Category Archives: Radio history

Broadcasting and the 2010 Haitian Earthquake

U.S. Marine shows Haitian man how to operate crank radio. US Dept. of Defense photo.

Today marks the 10th anniversary of the catastrophic magnitude 7 earthquake that hit Haiti on January 12, 2010. The epicenter of the quake was about 25 kilometers west of the capital, Port-au-Prince, where tens of thousands died.

The actual death count will never be known, but estimates range from 100,000 to 316,000. The morgues were overwhelmed by the sheer number of bodies, and most were buried in mass graves.

Over a quarter of a million residences, along with 30,000 commercial buildings, had collapsed or were severely damaged. Not surprisingly, the country’s communications infrastructure was severely damaged. The public telephone system was totally unavailable, and cellular service was severely impacted.

A bright spot in communications was radio broadcasting. The Port-au-Prince region was served by 50 radio stations prior to the earthquake. All but one of these, Radio Signal FM, were initially knocked off the air. Within a week, however, about 20 stations, including Radio Lumière, a Christian station serving most of the country, were back on the air. Radio Lumière’s staff moved the station’s equipment to a tent outside its main building in order to resume broadcasting. Also, within about a week, a French community broadcasting association had a 300 watt transmitter flown in from Paris.

Additional broadcasting came from foreign countries. The U.S. Air Force Commando Solo aircraft was broadcasting Voice of America programming in Haitian Creole, which was also transmitted from the VOA’s 1180 kHz transmitter in Marathon, Florida. The BBC World Service also launched a Creole service with information about aid and rescue programs, as well as messages from people trying to locate family members. Initially, broadcasts were on shortwave, but were later relayed by FM relays from stations in Haiti as they came on the air.

One of the first voices on the air came from station 4VEH in Cap-Haïtien. That city, in the north of Haiti, was largely unaffected by the quake, and broadcasts continued on its AM station and FM network. The 10,000 watt AM signal on 840 kHz, would be listenable 136 kilometers away in Port-au-Prince. But to make sure, the station quickly made arrangements with Trans World Radio (TWR) on Bonaire to simulcast the 4VEH program. While the distance covered was over 800 kilometers, the entire path is over saltwater, and TWR’s then-100,000 watt 800 kHz signal (it’s now 400,000) watts was beamed directly toward Haiti. It put in a formidable signal which could easily be picked up on even the most inexpensive AM radio. The Creole program from the Christian radio station shared both practical help and a message of hope.

For those without radios in Haiti, a number of groups distributed solar or crank radios in Port-au-Prince. Among these was the U.S. military, which distributed 50,000 radios in the city.

This story serves as a reminder of the importance of having a battery-operated radio available in case of disaster. Even though the cellular network is down, and there is devastation for many miles in every direction, radio signals can be picked up, even with an inexpensive radio, for hundreds of miles. A battery-operated radio is a minimum requirement, as long as you have plenty of batteries. A radio that can be operated with a hand crank and/or solar power is an even better option. Shown below are some inexpensive options.

Battery Radios

Solar and/or Crank Radios

U.S. CDC image.

References

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Ken-Rad Tubes, 1945

This ad for Ken-Rad tubes appeared in the January 1945 issue of Radio Service Dealer.

Arvin Model 302 Radio-Phono

If you needed an inexpensive radio-phonograph 80 years ago, then the Arvin model 302 (brown with ivory trim) or 302A (ivory with chrome trim) was just the thing. The four-tube (12SK7, 12SQ7, 50L6GT, and 35Z5GT) superhet would pull in the local stations, and the would also play either 10″ or 12″ records.

For full portability, a carrying case was available for only $2.95 extra.

The ad, which also shows a car radio, table radio, and portable, appeared in the January 1940 issue of Radio Retailing.

Radio Scouting: 1940

Eighty years ago this month, the December 1940 issue of Boys’ Life shows this enthusiastic group of Atlantic City Scouts preparing to get their ham licenses. Fifty Scouts were taking the eight month class, and were hoping to be able to render important communications assistance in the event of disaster. The council’s camp already had its own station.

