Sixty years ago, this lucky girl was probably one of the first on her block to have her very own transistor radio, thanks to the construction project in the December 1964 issue of Popular Electronics.

It was a superheterodyne, and pulled in stations as well or better than most portables on the market. She could even plug it into a phonograph to get loudspeaker volume.

She was able to build it herself, but she had a little secret–most of the work was already done for her. It included a pre-assembled, pre-tuned, sealed IF stage. Other than that, it required only one transistor as the local oscillator, plus a few discrete components.

Fifty years ago this month, the November 1974 issue of Radio Constructor showed how to put together this simple one-transistor regenerative receiver.  The transistor was “reflexed” to allow a bit more gain, but it still required a crystal earphone.  For a bit more volume, an optional AF amplifier using an additional transistor was recommended, but the set could be built either way.

Using plug-in coils, it covered 1.5 to 36 MHz, and was said to be simple to operate.

Eighty-five years ago, the cover of the September 22, 1939 issue of Radio Guide showed actress June Travis and her primate friend listening to a favorite program on their portable radio.  Travis was heard on NBC radio in the series “Affairs of Anthony” and “Waterloo Junction.”

The magazine carried a guide to the then-available portables, which noted that these sets had swept listeners off their feet.

As promised, here’s the answer to yesterday’s quiz.  As you see, once you see the trick, it’s quite easy.  The three battery/bell pairs are wired in series.  Buttons are wired to close the respective circuits.  The quiz appeared in the September, 1924, issue of Science and Invention magazine.

Here’s a bonus question:  How could you wire up another button that rings only bells 1 and 3?

A hundred years ago this month, the September 1924 issue of Popular Science explained another concept that, it turns out, never caught on. In the early 20th Century, there were those who proposed simplifying the calendar. While there were other proposals, the Delaporte calendar is shown here, and the magazine predicted, incorrectly, it turns out, that it might go into effect by 1928.

The year was divided up into 13 months of 28 days each. Each started on a Sunday. The mathematically astute will realize that this only accounts for 364 days in the year. For that reason, one extra day, which had neither a month nor a day of the week assigned, was tacked on to the end. Every four years, a second such day would be tacked on at the end to account for leap year.

The idea obviously died out without many traces, but the League of Nations was exploring the idea as late as the 1930s. Their files on the subject are available for free download, and are interesting reading.  A leading proponent of the idea was George Eastman.

A considerable part of those proceedings involve religious reaction to the idea.  It appears that the Roman Catholic church was cool to the idea, but didn’t reject it out of hand.  In America, most mainline protestant denominations had no objections, although Jews, Seventh Day Adventists, and Seventh Day Baptists expressed strong opposition.

A hundred years ago this month, the September 1924 issue of Hugo Gernsback’s Science and Invention magazine carried this ad for The Press Guild, Inc. As you can see from the ad, your tuition of five dollars (if you act fast) will set you up as a reporter, earning between $40 and $125 per week. Or, you could increase your income materially as a correspondent for a newspaper or magazine writer.

You would learn at home, under the tutelage of one Henry J. Brockmeyer, on the editorial staff of the New York Evening Post. The six lessons would teach you what it would take years to learn working on a newspaper.

While Brockmeyer is put forward as the expert behind the school, this legal brief reveals that one of the principals of the school was none other than Sidney Gernsback, the older brother of the magazine’s publisher. (It takes pains to note, however, that Hugo was not connected with the business.)

It reminds us, for some reason, of the Ted Baxter Famous Broadcaster’s School. Of course, if you want to learn how to be a writer, we have previously provided advice, free of charge. And to add credibility to your new writing venture, we recommend that you buy one of the reporter’s notebooks shown here.

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Eighty-five years ago, this gentleman is teaching himself Morse code thanks to a one-tube code oscillator shown in the August 1939 issue of Popular Mechanics.

It used a single 12A7 tube, and for the filament, it used a “curtain burner” line cord to drop the voltage to 12 volts.  The article suggested learning the code by sending from the attached chart, and then having someone else, preferably someone already skilled at the code, to send faster and faster.

Seventy-five years ago, Cordes Electric Co., at the corner of Union and Natural Bridge, St. Louis, MO, discovered a great way to sell televisions–to rent them out. If a customer was on the fence, the store learned that the best way to close the sale was to enlist other family members to convince the customer of the need. To do that, they had to get the set into the house, and they did that by renting 10 inch sets for $10.50 per week. The rental fee could be applied to the purchase of a new set, although this was for a limited time, to encourage a quick decision. In most cases, the customers kept the set, or traded it for a larger model.

In rare cases, the customer decided that television wasn’t for them, and had it taken back. But even in those cases, the customer called back later to have it returned. Once again, it was the family members who clamored for its return.

The picture an accompanying article appeared in the August 1949 issue of Radio Retailing.

Eighty-five years ago, this happy homemaker is listening to a program while working in the kitchen, thanks to a four-tube TRF set described in the August 1939 issue of Popular Mechanics.

The set could be put together for only $4.75 (less tubes and cabinet), and would operate on 110 volts, either AC or DC. It put out two watts of audio power.