This wistful look at the possibilities for postwar home appliances appeared in Radio Craft magazine 75 years ago this month, November 1944. The idea had been sent in to the magazine by George Predential of Schenectady, NY, and penned by cartoonist Frank Beaven. One wonders what they would think of modern bread machines, some of which are shown below.
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Shown here is Sgt. Donald L. De Velder of Rochester, NY. He was stationed in Panama, and spent fruitless months trying to find a radio. After finding nothing but the opportunity to spend a fortune on an old beat up piece of tin, he decided to take matters into his own hands and build his own.
Together with Staff Sergeant Emmet Ellis of Nigara Falls, NY, he was able to assemble this two-tube set. It ran off the 110 volt line cord, and a short antenna running down his foot locker allowed him to pull in the local Armed Forces station, as well as other Panamanian stations. The cabinet was made of plywood, and almost all parts were scrounged up from junk heaps. The only expense was for the 32L7 tube, which set the Sergeant back $2, although he was quick to point out that he could have found it for 69 cents back in the States.
The set used two dual tubes. A 12B8 served as RF amplifier and detector. The 32L7 provided audio amplification to drive a PM speaker, with the other half of that tube serving as rectifier. The set was written up in the November 1944 issue of Popular Mechanics. Sgt DeVelder died in 2007 at the age of 83.
Andreas Bertnes. From the book Vestfold i Krig by Egil Christophersen, courtesy of http://www.slektsdata.no.
Today marks the 100th birthday of Andreas Olaf Bertnes, LA6R, of Sandefjord, Norway. We previously reported the 75th anniversary of his death in 1941. He was arrested in Norway by the occupying Germans for illegally using a radio transmitter.
The QST item we originally reported noted that he was 25 years old at the time of his death and a medical student. Based upon that information, we assumed that he was born in about 1916. It appears, however, that he was younger than reported at the time of his execution. According to the Norwegian government’s publication “Våre falne 1939-1945” (Our Fallen 1939-1945), he was born a hundred years ago today, 21 October 1919. He was the son of Dr. Olaf Bernes, born 1873, and Dorothea Saxlund, born 1885.
Andreas gave his life for his country on 4 December 1941. He was one of four amateur radio operators executed during the war for their resistance activities. He had been active on the air before the war. He was listed in the “calls heard” listings by an English SWL on 20 meters in November 1937 and and April 1938.
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For the first 93 years of statehood, the Iowa Legislature managed to carry on the people’s business without resort to electronic sound amplification. Back then, politicians presumably understood that to be successful, they needed to learn how to project their voice. But in 1939, they decided to solicit bids for an audio amplifier for the House chambers. The low bidder was Lloyd Moore of Moore’s Radio Shop, Chariton, Iowa, and he recounted his experiences with the project in the October 1939 issue of Radio News.
The first step in successfully completing the project was the preparation of a viable bid. To do this, Moore met with members of the legislative committee tasked with overseeing the project. The committee was made of of non-technical men, none of whom had any experience with sound work. A few had used a studio mike, but they were unfamiliar with the problems of having the speakers and microphone in the same room. After Moore’s patient explanation, they readily understood the feedback problem. It was explained that they would need to talk within about eight inches of the mike and use a good voice.
The sealed bid was submitted, with an adequate cushion to allow for the best equipment and a reasonable amount for the labor involved. Moore’s bid was chosen, and he set to work.
Act appropriating payment. Google books.
The amplifier was over engineered. The power transformer was three times as large as necessary. Four stages of amplification were used. Gain was not excessive, so as to avoid any problems with microphonics. Five inputs were used, each switchable from the main console. One mike was mounted at the Speaker’s desk and one at the clerk’s. Three additional microphones were located in front of the floor, with cords long enough to extend to any speaker’s desk. Future plans called for additional microphones throughout the chamber, with a switch box used in place of the three existing mikes.
The amplifier was placed near the clerk’s desk, giving the Clerk the ability to turn microphones on and off and set the levels. They were particularly lucky that one of the clerk’s staff was “a girl, who had been an operator in a broadcasting station,” and her skill proved invaluable.
The author was honored to address the body in the use of the new system, particularly with regard to what to do in the case of feedback, and noted that this was probably the only time he would address such a distinguished body.
The legislator shown above at the microphone is Leo Hoegh, who was elected in 1936. He resigned in 1942 when called up for duty in the National Guard. He rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and served in Europe. After the war, he returned to Iowa where he served as Attorney General from 1953-55 and Governor from 1955-57.
In 1957, President Eisenhower named him the head of U.S. Civil Defense and a member of the National Security Council. He was in the backyard bomb-shelter business for a time, before returning to the practice of law. He retired in 1985 and died in 2000.
Eighty years ago today, the October 1939 issue of Life magazine detailed the adventures of 21 year old hitchhiker Will Parker of San Francisco, who thumbed his way to New York thanks to the 29 motorists who stopped to give him a lift. He was accompanied by his friend and amateur photographer Hart Preston who got the pictures of the trip for Life.
As you can see from the photo above (and from several other photos where it was visible), Parker brought with him a portable radio, which the magazine attributed as being one of the secrets of his success. In addition to the radio, Parker brought an electric razor which he used daily. He also bathed almost every day, resulting in a clean-cut appearance.
According to the magazine, the radio was the inspired touch. Drivers would ask Parker about it, made conversation about it, and found themselves persuaded to take him along.
Drivers were eager to talk about themselves and give their opinions about politics. By the time he reached New York, all drivers thought that Roosevelt should run again, but only a third said they would vote for him. Most were in favor of staying out of the war, and almost all of them thought it had been a shame to change the date of Thanksgiving.
75 years ago this month, the October 1944 issue of Radio News carried this interesting testimonial for National receivers.
The 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.
Many 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.
The 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.
This 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.
