Shown here in the April 1934 issue of Short Wave Craft magazine is the well equipped station of Henry L. Carter, Jr., W8FTB, 45 Sheldon Terrace, Rochester, N.Y., at the time, the youngest licensed amateur in the United States. Carter was first licensed at the age of 10 on January 14, 1932. He got his first station set up with the assistance of his father, ex-8BOW, who had been licensed in 1923. The transmitter was a crystal controlled three tubes on 3530 and 3840 kHz. Carter reported that he could copy “20 per, and send ‘plenty fast.'”

He had worked stations throughout the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, and held an Army Amateur Radio Station appointment. He was also the youngest member of the Scout Amateur Radio Net, and as you can see from the uniform, he kept himself busy with Scout work. His troop had organized a radio club consisting of sixteen members.

According to a Sept. 27, 1939, article in the Rochester Times Union contained in this scrapbook,
Carter, then residing at 297 Plymouth Ave. S., joined the Army Signal Corps at the age of 18.

I wasn’t able to find any reference to Carter after the War.  If he had gone back to Rochester, his call would have become W2FTB, but I wasn’t able to find any reference to him holding that call.  He would be about 97 today, so if Mr. Carter or a relative is out there, we would enjoy very much hearing from you to follow up.

Sixty years ago this month, the March 1959 issue of Boys’ Life showed scouts how to put together this two-transistor code practice oscillator. Powered by six penlight cells, one 2N107 transistor served as oscillator, with the other as an audio amplifier. So chances are, the output was both clean and loud. The set featured both tone and volume controls, and had provision for headphones or a built-in speaker.

Sixty years ago this month, amateur radio made the cover of Boys’ Life magazine’s January 1959 issue, which featured an article entitled “Hamming is Fun” by long time ARRL staffer Perry Williams, W1UED.

The article featured the radio adventures of a number of young hams, including Jules Madey, K2KGJ, of Clark, NJ, who apparently inspired the cover. Madey, a high school student, put in as many as 49 hours a week running phone patches for men at the McMurdo base in Antarctica. Since the best conditions were in the middle of the night, Madey made a habit of going to bed right after supper and setting the alarm for 10:30 PM.

The magazine contains two more radio features.  First of all, the Tracy Twins comic shows the boys receiving a radio control airplane that Grandpa insists on operating without a license.  Of course, he gets busted as an FCC helicopter and car swoop in.  Fortunately, he gets off with a warning.

Finally, the Boys’ Life Radio Club had three offerings.  For just 20 cents, they would send out the Radio reprint book containing reprints of earlier articles, along with a free log book.  One dollar would get 60 QSL cards.  And for no cost, the club would send any licensed ham operator scout or scouter a card identifying the bearer as an emergency service ham.

Ninety years ago this month, the December 1928 issue of Boys’ Life carried this picture of Nat Pomeranz, 2APD, of Brooklyn, New York. When a September hurricane devastated Puerto Rico, the Navy’s station was destroyed, but a hasty emergency setup was made. Pomeranz was the first to pull in their weak signal and establish a communications link with the mainland.

The accompanying article noted that the Boy Scouts were in the process of setting up a radio network which could be of service not only in times of emergency, but in establishing closer contact between various troops.

Sixty years ago this month, the December 1958 issue of Boys’ Life magazine ran the rules for the 1959 annual Boys’ Life radio contest.  The contest was set for February 15-28.  To make sure scouts got their sleep, contest time was limited to 12 hours per week.

The contest featured separate categories for hams and SWL’s.  In the Ham category, the top prize was a National NC303 receiver.  The SWL top prize was a Hallicrafters S-85.