Category Archives: Scouting

1965 Emergency Crystal Set from Boys’ Life

In an earlier post, we looked at a one-transistor CONELRAD receiver featured in Boys’ Life magazine in 1956. And today, we look at a simpler variation on the same theme, this time from 50 years ago this month, in Boys’ Life magazine January 1965.

Once again, the Scout’s obligation to Be Prepared is inspiration for this electronic construction article. It’s a basic crystal set, but the focus is on being prepared, under the title EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS.

A terrified family, clad in pajamas, is apparently confronting rising flood waters. The text warns that “in an emergency, communication is important and communications preparedness should be a part of your ‘family alert’ plan.” It goes on to warn that if electric power is out, a crystal set may be the only way to keep in touch with latest news, disaster reports, and emergency instructions.

The page details how to build the radio using a galena detector with either a safety pin or piece of coiled wire. It acknowledges that a germanium diode can also be used but “isn’t as much fun” because it lacks the thrill of finding a sensitive spot on the crystal.

No author is listed, and the construction details are a bit lacking in detail. (In particular, no mention is made that the insulation has to be removed from the top of the coil in order to contact the slider.)

If you were a Scout 50 years ago, you were prepared. And a flood was nothing. You needed the additional thrill of finding the sweet spot on the crystal.

All of the parts for this set are readily obtainable. If you’re having trouble finding any, you can find them on my crystal set parts page.

1956 Boys’ Life CONELRAD Receiver

In the mid-1950’s, a transistor radio was an expensive luxury. This presented a problem for an impecunious Boy Scout who wanted to Be Prepared for anything. In the words of Boys’ Life magazine for January 1956, “in case of enemy attack, it is assumed that power lines will be down, and battery-operated radios would be a necessity. But batteries wear out. So what you need for Conelrad service is a receiver that doesn’t use B batteries, yet will produce a usable signal when needed.”

The article pointed out that a crystal set might be pressed into service, but wouldn’t produce very loud signals. Fortunately, Boys’ Life had a solution to the problem, in the form of this one transistor set that was well within the construction abilities and budget of a Scout. The set shown here would run on two penlight cells with clear headphone volume for well over a thousand hours. And in a dire emergency, since the set consisted of a crystal detector with one-transistor audio amplifier, the article gave instructions on how to bypass the amplifier and simply use it as a crystal set with reduced volume.

The set is build on a board, with instructions to mount it in a cigar box (painted black, according to the directions), which left ample room for storing the antenna wire, ground lead, and headphones. Since the set was designed for CONELRAD use, the article instructed to find the local broadcast stations closest to 640 and 1240 on the dial, tune them in, and then mark the dial position for future emergency use.

The circuit calls for a FS2500A transistor, which is a general purpose NPN transistor, apparently manufactured by Bogue, also known Germanium Products Corporation. (See the substitution guide in the 1957 RCA Transistors and Semiconductor Diodes.)

The article was reprinted for a number of years in the Boys’ Life Radio and Signaling reprint booklet. Occasionally, the “Hobby Hows” column of Boys’ Life would answer a letter from a Scout asking where to find the plans for the receiver, who was directed to the reprint booklet. Therefore, I suspect more than a few scouts built one of these receivers, and I’m sure they were put to good use for entertainment purposes. The builders of these sets were undoubtedly the first kids on their block to own a transistor radio. Fortunately, none ever had to be used for the intended purpose of tuning in to CONELRAD alerts.

The author of the article was Howard G. McEntee, W2SI. McEntee was the author of the Radio Control Handbook, published by Gernsback Publications in 1955 and updated over the years.

Merry Christmas Hans: 1939

The December 1939 issue of Boys’ Life magazine carries an interesting short story, “Merry Christmas Hans” by Philip Lightfoot Scruggs. It’s full of technical inaccuracies, the author’s unfamiliarity with Amateur Radio, and even countless FCC rule violations. But it’s an interesting look at how Amateur Radio was viewed 75 years ago, and it pretty conclusively puts to rest the assertion that the Boy Scouts are somehow designed to militarize boys.

