1951 In-House Telephones

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This handsome set of telephones was constructed 75 years ago according to plans contained in the May 1951 issue of the British Practical Mechanics.

As with many electronic projects of the era, it was constructed from available surplus components, namely handsets with a low-impedance ear piece, carbon microphone, and push-to-talk button.  The button was pressed into service as a call button for the other station.  This example was constructed for use in a cinema, hence the signal light.  But the author pointed out that a bell could just as easily be used.

For larger setups, a switchboard could be constructed to connect the various stations.



1951 Arvin 446P Portable

If you were a radio dealer 75 years ago, you were gearing up for the summer sales season. And for the radio dealer, that meant portables. As this ad points out, vacationers and week-enders would need entertainment during their outdoor activities, and this Arvin model 446P portable radio would fit the bill. It weighed in at only 4 pounds, and the superheterodyne circuit and improved PM speaker would pull in the stations and provide excellent tone.

But while listening to the radio outdoors, your customers would need someplace to sit, and for that, the Arvin model PR-200 folding chair would serve their needs well. Interestingly, Arvin did indeed make chairs, in addition to radios.  You could sell the radio and chair as a package deal for only $22.50, and still make a good profit.

The ad appeared in the May 1951 issue of Radio-TV Retailing.



Making Radio Service Calls Profitable: 1926

Shown here a hundred years ago is a service man from Dreher Radio Company, New York, or possibly the proprietor himself, Fred Dreher, shown in the May 1926 issue of Radio Retailing. Dreher had originally considered the service side of the business to be a necessity, but not necessarily a profit center. But after crunching the numbers, he came to the realization that, if done right, service could be a big profit center for the company. It wasn’t just the service itself. But when the customer was in the home, it was the perfect opportunity to sell accessories, such as batteries and tubes.

The key takeaway was that the service man, in order to make the endeavor profitable, had to see himself as a salesman of accessories, and not just a service man.



1941 Sussex, England SWL Station

Eighty-five years ago this month, the May 1941 issue of Practical Wireless showed this efficient shortwave listening post of a listener in Sussex, England.

The SWL is identified only as Member number 5490 of the magazine’s listener’s club, perhaps since he was awaiting call-up at a telegraphist in the Royal Navy. The member notes that his normal receiving speed was 32 WPM, but he had managed to copy a few pages of French text at 42 WPM. He notes that he was able to copy 53 WPM, but only for one minute.

The main receiver was an Eddystone All World Two. The backup rig was homemade, and there was also a portable, which could be fed into a 2-1/2 watt amplifier. The gramophone pickup could be fed to the same amplifier. When reception was not good, he could feed the microphone or gramophone into the amplifier for some home broadcasting.



1956 7-Transistor Communications Receiver

Seventy years ago this month, the May 1956 issue of QST featured what it dubbed the first all-transistor amateur-band receiver, handsomely housed in this 10 x 5-1/2 x 3 inch cabinet. Designed by Carl Heinen, W0MCN, the 7-transistor set covered the 15 through 80 meter ham bands. The editors of the magazine noted that it was not a toy, but instead a set that compared favorably to the lower-priced communications receivers on the market.

It was powered by four flashlight cells, which would keep it running “indefinitely.” The author scored some transistors from his employer (Honeywell, we learn in the above-linked obituary) and set to work. He initially tried to get it to work on 10 meters, but found that mixer performance fell off sharply between 24 and 27 MHz.

Since the bandswitch had an extra contact available, he decided to include the 31-meter broadcast band, to provide a source of Latin American music for which he always had a weakness. The set had an I.F. of 455 kHz and, of course, included a BFO. The author noted that the BFO should be shielded, as it put out harmonics as high as 7 MHz.

Audio output was sufficient for loud volume through headphones, but not quite enough for a speaker.



1951 Hydrogen Warning

Seventy-five years ago this month, the May 1951 issue of the British Practical Mechanics carried this important warning about using compressed gasses. Always check and make sure you have the right one!



National NC-46, 1946

Eighty years ago, this young man was exploring the short waves with his National NC-46 receiver. As the ad points out, he might be listening to ships or planes, to hams, or perhaps to a distant baseball game. While it looks like he’s an SWL right now, it would be a great start to his ham shack after he gets a license.

The receiver was ten tubes, and retailed for $107, so it would have meant cutting a lot of lawns. The ad appeared in the May 1946 issue of Boys’ Life magazine.



Re-Introducing MathDoctor.net

George Albert Wentworth.

George Albert Wentworth. Wikipedia image.

For about ten years, I have owned the domain MathDoctor.net.  When I first acquired it, I slapped some content there, planning to update it when I got a Round Tuit.  That time has finally come, and I’ve started putting some useful content there.  In particular, I now have a full course in Algebra 1, which I think is suitable for homeschoolers, or perhaps just parents wanting to brush up on basic principles in order to help their kids with homework.

