Eighty years ago this month, the September 1941 issue of Radio Retailing carried this ad for Emerson’s lineup for the coming model year.  It turns out these would be the last models made until 1946, as civilian radio and phonograph production ended for the duration on April 22, 1942.

Civilian Technical Corps member training, 1941. Wikipedia photo.

The August 1941 issue of Radio Service Dealer carried this article describing something I had never knew existed, the Civilian Technical Corps, an Anglo-American quasi-military organization. It was essentially a branch of the British military manned by American civilians, primarily working in radio. Members wore a uniform identical to the Royal Air Force.

The magazine described the Corps as being comprised of skilled craftsmen who performed non-military duties in Britain. American technicians were being recruited to maintain and repair radio equipment. By placing Americans in these slots, Englishmen were freed up for combat duty.

“There are a number of men, who, although perfectly loyal American citizens and willing to die in the defense of their country, would prefer to retain their civilian status. Enlistment with the Civilian Technical Corps qualifies a man for deferment from the draft, and does so with the full consent and approval of President Roosevelt. All local draft boards have been authorized to put CTC volunteers in Class II-B, for it is felt that this civilian occupation is of notable importance to our own National Defense. Enlistment in the CTC thus enables a man to satisfy his patriotic urge even though his is not serving in the armed forces.”

Pay ranged from $24.12 to $38.65 per week, but the magazine noted that this was actually quite generous, since food, clothing, and shelter were all provided. It was thus the equivalent of a salary of $50 to $75 per week, and also offered free passage to England.

Interested men were directed to apply to the British Consulate General in New York.  From this site, it appears that 21 members of the Civilian Technical Corps died in the line of duty, 19 of whom were lost in the Atlantic on October 15, 1941.  Perhaps some of those men were going off to England in response to this article,  and were indeed perfectly loyal American citizens and willing to die in the defense of their country, albeit in a civilian status.

Seventy five years ago this month, the August 1946 issue of Radio Retailing carried this ad for Eveready batteries.  The wartime years were ones of shortages of many consumer products, and radio batteries were difficult or impossible to find.

Millions of portable radios had been manufactured since 1939, but a million of them were out of service, mostly because no batteries were available.  Summer was prime time for portables, and Eveready reminded dealers that if they put the batteries on display, they would sell themselves.

In August 1941, the Germans were busy invading the Soviet Union, but they would have realize the futility if they had known that the Soviets were quite undaunted, and were busy putting together crystal sets. As you can see from the August 1941 issue of Радиофронт (Radio Front) magazine, that is exactly what they were doing. The diagram shown above is clearly a crystal set, and most of the parts appear to be homemade. Despite what the Germans could throw at them, the Soviets were still able to pull in the stronger stations thanks to simple receivers such as this one.

As you can see from the diagrams below, the tuning was accomplished with a variometer, using two spiderweb-style coils hinged together. And as long as they could find a suitable mineral, the Soviets could easily put together the detector shown below.

Seventy-five years ago, this ham was just getting back on the air after a wartime hiatus, thanks to a two-tube two meter transmitter described in the June 1946 issue of Popular Mechanics. The magazine noted that for the ham licensed prior to Pearl Harbor, as well as the newly licensed, the simple set would provide an efficient way of getting on the air for local contacts while the big rig was still under construction.

The set used a 6N4 to serve as oscillator, with a 7C5 modulating. On receive, the 6N4 became a superregenerative detector, with the 7C5 serving as audio amplifier. Also shown above is a 300 volt power supply, although another supply, such as a vibrator supply in a car, could be used to power the rig. The recommended antenna was a folded diple constructed of 300 ohm twin lead.

Seventy-five years ago, the summer of 1946 was the first summer after the war, and Americans were ready to enjoy some leisure. The June 1946 issue of Radio Retailing reminded its readers that this meant there would be a big demand for portables, and manufacturers were in the process of delivering the first new sets.  The season would last through fall, and dealers were advised to stock up.

There were currently 24 models on the market.  Some of these included a record player, with a maximum price of $149.50.  Of the 16 straight portables, the average price was $35.43, with the lowest being $17.50.

The magazine noted that only half of the new receivers were from old-name manufacturers.  The remainder came from postwar startups.