Eighty years ago this month, the cover of the August 1944 issue of Radio Mirror featured singer Jeri Sullavan, who, according to the magazine, was known by GI’s as the girl with the pin-up voice.

She was born in Jersey City, NJ, but the family moved to Bremerton, WA, when she was in her teens. Her first singing job was at a Bremerton ballroom, which paid $1.50 per evening, but she was discovered in San Francisco when some friends asked her to sing with the Bernie Cummins band, and she sang “I’ll Never Smile Again.” Her start in radio came on WSM in Nashville, and at the time of publication, she was a regular on CBS. She was in demand as a performer at camps and canteens. According to the magazine, she lived alone in an apartment two blocks from the studio with her four dogs.

Eighty years ago, this New Jersey war worker was doing her part to assemble a 2-1/2 kilowatt transmitter for the U.S. Army Signal Corps. Her factory, Press Wireless, made these large transmitters, which were too large for mass production. Each unit was put together by hand, and the guiding principle was to make them rugged. The photo appeared in the August 1944 issue of Radio News.

Eighty years ago, the August 1944 issue of Practical Wireless announced the introduction of the bare-bones Wartime Civilian Receiver. With British industry concentrated on wartime needs, civilian radios were getting hard to find. And since the government recognized the need to be able to provide information and entertainment to its subjects, it authorized this design.

Two sets were available. Since domestic longwave broadcasting had been suspended during the war, they tuned only medium wave. The plans were made available to all manufacturers, and the sets were dubbed Utility Radios.  In fact, “Utility” was almost a brand name, since they got that moniker from the government’s earlier venture into clothing, which used the Utility brand name,

The mains-powered set retailed for just over thirteen pounds, with the battery set selling for just under twelve.

Eighty-five years ago this month, the August 1939 issue of the British publication Practical Mechanics showed how to build this crystal set, which it dubbed a “stand-by arrangement for emergencies.”

The magazine noted that popularity of crystal receivers was on the upward swing. One possibility was that this was due to the splendid quality of reproduction. But it noted that it probably had something to do with the fact that they were not dependent on batteries or the mains supplies. They were ideal for “A.R.P. shelters.” The article didn’t say what “A.R.P.” stood for, but it apparently meant “air raid protection.”

With more and more high powered stations on the air, it was important that a crystal set be selective, and this one was designed with that parameter in mind.

Of course, the following month, Britain was at war, so building one of these for the ARP shelter was probably a prudent idea.

Eighty years ago this month, the July 1944 issue of Radio News featured on its cover this U.S. Army Signal Corps photo of a radio operator reporting troop movements from his concealed position. It noted that his radio was a late model FM transmitter-receiver designed for armored vehicles. The magazine noted that the set was de-mountable and occasionally set up as shown here for field service.

The plans for this attractive and compact receiver were contained in the June 1944 issue of the British magazine Practical Wireless. Even though there was an invasion of Europe going on, the magazine reassured that the parts were available from their advertisers at a low price.

The set gave good reproduction, and the volume was found to be ample for all normal occasions, and it was said to be a good family receiver.

The B+ was supplied by a 120 volt battery, with filament and grid bias batteries also required.

While her sons, son-in-law, and granddaughter were off to war, Mrs. Louise Oeser does her part by calibrating radio transmitters for GE at Schenectady, NY.

This item appeared in the May 1944 issue of Radio Craft.

Eighty-five years ago, all of the countries that would soon be at war were gearing up for the inevitable propaganda battles, and the May 15, 1939, issue of Life magazine explained some of the technical issues involved. The Germans had an advantage when it came to broadcasting to South America, since their beam could be only half the width required by the Americans to cover the major population centers.

But as far as broadcasting to the respective homelands, the Americans had the advantage. They could blanket Europe with a narrow beam, whereas the signal from Berlin would need to be extremely wide to cover all of the United States.

Eighty years ago, somewhat to the surprise of many in the industry, the British government lifted the sartime ban on radio receivers installed in cars. This was welcome news to those who still drove a car for essential purposes. And it meant that the price of secondhand auto radios in dealer’s stocks suddenly increased in price.

Because both automobile and radio dealers were swamped with work, it probably meant that the owner of a car who wanted a radio installed would need to do it himself. This, the May 1944 issue of Practical Wireless contained an article outlining the basics. The car radio installation shown above appeared on this issue’s cover.

The magazine did stress the need for a license.  The license for the receiver in your home would not cover the additional set in your car, and you would need to secure a license at the post office before tackling the installation.