The course is based upon the text written in the late 19th century by George A. Wentworth, pictured at the left.  You can view the original text at the Internet Archive at this link.  For most of the first half of the 20th century, most kids used this text to learn algebra.  And those kids are the ones who got us to the moon, so Ol’ Wentworth must have been doing something right.

The language has been updated somewhat.  And when Wentworth’s word problems talked about bushels of oats, we’ve done our best to make them more relevant.

The site is still under construction, and I hope I can update it faster than the last update took.  But the Algebra course is now ready to go, although I intend to add more exercises (and answers) for all of the chapters.  I will also add additional complete courses.  You can go directly to the Algebra course at this link.

If you know a parent who’s grappling with helping Junior with their algebra, please share the link.



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Farnsworth CT-59 Portable, 1941

This broadcast listener is pulling in a favorite program on her portable Farnsworth CT-59, a 5-tube 3-way (AC/DC/Battery) set. The photo appeared in the May 1941 issue of Radio Retailing, and the accompanying article reminded readers that customers were already preparing their summer vacations, and dealers would be well advised to make sure they had a portable to take with them.



Review of Ripley’s Believe It Or Not Wisconsin Dells

We were recently passing through the Badger State on the way home from the Michigan QSO Party, and decided that the trip warranted a slight detour through Wisconsin Dells, one of the state’s most famous tourist destinations.   The main attraction is the scenic gorge along the Wisconsin River, but seemingly since time immemorial, the town has been the home to many tourist attractions.  These include destination-class water parks, but also a number of more kitschy “tourist traps.”  (And when we say tourist trap, we mean that in the kindest possible sense.  For example, we consider Wall Drug, a beloved national landmark, to also be a tourist trap.)

In my opinion, the best tourist trap in Wisconsin Dells is Ripley’s Believe It Or Not.  It is billed as an “Odditorium,” and features a myriad of artifacts of the odd or unusual.  I have to admit that I’ve always been a sucker for Ripley’s.  As a kid, we didn’t have the daily cartoon feature in our newspaper, but it was a well-known brand.  My family visited a similar museum in California, and Believe It Or Not books were readily available.  For example, I owned a copy of the 14th Series, shown here.  The egg shown on the cover illustrates the fact that if you hold an egg thusly (on the fingers, and not on the palm) and try to crush it with your fingers, it is impossible.

The preface of the book included a number of interesting facts about the number 14.  The one that sticks with me over the years was about the French surname “Quatorze.”  Like many surnames, this one represented an occupation.  And the original Monsieur Quatorze was a professional 14th guest.  If you were holding a dinner party and discovered to your horror that you had an unlucky 13 guests, you would just call Monsieur Quatorze, who would save the day.  It’s a good job if you can get it, believe it or not.  As a space filler, Ripley sometimes included unusual names found on grave stones, and this book contained the grave of Green Bean, found at the Bean family cemetery.

Now that we have the Internet, we can verify that there are two Green Bean graves, one of which is unmarked, although neither is located at the Bean family cemetery.

It had been at least ten years since I visited the Wisconsin Dells Ripley museum.  It appears that they’re constantly making changes, and it did appear to be completely different from what I had experienced before.  While the museum did cater to all ages, the modern version is probably more appropriate for young children than it previously was.  In the past, the focus was more on things that younger children might have found scary.  While they are still there (such as what is probably the most famous artifact, the shrunken head), they are not displayed quite as prominently.  Also, the main mode of getting to the lower level of the museum (where most exhibits are located) consists of slides.  There is also a stairway for older fans who don’t wish to slide.  While it is not prominent, there is apparently an elevator, so all of the museum, other than a couple of very small portions, are fully accessible to persons with disabilities.)  There’s also a ball pit tunnel, and guests are encouraged to touch all of the exhibits (unless they’re behind plexiglass, such as the shrunken head).  So even though adults will find the museum good for an hour or two of browsing, even young kids will have fun.

The museum isn’t particularly cheap.  The admission for adults over 10 years old is $29.11, and $21.83 for children 3-9.  Despite a valiant search on my part, there don’t appear to be any discounts or coupon codes.  (There are a couple of package deals to visit Ripley’s and other attractions owned by the same franchisee.)  But it’s still a good value, as those of all ages will find themselves entertained and educated for a couple of hours.

We, of course, scoured the museum looking for oddities relating to radio history.  Unfortunately, we are sad to report that we didn’t find any.  For that, you’ll need to keep following this blog.  I did learn one interesting fact, however, about one of the topics that sometimes discuss, namely, Scouting.  There was a life-size replica of the tallest human to ever live, Robert Wardlow.  What I didn’t know was that Wardlow was a Boy Scout, or to be specific, the tallest Boy Scout in history, since he was 7’4″ as a 13-year-old Scout.

If your travels take you to Wisconsin Dells, the Odditorium is worth a visit.  If, like us, you were just passing through the area on Interstate 90-94, it’s worth stopping for a couple of hours.  And if you are making the Dells a destination, it’s certainly worth including this attraction.

 

 



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