Shown here, 75 years ago today in the April 26, 1948, issue of Life Magazine, is Fred Waring touting the advantages of some of General Electric’s lineup.

For less than $200, you could take home the Model 119 radio-phono console, with storage for about 60 records.

Other rooms in the house could enjoy music and entertainment from models 102, 114, and 115.

Seventy-five years ago this month, the April 1948 issue of Radio News featured on its cover this radio-controlled sailboat, getting ready to sail the waters of Boston harbor.

The rudder was controlled by a DC motor, and the remote used two channels to set it to port or to starboard. Polarity was reversed to change direction of the rudder, and it was geared so that the full travel took about 15 seconds. The remote control transmitted on both 51 and 53 MHz, and the receiver circuit shown below featured two separate suprregenerative receivers, one for each channel.

The magazine reminded readers that an amateur radio operator’s license was required to operate the craft.

Sixty years ago this month, the April 1963 issue of Popular Electronics carried the plans for this simple three-tube receiver for most of (50-53 MHz) the six meter amateur band. The circuit was unusual in that it combined a supereheterodyne front end, with a superregenerative detector. While unusual, this was said to provide extremely good selectivity and sensitivity for such a simple receiver. The intermediate frequency was 2 MHz.

A hundred years ago this month, the April 1923 issue of Radio Age showed how to put together this handsome crystal set. The plans were actually courtesy of the U.S. Bureau of Standards, and the construction article was a reprint of a government pamphlet. The set was an upgrade from an earlier Bureau of Standards model, and featured greater selectivity. The total cost was said to be about $15.00. If the earlier set had already been built, the additional components would cost about $5.00.

The article describe the construction of the variable couple, the inner coil of which slid on a wooden base into the larger. However, it also noted that a commercially built unit could be used.

Readers considering duplicating this circuit will be able to find many of the required parts on our crystal sets parts page.

Shown here is the radio repair shop of John B. Patrizi, 115 West Sherman Avenue, Newark, NY.  The small but efficient shop seems to be in Patrizi’s home, and he sent the picture to the National Radio Institute (NRI) to report his success.

According to the 1940  census, Patrizi was born in about 1900 in Italy.  According to his letter to NRI, he had been working on WPA projects for two years and didn’t know how to get out of that kind of work.  But one day, he saw one of NRI’s ubiquitous magazine ads and decided to take a chance by signing up for the course.  After just the eighth lesson, he was already getting some work from friends, and poured every penny of those earnings into parts and equipment for his shop.  By 1943, he was making $65-80 per week.  He was getting business from towns as far as 25 miles away.

He credited his wife (according to the census, Amelia D. Patrizi, with much of his success, including taking phone calls, bookkeeping, and sales.  The photo and letter appeared in the April-May 1943 issue of National Radio News.

Sixty years ago this month, the April 1963 issue of Popular Mechanics showed this two-transistor shortwave radio kit. It’s made by Revell, and if the name and logo look familiar, it’s because they’re the same company that made, and still makes, plastic model kits. You probably didn’t need any airplane glue to put this kit together, but you probably did need a soldering iron.

You can see a nice example of the set on WA1KPD’s QRZ page, where he gives some details of what was his first shortwave receiver.

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A hundred years ago, radio was making itself known throughout the country, even in Plentywood, Montana, in the extreme northeastern corner of the state.  L.S. Smith, the proprietor of the Plentywood Machine Shop, had constructed a radio which pulled in New York, California, Texas, and even Havana.

He took out this ad in the town’s newspaper, the Producers News, April 13, 1923, announcing that he had sets for sale at a reasonable price.  You could write or visit, and he would arrange a demonstration in his home some evening.