireless. The circuit would perform the usual tests on tubes, and it also had the option of hooking it up to your oscilloscope to check the exact operating condition.



Gas Powered Radios, 1939

1939DecNRN2We’ve previously covered kerosene-powered radios, but the December 1939 issue of National Radio News covers a similar concept. Apparently, there were radios that were powered a home’s natural gas supply. This item is lacking in details, but it appears there were at least two such sets. One was somewhere in Britain, and the other one was displayed at the New York World’s Fair.

Like the kerosene sets, electricity came from a thermocouple.  The British version ran the filaments directly off the thermocouple, and the voltage was stepped up to provide the B+.



1939 GE Model HB-408 Portable Radio-Phono

1939DecNRNEighty-five years ago, this young woman is enjoying some musical entertainment at the beach, thanks to her General Electric model HB-408 portable radio-phono.  The set featured a mechanical record player, which could play two ten-inch records on a single crank.  The electronics consisted of four tubes (1A7G, 1N5G, 1H5G, and 1Q5G), powered by one 1.5 volt A battery and two 45 volt B batteries.  It featured a four-inch speaker.  She had no trouble getting it to the beach, as it was a featherweight 19.5 pounds.

The picture appeared in the December 1939 issue of National Radio News.



1954 Portable Hi-Fi

1954DecRadioNewsSeventy years ago, this homemaker was able to prepare her family’s holiday meal while she was entertained by high-fidelity music, thanks to this portable sound system mounted on a household teacart. The photo was provided by Regency, and the equipment consisted of the Regency HF -150 high- fidelity amplifier, the Webcor “Diskchanger,” and the Jensen “Duette” reproducer.

The photo appeared on the cover of Radio News, December 1954, and the magazine noted that eagle-eyed readers might notice the lack of interconnecting cables.  This was explained by the possibility that she didn’t want to finish hooking it up until dinner was on the table.



Claiborne Foster, 1924

Screenshot 2024-11-21 11.50.22 AMOne hundred years ago this month, the December 1924 issue of Radio Age showed Claiborne Foster, and in the inset below Allan Dinehart. They were both appearing in the play Applesauce, which was then playing in Chicago, where it was broadcast live from the stage by KYW.

Actress Claiborne Foster was prolific on Broadway, and Dinehart was most famous as a director.  His son by the same name also went on to fame in Hollywood as a television writer and producer.  His credits included the Fllintstones and Gilligan’s Island.



1944 One Tube Superhet

1944DecRadioCraftEighty years ago this month, the December 1944 issue of Radio Craft showed this schematic for a one-tube regenerative receiver. The dual tube, a 1D8, was used for local oscillator, mixer, and detector. It had been sent in to the magazine by one Max W. Schmukler of Pueblo, CO, who reported that it outperformed a regenerative set.