1974 British Video Game

1974JulPracWirelessFifty years ago, this duo were among the first Britons to enjoy playing a video game, thanks to the project shown in two issues of Practical Wireless, starting in July 1974. The game, dubbed Tele-Tennis, appears to be a clone of Pong, which first hit arcades in 1972. The home version didn’t hit American Sears stores until 1975, so these two were way ahead of the curve. The construction article was careful, however, to avoid the “Pong” name.

The magazine noted that the television, the most sophisticated instrument in most homes, wasn’t living up to its potential being used only to watch Bugs Bunny or Coronation Street. It noted that the game was sweeping pubs and clubs in America, and that the British experimenter could duplicate it.

Initially, the author was afraid that the circuit might be too complex for the amateur constructor. But thanks to a careful design, the use of IC’s, and a printed circuit board, the project could be undertaken by anyone with reasonable soldering ability. Both the circuit boards and cabinet were available for purchase.

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1964 Four Tube Radio

1964JulEIThe plans for this handsome four-tube set appeared sixty years ago this month, in the July 1964 issue of Electronics Illustrated. The four tube (19EA8, 12EQ7, 35DZ8, and 50C4) set was a souped-up version of the “all-American five.” Since two of the tubes were dual tubes, it outperformed five tube sets, since it had separate oscillator and mixer.

It was handsomely built into this book holder, with the radio chassis on one side, and the speaker on the other side.

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1964 Tesla Coil

1964JulPETo take home the blue ribbon in the science fair in a spectacular way, you can’t go wrong with an old-fashioned Tesla coil, and the July 1964 issue of Popular Electronics tells exactly how to make one. The most exotic part you’ll need to track down is a neon sign transformer, but thanks to the internet, you can find one on Amazon.

The capacitor is home made, from sheet metal and a glass dielectric.

The article warns that the voltages used in the project can be lethal. The secondary of the neon transformer is 12,000 volts, and the voltage at the coil can be up to a quarter million volts.

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Radios for Hospitals, 1924

1924JulElecRetailA hundred years ago this month, these young patients were having the cheer of the outside world brought to their weary bedsides thanks to a radio. The July 1924 issue of Electrical Retailing reminded readers that hospital committees, “well-to-do patronesses” and individual families were buying radio for sick rooms and wards. The magazine noted that headphones were best if other patients needed sleep, but that sets with speakers could give joy wholesale to the children’s ward.

A great market–and a great humane service–awaited every dealer who sold radio.



Radio at the Beach, 1924

1924JulRadioAge2Between canoe trips and swims, this young radio fan is pulling in a program from a nearby hotel as she relaxes at the beach in Atlantic City. The picture appeared in the July, 1924, issue of Radio Age, which asks readers whether they wished they were in Atlantic City.



1949 Cookie Jar Radio

1949JulPM1949JulPM3This gentleman is happy listening to his favorite program, but the rest of his family is also happy, because he is listening with headphones. This is because, according to the July 1949 issue of Popular Mechanics, the easy-to-build set is intended for “that member of the family who frequently wants to listen to radio programs whch are not particularly popular with the rest of the group.”

It’s conveniently built in to a cookie jar, and even includes a reading lamp. In many radio circuits incorporating a lightbulb, the lamp was there to drop the voltage for the filaments. But in this case, the lamp was there merely for lamp purposes, and was completely independent of the radio circuit, since the set used a 117N7GT tube, whose filament ran off the line voltage. One half of the tube served as rectifier, with the pentode section serving as regenerative detector.

With a piece of wire tossed on the floor, the set would pull in the local stations, and with a good outdoor antenna, it would bring in the distant stations with surprising volume and clarity.

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1924 Radio Fan

1924ScienceInventionA hundred years ago, this young radio fan is listening to her, well, radio fan. The receiver was constructed into a fan which could be used for cooling. But upon connection to an antenna and ground, programs could be heard over the headphones.

The illustration appeared in the June 1924 issue of Science and Invention, which did point out that if the fan was used for cooling, the detector might get knocked out of place.



Viewing British TV in Holland, 1964

1964JunRadioConstructorSixty years ago, British television had at least one viewer in Holland, namely, Jan Adama, PA0FB of the Hague. He tuned in to British telecasts with an antenna 45 feet above ground level. For UHF, he used a 52 element antenna, and a German UHF converter.

Since the British television signal had the audio modulation on a different frequency than used by his continental TV, he used an external Hallicrafters receiver connected to the IF stage of the TV.

The article above is from the June 1964 issue of Radio Constructor.



Kodak Instamatic Cameras, 1964

InstamaticSixty years ago today, Kodak ran this ad in the June 26, 1964, issue of Life Magazine for its then-new Instamatic line of cameras. The Instamatic 100 shown in the ad could be had for less than $18. The line proved immensely successful. You could see it for yourself at the Eastman Kodak Pavillion at the New York World’s Fair, or at any Kodak dealer.



ZN414 AM Receiver Chip, 1974

1974JunPEWe previously featured the ZN414 integrated circuit, which contains all of the electronics for an AM receiver in one chip. Fifty years ago, the June 1974 issue of Popular Electronics gave some more ideas for using the chip. The simplest was the receiver for the AM broadcast band shown in the first page of the article. With just a little bit of modification, you could turn it into a receiver for WWV.  The most complex project suggested was a receiver for longwave weather broadcasts.

If you are interested in similar designs, the modern replacement for this chip is the the TA7642, which is readily available on Amazon.

If you want someone else to handle the parts procurement, you can’t go wrong with this Elenco AM radio kit, which uses two IC’s, one for the radio receiver, and one for an audio amp to drive the speaker. (And don’t forget the 9 volt battery and this soldering kit, which contains everything you’ll need to put the kit together.)



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