Eighty years ago this month, the November 1945 issue of Radio Craft carried the plans for this 3-tube all-wave receiver, which covered 4-1/2 through 665 meters (450 kHz through 67 MHz) with the use of plug-in coils.

The three-tube set had one stage of untuned RF amplification, courtesy of a 6K7 tube. One half of the 6C8 served as regenerative detector, with the other half as the first AF stage. The loudspeaker was driven by a 32L7, with the other half of that tube serving as rectifier. The line voltage to the filaments was dropped through a 40-50 watt lightbulb. A cylindrical bulb was recommended to save space, or a 250 ohm 25 watt resistor could be used.  Bias for the final amp was a flashlight battery, which would last almost indefinitely.

According to the author, the set had tuned in Africa, Australia, China, England, and Japan. Since it also tunes “UHF”, (as high as 67 MHz), local reception of FM (on the prewar band), TV sound, and police was possible.

Shown here, from the November 1925 issue of Radio Age, is actress June Marlowe.  She is probably best remembered for her role as teacher Miss Crabtree in the Our Gang/Little Rascalsshort features of the 1930s. She had also acted in silent films, but the magazine billed her as Radio’s Prettiest Announcer. It appears, however, that she had little professional involvement in radio.

The magazine notes that she had been won over by radio, and quoted her as saying, “it is so vast and awe-inspiring.” It reported that she put such a feeling of interest into her radio presentations that her listeners acclaimed her from the start. She had acted as anouncer “for an entire evening” on KFWB, which had signed on to the Los Angeles airwaves earlier that year.

Marlowe died in 1984 at the age of 82.

If you were in Seattle a hundred years ago, and you were looking for the perfect Christmas present for your family, you couldn’t go wrong signing up for the Liberty Music House Radio Club. You would simply pay five dollars per week until Christmas, at which a fully tested radio would be delivered. It was the way to be sure that a radio would be in operation in the home by Christmas.

The store was located in the Liberty Theatre Building, First Avenue near Pike.  The ad appeared a hundred years ago today in the November 19, 1925, issue of the Seattle Star.

Shown here is a one-tube radio kit covering the broadcast band, from the Gaertner Co. of Los Angeles. The battery version was $6.95, and there was also an AC version for $8.95.

It was shown in the November 1955 issue of Popular Electronics, which stated that it could be assembled readily by someone with no previous knowledge of electronics.  The address for more information was  A & M Company, 616 S. Serrano Ave., Los Angeles.

Eighty-five years ago this month, the November 1940 issue of Popular Science showed off this novelty radio disguised as a miniature grand piano. The volume and tuning knobs were above the keyboard, the the speaker and tuning dial appeared below.

The magazine does not give the manufacturer, but it appears to be General Television and Radio model 534, and if you would like to restore one, it looks like it’s available on eBay.

Sixty years ago this month, the November 1965 issue of Electronics Illustrated introduced the Zenith Model M660A “Explorer” receiver.  It covered longwave, the standard AM band, and shortwave, and included a BFO.  The picture here doesn’t really do it credit, but the handsome set really would have been in place in the living room.

You can see the set in operation at this video.

This helpful hint appeared 85 years ago in the British Practical Wireless magazine, November 1940. At first, I thought the idea had been sent in by Rube Goldberg, but it was actually one J. F. H. Aspinwall of Wirrall. who sometimes plugged in the soldering iron and forgot about it. His solution solved that problem, and also let him know when the iron was hot enough. He rested a piece of solder between one buzzer contact, with the other end on the iron, perched precariously above the other contact. When the iron was hot enough, the end of solder melted and the piece dropped onto the other contact, completing the circuit and sounding the buzzer.

Eighty-five years ago, this couple enjoy a favorite radio program as the pedal the streets and roads, thanks to a three-tube radio that works in practically the same manner as a car radio. Two of the tubes are triple purpose, in addition to the power tube feeding the 4-inch speaker. The set came with antenna, mounting hardware, and the battery, which can be seen on the frame.

The radio appears to be the Motorola B-150, which we have previously written about.