Shown here 75 years ago is radio servicing professional George Ott, Jr., of Meadville, PA. Ten years prior, at the age of 24, Ott had lost the use of both of his legs. After being confined to bed and then surgery, he was able to get around with a wheelchair.  In 1943, he enrolled in the National Radio Institute correspondence school, and made steady progress from that time.

He reported that despite his disability, he was doing fine in radio and television. His firm had taken on a contract with Montgomery Ward for service and installation, and he also worked with two other local furniture dealers. While they stocked some televisions, service was the heart of their business, rather than sales.

The picture appeared on the cover of National Radio News, February 1950.

A hundred years ago, this gentleman is enjoying the latest craze in the radio world, namely, collecting stamps issued by stations around the country. He purchased the album from the Ekko Company, 111 West Monroe St., Chicago for $1.75. It contained hundreds of spots for stamps for various stations. It also included cards to be sent to the stations with reception reports, along with a spot to place a dime. If the reception report checked out, the station would send you a stamp for your album. Chances are, they made a modest profit, thanks to your dime.

As your album filled up, you could show off to your friends what stations you pulled in, with the proof right in front of their eyes.

The cover is from the February 1925 issue of Radio News, which carried an article discussing the system. It also just happened to have an ad for Ekko, from which you could order your album.

This young woman has been collecting Social Security for a few years now, but 70 years ago, she was pulling in a program from the proverbial strong local station, thanks to this handsome giant loop crystal set, described in the 1955 volume of Radio-TV Experimenter.

Thanks to the large loop antenna, the set did not require an external antenna or ground for those strong stations. The loop consisted of 85 feet of wire around at 14 x 24 inch frame. Attention was given to finishing the wooden frame to make the object an item of beauty as well as utility.

The set could be rotated for best reception, and for added sensitivity (but reduced selectivity), it could be placed near a floor lamp to inductively use the power lines as an antenna. As you can see, this listener was quite impressed with the design.

Actress Lola Lane is shown here doing some SWL’ing with her Majestic model 3C70. The cabinet is hand-rubbed sliced walnut. But more importantly, the seven tube chassis inside covered three bands (550-1700 kHz and 2.1 – 22 MHz) and included a loop antenna.

The photo appeared 85 years ago this month in the February 1940 issue of Radio Today.

One hundred years ago today, 13-year-old Grace Weaver of Oakwood Village, Ohio, near Dayton, made the front pages by putting together her own five-tube neutrodyne radio. On her first night, she pulled in Los Angeles.

She is shown here on the front page of the Radio section of the Indianapolis Times, January 29, 1925.

Sixty years ago, the January 1965 issue of 73 Magazine showed how to make this simple Grid Dip Oscillator (GDO or “Grid Dipper”.)

The GDO is handy for quickly measuring the resonant frequency of a tuned circuit or of an antenna. The GDO’s coil is exposed, and it’s poked into the coil of the circuit in question. For an antenna, a small loop of wire attached to the antenna goes around the coil. The frequency is adjusted, and at the resonant frequency, the meter showing the grid current drops precipitously. If you need the exact frequency, you can find the signal of the GDO on a receiver, or use a frequency counter.

This example uses a 3S4 tube, and has the convenience of being able to run from batteries. Of course, these days, the same thing can be done with transistors. Even though transistors have no grid, many old timers still refer to the instrument as a Grid Dipper. Hams these days are more likely to use an antenna analyzer, but the Grid Dipper gets the job done in an elegant analog fashion.