Bringing the Car Radio Inside: 1945

During World War II, one recurring theme in radio and handyman magazines was bringing the radio from the car inside the house. There were two practical reasons for doing this: First, no new radios were being manufactured, so if you needed another one in the house, you had to use some ingenuity. Second, the radio wasn’t doing much good in the car, anyway, due to gas and rubber rationing.

The January 1945 issue of Popular Science contains some pointers for doing the job. The radio probably used 6 volts for the tube filaments, and a higher voltage for the B+. The high voltage came from a vibrator power supply. The mechanical vibrator changed the car’s 6 volts from DC to AC, which was fed into a transformer to increase the voltage. The radio had a rectifier tube to change it back to the DC required by the circuit. To do the conversion, you needed a transformer that changed the 120 volt household current into 6 volts, with another winding of about 120 volts. This replaced the radio’s vibrator and transformer, and the set’s existing rectifier was used. The wiring for two common circuits is shown below.

For an antenna, the article pointed out that about 20 inches of wire would do a good job, since this is about the length of antenna the set was designed for.

Nan Grey, 1940

Shown here, on the cover of the January 5, 1940, issue of Radio Guide, is actress Nan Grey, who was then appearing as the leading lady of NBC’s “Those We Love.”

Grey was born in Houston, Texas, in 1918. At sixteen, she went to Hollywood with her mother on vacation, and was persuaded to take a screen test. Her film credits prior to her radio career included starring opposite John Wayne in the 1936 film Sea Spoliers, which you can view below. She was one of the stars of the 1940 film “The Invisible Man Returns.” In that role, she appeared with Vincent Price. However, Price actually appeared for only a minute or so in the film, and spent most of the time as a disembodied voice.

Those We Love ran on NBC until 1945. In the 1960s, she invented a cosmetic mirror for nearsighted women. Princess Grace of Monaco was said to be one of its users. Grey died in 1993 on her 75th birthday.

Freddy Fender Museum, San Benito, TX

We recently had the opportunity to visit the Freddy Fender Museum in San Benito, Texas. We are shown above in front of Freddy’s motorcycle and one of the suits in which he performed. The museum is part of the Museums of San Benito, along with the San Benito History Museum and the Texas Conjunto Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

We were shown around by a friendly volunteer, and the visit was well worth the small detour we took to get there. Unfortunately, the exact future of the museum is in question, and it might not be there when you read this. On the very day we visited in December 2019, some of the Freddy Fender exhibits were being removed. The museum will be moving to a new location, but the exact new location is not known at this time. Some of the exhibits were apparently on their way back to Freddy’s widow in Corpus Christi. The volunteer seemed optimistic, however, that the museum would continue in either San Benito or Corpus Christi. But the exact future location has not been determined. Before making a special trip, I would contact the museum to check on the status. The museum is currently open Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.

Fortunately, some of the exhibits remained, and are shown here. Notably, Freddy’s two gold records are still on display, for Before the Next Teardrop Falls, and Wasted Days and Wasted Nights:

Of particular interest to our readers is this chair, marked “Zenith Arm Chair Radio,” in which Freddy Fender probably sat. I’ve heard of Zenith chairside radios, but this is the first I ever heard of an actual Zenith chair. The tag on the exhibit indicated that the chair was from “the 1970s”. Perhaps it was in use then, but my guess would be closer to the 1930s or 1940s. The tag indicated that the chair was last used at the Rio Grande Music Company recording studio, 1165 Sam Houston, San Benito, TX.

The museum also contained another room displaying some of the equipment from the studio, shown below:

The “Rek-Kut” record cutting machine is shown below. You can click on the images for a larger version:

There were also two Ampex recorders, one identified as a Model 354:

As mentioned above, there were two other museums in the same building, and this radio was part of the display in the general history museum:

I couldn’t make out any brand name, but it appears to be from the late 1930s or 1940s, and covers the broadcast band and 5.8-15 MHz shortwave.

Finally, this shell casing was in the museum. It was from a captured German gun from World War 1, and was engraved with the names of the American soldiers against whom it was directed. The engraved text was very hard to read, and I unfortunately didn’t have time to try to transcribe much of it. It would be a great service if some reader in the area could take the time to transcribe the text and post it online somewhere. I’m sure that the relatives of the soldiers listed would be very appreciative.

