Traditionally, the March issue of Popular Mechanics carried a radio project dubbed the “Little Giant,” a project aimed at advancing students who could make something serving a useful purpose. The March 1952 issue carried on the tradition with the set shown here. It was the customary five-tube superheterodyne, but it also included an intercom.

The magazine noted that a good radio combined with an intercom was an instrument of pleasure as well as utility. It could allow you to listen to the radio in two places, or it could be used as a monitor to send programs to or listen in to the kids in the nursery.

All of the controls were on the master station. The remote consisted of just a speaker, which also doubled as the microphone.

Eighty years ago this month, the March 1942 issue of Radio Craft carried the plans for this two-tube shortwave regenerative receiver. Thanks to the use of dual 1JG6 triodes, the set had four-tube performance. One half of the first tube was an untuned amplifier, which prevented the regenerative detector from radiating and messing with other sets in the neighborhood. The regeneration was controlled with a variable capacitor, and the second tube provided two stages of audio amplification.

With four plug-in coils, the set covered 145 through 10 meters. The compact size made the set ideal for portable operation.

Sixty years ago this month, the March 1962 issue of Electronics Illustrated carried these self-explanatory plans for the stealth antenna shown at left. It was billed as a way to fight TV interference, basically by keeping a low profile and thus not alerting potentially suggestive neighbors to the possibility that their picture was other than perfect.

And for the patient ham, the illustration above demonstrates a method of adding multiband capability.

The article was penned by prolific writer Howard Pyle, W7OE.

Finding the right power supply for a particular piece of equipment has always been an issue, as shown by this Hints and Kinks item from the March 1952 issue of QST.  There was a lot of surplus gear on the market, much of which ran on 12 volts. Most vehicles, on the other hand, had 6 volt systems. Kermit Karns, W0MYH, of Kansas City, had a 1948 Chevrolet with a 6 volt power system and submitted his solution for running 12 volt equipment in his car.

He simply added another generator and another battery to the car, essentially giving him two independent 6 volt systems, and one 12 Volt system for his radio gear. An additional 6 volt generator, identical to the one that came with the car, was mounted under the hood, and the second battery was stowed away under the driver’s seat. One of the two regulators in the diagram was for a positive ground vehicle, and the other was for a negative ground system.

In addition to being able to run his radio equipment in the vehicle, the added advantage was that the car now had two electrical systems. Karns noted that one was used primarily for the starter with the other loads attached to the second system.

A hundred years ago this month, the March 1922 issue of Popular Mechanics carried the full construction details for this AM transmitter for the radio amateur. Heretofore, constructing such a transmitter was an expensive proposition, since it invariably required a motor-generator to provide the high voltage. This transmitter, however, used a “new type of transformer” to supply the 500 volts of B+ from household current, “as simply as screwing in a lighting bulb or plugging in an electric iron.” Two rectifier tubes could be of “any of the various types on the market,” and the transmitter itself used three UV-202 tubes.

The price of all of the parts was said to be about $125. According to this inflation calculator, that works out to over $2000 in 2022 dollars, so this was not the project for the impecunious.

The article noted that the exact range would, of course, vary with local conditions. But the author reported that music and voice had been transmitted from 100 to 200 miles, and under especially good conditions, an extreme range of 500 miles had been recorded.

The author, whose later call sign was W9DCX, went on to become the magazine’s radio editor. He died in 1955, as noted in his obituary in the magazine.

This ad appeared 75 years ago today in the March 10, 1947, issue of Life Magazine. It’s for RCA Victor’s model 65U radio-phonograph. It’s a typical “All American Five” broadcast radio with automatic record changer. It has a large elliptical speaker, and it’s a nice sounding radio.

I actually own one of these that I got back into working order a few years ago. The automatic record changer (said to be capable of 12 ten-inch records or 10 twelve-inch records) stopped working a long time ago, but the phonograph still plays manually. The original cartridge was no good, but I substituted a more modern ceramic cartridge, held in place with a piece of foam rubber and rubber bands. The lid can be closed completely while records are playing, a relatively uncommon feature of tabletop sets of that age.

Sixty years ago, this listener was probably the first on her block to own a transistor radio.  And she was almost certainly the owner of the smallest radio.  Smaller than a pocket set, this one was billed as a “half pocket” portable in the March 1962 issue of Radio Electronics.

The four transistor set measured only 1-11/16 x 1-1/2 x 11/16 inches, with a 2N345 serving as regenerative detector, with three 2N207’s amplifying the audio.  It was “about the size of a petite ladies’ cigarette lighter,” and smaller than some hearing aids.  It was said to pull in local stations with good volume and clarity, and required no external antenna or ground.

Seventy-five years ago this month, the February 1947 issue of Popular Science showed this simple one-tube radio kit, the Laco Kitcraft Model 200.  The kit sold for $6, and featured a single 1L4 (or 1T4 or 1U4) tube, and required 1-1/2 volts for the filament, and anywhere from 22-1/2 to 90 volts for the B+.

According to the magazine, it was perfect for the youngster who wanted his or her own radio.