The hero of the story is Dave Smith, W2KSM. (It looks like the call was really in use, as shown by what looks like a Sweepstakes entry in this 1938 QST. And it was held in 1954 by one Howard M. Ames Jr.)

Young W2KSM, a 17-year-old Eagle Scout, decided to get on the air on Christmas Eve to wish a Merry Christmas to his DX friends in France, England, Belgium, or Holland. Much to his surprise, he heard the voice of Hans Schuler in Germany, where Amateur Radio was not allowed. (Amateur Radio actually did exist in Germany, and even continued somewhat during the war. Germany was one of the few belligerent countries where there were still a few hams on the air, even during the war. For more information, see my earlier post.) The story contains an editor’s note pointing out that the story was written before war was declared. Dave asked Hans what would happen if he was caught, and Hans replied, “the concentration camp at least.”

Still, the two continue their conversation, as Dave tells of freedom, and Hans tells of the repression in Germany, and even explains how he can quickly dismantle the station and antenna if the Gestapo got too close. Another Scout in New York City just happens to be listening to the contact, and alerts his father, a network executive, who spontaneously decides to broadcast the contact nationwide where millions, including Dave’s parents, listen to the boys talk.

Dave tells about Boy Scouts, and Hans tells of his experience preparing for war in the Hitler Youth. Dave concludes the contact by reciting the Scout Oath and Law, “that is our Scout Oath and Law, Hans–what we try to live by,” as Hans prepares to hastily disassemble his clandestine set.

Dave walks downstairs wondering whether his family will believe it, only to hear the end of the broadcast in which he and Hans had a starring role.

Click Here For Today’s Ripley’s Believe It Or Not Cartoon

1914 Boy Scout Human Cannonball

I don’t believe that “human cannonball” is currently an approved activity in the BSA Guide to Safe Scouting. But a hundred years ago, these Scouts were apparently preparing to shoot one of their number (or at least pretending to) from a cannon at Fort Independence, Massachusetts. The photo appeared in the December 1914 issue of Boys’ Life.

ASK YOUR PARENTS to explain this, if you do not understand it.

I suspect many aspiring young philatelists and numismatists got their start as I did on the pages of Boys’ Life Magazine. This clip comes from the November 1974 issue. I earned my first merit badge, Coin Collecting, about this time, and I’m sure I carefully examined this page when it came out. I was a good customer of many of those advertisers, including the Littleton Coin Company, the Littleton Stamp Company, and the Mystic Stamp Company. It turns out that those companies are very much still in business, but Littleton acquired Mystic along the way. Today, coins are sold under the Littleton name, and stamps are sold under the Mystic name. The Littleton Coin ad shown here notes that it is for serious coin collectors only, and I certainly fit that description.

I still have many of those treasures tucked away, such as the Hong Kong One Cent Note, and the Japanese Invasion Currency. (Although it wasn’t until many years later that I learned that the money was never intended for Hawaii, as I think I was led to believe. It turns out the notes denominated in dollars and cents were actually used in Malaya.)

As was customary, most of these companies sold “on approval.” An offer was advertised at a very reasonable price, and the buyer also received “approvals,” meaning additional coins or stamps that had to be either paid for or sent back. This was undoubtedly the source of great confusion by many young scouts, so each issue of Boys’ Life carried the explanation shown here. In case the explanation wasn’t understood, it concluded with the admonition: “ASK YOUR PARENTS to explain this, if you do not understand it.”

Interestingly, this issue’s cover story is a feature about a sports hero named O.J. Simpson. It details the inspiring story of how he managed (up to that point) to avoid a life in crime, and concludes, “when he still asks, ‘tell me what You want me to do,’ you feel that he already knows the answer and now is searching only for the means.”

Click Here For Today’s Ripley’s Believe It Or Not Cartoon

Eagle Scouts, Class of 1944

Seventy years ago today, November 19, 1944, these four young men were featured in the Chicago Tribune after having become Eagle Scouts. For the first time in the history of their community, five Scouts had become Eagle at the same time.