Two 1940 Broadcast Sets

This young woman is getting ready to tune in a favorite program, thanks to the radio designed to look like a book, described in the January 1940 issue of Popular Science. The design was intended to “appeal to all builders who prefer housing their receivers in some unusual type of cabinet.” It was perfect for the library table, where it would make an attractive decoration while pulling in the local stations.

The cabinet was constructed with the covers of a scrapbook purchased for less than a dollar. The jigsawed decoration on the cover was retained, and sides were build from matching wood. The circuit itself was a two-tube regenerative receiver. It ran directly off line current, with the filaments voltage provided by a “curtain burner” cord.

For those seeking a compact but more conventional design, the same issue of the magazine showed the design at right. It was a three-tube regenerative set featuring a small two inch speaker. Like the book radio, it covered the broadcast band. It was also an AC-DC set, with the filaments in series powered by the ubiquitous curtain burner.

1939 Transmitter and Receiver Kits

Eighty years ago, the newcomer to amateur radio could get on the air with this transmitter kit from the 1939 Allied catalog. It was patterned after the transmitter shown in the ARRL publication How to Become a Radio Amateur, and used two type 47 tubes running push-pull. The set could be put together in about two hours, and would put out up to 10 watts on 80 meters.

The cost of the kit itself was $2.60, but it wasn’t quite ready to go. The accessory kit included the two tubes, a crystal, and key. If the beginner was lacking all of those items, that would be an additional $4.80. If the new ham already had a commercial receiver, then he could probably tap into the power supply to run the transmitter. Otherwise, the power supply would be an additional $5.35, for a grand total of $12.75.

If he didn’t have a receiver already, then the bare minimum would be the kit shown here on the same page. The kit, using a single type 30 tube, cost $4.45. The tube and battery would be an additional $1.75. The coils that came with the radio covered the broadcast band, so getting on the ham bands would also require the shortwave coils, for 85 cents.

Christmas 1919

Merry Christmas from OneTubeRadio.com!

This photo establishes conclusively that Santa Claus has been placing radios under the tree for a full century, since the photo was taken on Christmas, 1919.

Shown is the family of U.S. Secretary of War Newton Baker. From left to right are his daughter Betty (Elizabeth Baker McGean), son Jack (Newton D. Baker, III), daughter Peggy (Mrs. Fulton Wright), and wife Elizabeth. The younger children were obviously extra good that year, since Peggy is shown playing her Schroeder-style toy piano, and was probably also the recipient of the doll bed shown in the background.

But young Master Jack had obviously been very deserving, since Santa brought him a radio! Not only was he probably the first on his block (child or adult) to have a radio, it was probably one of the first ever received as a Christmas present. The wartime ban on private radio receivers (presumably ordered by his father) had only ended on April 15 of that year. (The transmitting ban ended on October 1.)

The site from which this picture is taken, Shorpy.com (see more information below) has a high-resolution copy,which allows more detail of the radio to be seen. Unfortunately, there’s not enough to be able to positively identify the set, but it does appear to be a fairly high-end crystal set, not unlike the A.C. Gilbert model 4007 shown at the right (from the January, 1920, issue of Electrical Experimenter). According to another ad for that set, the list price was $25, and it was said to have a range of 200 miles. The one in the picture looks comparable. Since Master Jack lived right in Washington, he certainly would have been able to pull in the strong signals of station NAA in Arlington. Of course, any voice modulation was extremely rare at that time, so he would need to sit down and teach himself the code. And he wouldn’t hear anything with the set under the tree, since it doesn’t appear to be hooked up to antenna and ground. But since he was right in Washington, only a modest antenna would have been required to pull in the powerful government station. So I suspect he was hearing sounds out of the headphones Christmas night.

Shorpy.com

The image above is courtesy of Shorpy, an amazing archive of thousands of historical American photographs from the 1850s to the 1950s. The Washington Post describes the site as one which offers a chance to time travel. We hope the same can be said about OneTubeRadio.com. As you celebrate Christmas today, enjoy this opportunity to visit a young radio listener a century ago. If you gaze closely enough at the photo, perhaps you’ll be able to hear the buzz of NAA’s arc coming through those headphones.