This mad scientist, shown in the January 1947 issue of Radio News is probably either George Floyd, W2RYT, or H. Donald Wells, W8LWD, drawing an arc from their newly constructed 1 kW transmitter for the then-new 2 meter band. They apparently didn’t worry too much about RF exposure back then, since he is drawing an arc from the antenna, which is mounted directly on the transmitter. In fact, the article points out that when making measurements of current and voltage in the transmitter, you shouldn’t leave the meters there too long, since they might be damaged by all of the RF that is floating around.

The transmitter is simplicity itself, employing two GL-592 pliotron tubes. According to the authors, the set oscillated the first time it was tried, and they were convinced that “only an order from the FCC would stop the oscillations.” There are few components, as you can see from the schematic below. Tuning was accomplished by adjusting plugs in inductors consisting of 15″ long half-inch copper pipe. It would probably be a good idea to wear thick gloves when making frequency changes, since the B+ was around 2500 volts.

We should mention that kids should not build this transmitter at home. There are a number of obvious safety issues, such as the exposed high voltage and the high RF fields. In addition, it probably wouldn’t meet current FCC spectral purity rules. In other words, an order of the FCC has stopped the oscillations.

Seventy-five years ago, the January 13, 1947, issue of Life magazine carried this ad showing General Electric’s radio offerings, especially its FM offerings, such as the model 417 console.

Since there were still prewar FM stations on the air, the deluxe set tuned both FM bands, 42-50 MHz and 88-108 MHz. It also tuned two shortwave bands in addition to standard broadcast. The set’s ten tubes drove a 12 inch dynamic speaker.

The ad featured actress Virginia Mayo, who had most recently appeared in The Best Years of our Lives.

Seventy years ago this month, the January 1951 issue of Radio Retailing carried this ad for Jewel’s combination table model/portable set, the model 5050.  The ad notes that whether on a table or being carried, the dial is always in a convenient position, and the sound is always pointing in the right direction.

The set operated on household current or battery, and featured a ferrite core antenna. The set had four tubes, 1R5, 1U4, 1U5, and 3V4

Photo, Toomey j Gazette, Fall-Winter 1962.

I am not old enough to have to have worried about contracting polio, but I am old enough to have known people who suffered from the effects of polio. Amateur radio has always served as a window on the world for those with many types of disabilities, and I had the pleasure of meeting many hams who were handicapped as the result of polio.

Thanks mostly to the vaccines of the 1950s, North America saw its last case of polio in the 1970s, and children and their parents no longer had to worry about contracting it. But there were still many survivors of the disease when I was growing up in the 1960s and 1970s, and largely because I was a ham, I had the pleasure of meeting many of them.

One example was profiled in the December 1961 issue of QST, thirteen-year-old William F. “Billy” White III, K5CBZ, of Corpus Christi, Texas. White had been confined to an iron lung for eight years, and it was from that location where he spent all of his time, doing his school work, reading, and watching television. But recently, he had added to his repertoire the magic of amateur radio.

His first novice station was installed by a group of local hams, but could be operated only when he was out of the respirator, meaning that the time on the air was extremely limited. When he passed the Conditional test, a permanent solution had to be found. And thanks to the local hams, it was. It was decided that a Collins KWM-2 transceiver would be a good choice since it was relatively lightweight at 18 pounds and completely self contained. It was possible to mount the transceiver directly on the iron lung using fittings that were normally used for items such as mirrors and book holders. The set was mounted vertically, and could be removed and reinstalled in a matter of seconds.

Billy was able to operate the controls using a spatula held in his mouth. The only exceptions were the band switch and transmitter tuning. But when those were set, he could operate the set by himself.

During Hurricane Carla, Billy handled a considerable amount of emergency traffic from his station. When power at his house failed, the local hams delivered a generator, which powered both the radio and the iron lung.

Billy died in 1967 at the age of 19. But for the last six years of his life, as the article notes, “daily he traveled the airwaves, visiting friends, meeting new people, and filling his time through the magic of amateur radio.”

For people with disabilities who are interested in learning more about amateur radio and other assistive technology, we recommend you contact the Courage Kenny HandiHam Program, which has carried out that mission since 1967.