Category Archives: Radio history

1944 Combat Recording

1944OctRadioCraftThe cover of Radio Craft magazine 75 years ago this month, October 1944, showed an artist’s conception of the apparatus used for on-the-spot recordings of the D-Day invasion. Those broadcasts were made by Blue Network correspondent George Hix, whose reports were part of the pool coverage and heard on the other networks. You can listen to the reports at the video below.

The equipment being used was a Recordgraph manufactured by Amertype. We previously described that equipment.  It was a technology that was short lived, since it was soon replaced by magnetic recording. It recorded grooves on a 50 foot roll of film, with a total of 12,000 feet of sound track (in other words, 240 tracks on a strip of 35 mm film). The process is identical to a phonograph recording, but with a strip instead of a disc. The system allowed five hours of speech per roll. As you can hear from the recording below, the sound quality was quite good.

The magazine noted that the Navy considered that the device’s primary use would be production of a real-time log of a battle, although the ability to record a reporter’s voice was an important secondary use.



Europe Is Talking: The Shortwaves in 1939

1939Oct6RadioguideMany radio receivers sold in the U.S. in the late 1930s contained a shortwave band, but it took war in Europe for many Americans to show interest in tuning in. Eighty years ago today, the October 6, 1939, issue of Radio Guide provided some pointers in how to get the latest news directly from the European capitals.

During the day, London could be heard on the 16 meter band.  Starting mid afernoon, you could tune to 19 meters and also pull in Berlin and Moscow.  Later at night, France and Italy could be tuned in on the 25 and 31 meter bands.



1959 Tesla Coil

1959OctEIThe young woman shown here is startling and impressing her friends by demonstrating the Tesla coil she constructed according to plans published 60 years ago this month in the October, 1959, issue of Electronics Illustrated. She is shown lighting up a neon tube and fluorescent tube thanks to the high voltage produced by the coil.

The article noted that most Tesla coils presented a problem for storage and transport, since the coil is so large. However, this one solved that problem by making both of the coils removable thanks to color-coded banana plugs. The smaller primary coil had color coded connections, and the larger secondary coil plugged right into the base. After dazzling her friends, she could unplug the coils and easily transport the set to the next location.



1959 Radio Sunglasses

1959SeptPELong before Smart Glasses were even a glimmer in some engineer’s eye, a Japanese visionary came up with these fashionable sunglasses that concealed a three transistor radio. They are reviewed here in the October, 1959, issue of Popular Science.

The circuitry was concealed in the arms of the glasses. A one-transistor RF stage was on one side, with a two-stage AF amp on the other side. Sound was produced by a small transducer, and a tuning control was on the RF side. It was powered by a tiny mercury battery.

According to the review, the set was remarkably sensitive, and picked up most of the New York stations from PE headquarters in Manhattan. Selectivity wasn’t the greatest, but it was more than adequate for separating most local stations.

The glasses are apparently no longer available, but you can still buy the Bluetooth speaker glasses shown below:



Selling Shortwave Sets, 1939

1939OctRadioRetailingThe outbreak of war in Europe on September 1, 1939, meant opportunity for American radio dealers, and the editors of Radio Retailing were quick to point them out in the October 1939 issue.

In particular, the magazine pointed out that the war revitalized the sale of shortwave sets. The article started with some common-sense tips on how to listen, noting that most of the stations of beligerent countries would be presenting only part of the story at best. It also gives the frequencies of some of the strong European stations and gives some pointers on how to sell shortwave sets to new customers.

The article points out, however, that many existing customers had sets that tuned the shortwaves, but that the owners rarely listened to them. With the heightened interest in war news, the magazine gave some ideas. First, it suggested that many buyers might need a better antenna to optimize reception. And even if there was no particular need for an upgrade, it suggested that a friendly service call might be in order. The customer could be instructed in how to tune in the signals, and there might be some services that are needed. The magazine pointed out that a weak tube might work perfectly fine for strong broadcast band signals, but not quite strong enough to pull in the shortwaves.



October 1, 1919: Hams Back On The Air

1919NovQSTA hundred years ago today, October 1, 1919, Amateur Radio Operators were once again allowed to transmit, after being required to dismantle their stations during the war. They were allowed to begin receiving earlier in the year, but the transmitting ban was not lifted until October.

The notification came to ARRL headquarters just as the October issue of QST was going into the mail. Apparently a notice was added to the copies mailed, but that does not exist in the online QST archives. The notice above appeared in the November 1919 issue of QST.

Another article in the magazine reminded readers that prewar licenses had all expired. Amateurs who held an unexpired commercial license could operate under that authority, but all amateurs needed to get a station license.

Despite clerical staff being short, the radio inspectors were making provisions to get licenses issued as fast as possible. In fact, the inspector was able to advise the applicant that he had passed and what his call sign was going to be, and he could start operating immediately.

It was recommended that applications be made in person, but for those who couldn’t make it to the inspector’s office, there was provision for licensing by mail. In Boston, for example, the inspector required all within 40 miles to apply in person. Those more than 40 miles away from the city were allowed to apply and take the examination by mail.



1939 Three Tube Portable

1939SepPS2This trio are pulling in stations from their campsite thanks to the three-tube portable described in the September 1939 issue of Popular Science. Just like the patio set described in the previous month’s issue, the set used three miniature tubes imported from England, although with the war just underway, it might have been hard to get more after the U.S. stocks were depleted. Apparently, the men had come to terms about taking turns with the headphones.

The author used a steel telescoping fishing rod as antenna by soldering a banana plug onto the end. The article noted that the connection could also be made by clipping a wire onto the end. In fact, if the wire were used, the set could be used in the boat, with the rod serving both to pull in stations and to pull in fish. In this case, however, an insulated handle would be needed for the fishing rod.

1939SepPSschematic



Heathkit CB-1

1959Sep59PE2We’ve previously written (here and here) about the Heathkit Model CB-1 CB transceiver. Sixty years ago this month, the September 1959 issue of Popular Electronics carried a review of the kit.

The magazine described the set as handsome and lightweight and convenient for use either at home or in the car. The set had a built-in 120 volt power supply, and could be used mobile with a vibrator power supply.

The set was easy to put together, but the magazine warned not to rush and try to do it in a single evening. During that sunspot peak, the author reported that stations from several time zones were heard. When operated from the car, a station a few miles away reported a good signal with high modulation.



1944 British One Tube Regen

1944SeptPractWireless75 years ago this month, the September 1944 issue of the British publication Practical Wireless carried the plans for this very basic wartime one-tube regenerative receiver. The set employed a 1D8GT dual tube, half of which served as detector, with the other half serving as AF amp, providing about 100 mW of audio to the speaker. With a ten-foot antenna, the set would easily pull in the BBC home, European, and armed forces services.

1944SeptPractWirelessSchematic



1969 AM-FM Portables

1969SepEI3Fifty years ago this month, the September 1969 issue of Electronics Illustrated reviewed a number of pocket (for large pockets, that is) portable AM-FM receivers.

The magazine noted that many such sets were showing up as loss leaders and prices below $10, and the article asked how these cheap models compared with more expensive brand names. The surprising result was that the cheap no-name sets performed as well as the more expensive models, although the more expensive sets were, in some cases, easier to tune and looked better. But the moral of the story was that these were a class of products where shopping strictly for price was the best strategy.