The Scouts were John L. Guyer, George L. Otis Jr., Harrison C. Stearn Jr., Richard Wallace Jr., and John H. Hafner. Mr. Hafner, who was a student at a military academy at the time, was not pictured.

If you know one of these Scouts, or you are one of them, I would love to hear from you about your reminiscences about Scouting and your experiences over the years. You can contact me at clem.law@usa.net.

Radio Detector for a Dime

Radio and Boy Scouting share a long history, and in the early days of Scouting, radio played an important role. The October 1914 issue of Boys’ Life magazine shows this detector, guaranteed to bring in stations from 100 to 500 miles away, for only a dime. All that was needed was a telephone receiver and a wire on the roof. Even though this seemingly arcane piece of technology (consisting mostly of a lump of galena) would set the aspiring young wireless enthusiast back only a dime, he would probably find that the more familiar telephone receiver would be harder to come by. But that too was available, for fifty cents. But for sixty cents, the scout would have a radio that would pull in a strong signal.

1914 Kite Parachute

A hundred years ago, the September 1914 issue of Boys’ Life included these plans for constructing a box kite which would release a parachute. After the kite was aloft, a small runner was released and was blown up the string by the wind. When it got to the top, the parachute would release.

A 1950-Era One Tube Radio

Photo, WS1K

Jon, WS1K, sent me these pictures of a very nice find: A regenerative receiver that he found under a dealer’s table at an antique show in Brimfield, MA. He originally thought it was the receiver from the 1950 ARRL handbook, but after finding this site, he realized that it was closer to the Boys’ Life set that I wrote about earlier.

Photo, WS1K.

Pictures of his receiver are shown here. In addition to the receiver, he got the AC power supply to replace the A and B batteries. It also came with a schematic diagram, which is shown here:

From the way this schematic is drawn, it looks like whoever drew it copied it from the actual constructed radio, rather than vice versa. This circuit is very similar to the 1950 Boys’ Life set, but there are a few variations. For example, the component layout is different (it’s basically a mirror image of the BL set). It also has plug-in coils rather than the fixed coil in the BL set. (Jon believes the coils are for the broadcast band and about 5-6 MHz.)

Unlike the Handbook version, this set uses a transformer to couple the two stages, just like the BL version. It does have a few minor differences, however. For example, the BL version uses only two of the terminals on the regeneration control. Jon’s version uses all three. Both circuits have the cathodes of the tube hooked to one filament pin. However, the BL version calls for the connection to be made to pin 8, whereas Jon’s version calls for the connection to be made to pin 7. There’s no electrical difference, but the use of the different pin indicates that the builder probably wasn’t using the BL schematic. Jon’s version also has another variable capacitor, presumably for fine tuning.

As you can see in the schematic, the hand-drawn diagram of Jon’s set is entitled, “Dan Drummond’s Set.” Despite a little bit of sleuthing, neither of us was able to figure out who Dan Drummond was.

1934 Scout’s One Tube Radio

Shown here in the September 1934 issue of Radio News is Scout Robert Crockett of Troop 3 of the BSA Siwanoy Council, Pelham, New York. He is shown operating the receiver that he designed and built, based upon a design in an earlier issue of the magazine. His circuit uses a single type 30 tube and a handful of other components, all of which can be obtained fairly easily today. For ideas on sourcing the components, you can visit my page describing another 1930’s era receiver or my crystal set parts page. Full construction details are included in the 1934 article.

The author of the article was Robert’s “Scout Radio Examiner,” which presumably means Radio Merit Badge Counselor. According to this 1935 newspaper, Robert did go on to complete the Radio Merit Badge. The magazine article concludes by pointing out that as his daily Good Turn, the Scout would be glad to help anyone building the set with their problems, and that such letters can be sent in care of the magazine. The article notes that he had logged over 300 shortwave stations with the set.

According to the National Eagle Scout Association database, Mr. Crockett became an Eagle Scout on February 24, 1937. And according to this newspaper and this one, he was serving in the military in 1943 and 1944. According to his sister’s 1943 obituary, his service was as an Ensign in the U.S. Naval Reserve.

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