We’ve previously written about the MacMillan Arctic expedition.  It was the first such expedition to be equipped with radio.  The radio operator was Don Mix, later W1TS, who went on to be a prolific writer of construction articles for QST.

A hundred years ago, if you wanted to stay up to date with the expedition, you would definitely want to take out a subscription to the Washington Star, as explained in this ad from the June 26, 1923, issue.  The paper would report dispatches received by radio, but for those who wanted to stay in close touch, all that was required was a ham license and station, or just a receiver to listen in.  The ad lists the times at which the expedition’s station (WNP, for Wireless North Pole) would be on the air.  And from 1:00 to 2:59 AM and again from 3:00 to 7:00 AM, it would be open for contacts with amateurs.  As we reported previously, Art Collins, W9CXX (later W0CXX) was able to do just that.

The summer of 1923 was to be a big one for radio, as predicted by the June 1923 issue of Wireless Age. The magazine editorialized that radio would be a major feature of summer camp experiences, and many farm families would be introduced to radio by their city visitors.

The cover featured this illustration by Charles S. Jaeger. But somehow, play-by-play broadcasts of rowing crew competitions never quite caught on.

The June 1948 issue of Radio Craft showed this circuit for a one-tube “reflex” receiver, so named because the tube served double duty.  The input was connected to the antenna circuit, and the tube served as an RF amplifier, with the output going to a then relatively new 1N34 diode.  The audio then went through a transformer and volume control, where it was fed back to the tube, which then amplified the audio.  The audio then passed through an RF choke on its way to the speaker.

The circuit had been sent to the magazine by one Arthur S. Bean of Baltimore.  The magazine noted that his design provided good volume and moderate selectivity.

There was a time when people dressed up to listen to the radio, and 85 years ago was one of those times, as demonstrated by this young woman on the cover of the June-July 1938 issue of National Radio News.

You would dress up, too, if the receiver you were listening to was the General Electric model F-96 Electric Touch Button Tuning Radio.  The handsome nine tube set retailed for $110 (over $2300 in 2023 dollars).  It featured sixteen pushbuttons, and tuned both broadcast and short wave, as well as pulling in police calls.

Many hams from the 1970s and later are familiar with variations on W1CER’s (later W1FB) Tuna Tin II, a transmitter which used a tuna can as its enclosure. But the 1950s had its own variation on the same theme, as shown here in the June 1953 issue of Radio News. A 117L7GT tube wouldn’t fit inside a tuna can, but it did fit into a coffee can, so that’s what was used.

This 80-meter transmitter was actually a club project by the Wantah Radio Club on Long Island, New York. It was designed to spur some activity as the club members built and used them. Once the rigs were built, they used them for local nets, and also used them for contests, such as for the most distant contact, and the highest number of states worked.

Half the tube was used as a Pierce oscillator, with the other half serving as rectifier. We’ve seen other transmitters using the same tube, and it’s a natural for a small one-tube QRP rig. This design put out about 3 watts, and the station on the other end was often surprised by the power used. The article warned that to save money, half of the line cord was attached to the chassis, making it potentially hot. Therefore, those making the set were cautioned to use care in plugging the cord in with the right polarity. They described a test circuit to see if it was plugged in the right way, but that circuit would trip a modern GFCI outlet.

The tuning circuit shown in the schematic below was “already mounted on a convenient subchassis from a BC-746 tuning unit available at surplus,” as if everyone knew what a BC-746 was. That appears to be an external antenna tuner, one portion of which was used here. If you can’t find a BC-746, the article gives alternatives for making your own.

The set was mounted on the coffee can lid, with the can itself then used as the enclosure. This was said to provide shielding to prevent TVI.

The author of the article was Jim Fahnestock, W2RQA. There can’t be that many Fahnestocks in the world, and since he was from New York, where the famed Fahnestock clip originated, we have to guess that he was related to the inventor of the clip and the namesake of the State Park.