1980 Grocery Prices

If you were shopping for dinner 45 years ago, these are the prices you could expect to pay. While some might appear low, remember that there’s been a lot of inflation since 1980. According to this online inflation calculator, one dollar in 1980 was the equivalent of $3.92 in 2025 dollars.  So for round numbers, you can multiply these prices by 4.  This ad appeared in the September 10, 1980, issue of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette.

If you were shopping for groceries in 1980, what would you plan for dinner?



1965 QRP Transmitter

This ham sixty years ago, probably the article author, Clare Green, W3IKI, at the key of a QRP rig described in the September 1965 issue of Electronics Illustrated.

He notes that anyone can turn on a couple hundred watts and make some contacts. But you could also use the telephone or the U.S. Mail. He discovered the challenge of QRP (low-power operation), and came up with this 1/2 watt transmitter for 80 meters. It was notable for having a stable VFO, meaning that you weren’t stuck on a single frequency.

He notes that the contacts have to be clean on your key, because the low voltages wouldn’t be forgiving of the added resistance.



1965 Wireless Headphones

Sixty years ago this month, the September 1965 issue of Electronics Illustrated showed how to make these wireless headphones, for silent listening without any cord. The audio source you wanted to listen to was fed to a loop of wire going around the room, forming the primary of an audio transformer. The secondary was mounted on the headphones themselves, in the form of a coil wound on a ferrite core.

The one-transistor circuit here could be used with high impedance headphones. For low impedance headphones, a slightly different circuit, with two transistors was shown. As a kid, I experimented with a similar setup, using a telephone pickup coil for the receiver. Some assistive listening systems, such as for hearing aids, or for providing commentary in museums, use a similar system.

 



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1955 Hi-Fi System

Seventy years ago, the cover of Popular Electronics, September 1955, depicted this hi-fi enthusiast and her setup. The magazine included a special audio and hi-fi section with a wealth of information on the subject.

The artist was Ed Valigursky, whose work we’ve previously seen.



Taking the Radio Camping, 1925

A hundred years ago, you could get back to nature, but still be connected to the outside world, thanks to the magic of radio. This group is pulling in a program from their campsite, and appear on the cover of Radio Broadcast magazine, August 1925.



1950 Zenith Cobra-Matic Record Changer

Seventy-five years ago today, the August 28, 1950, issue of Life magazine carried this ad from Zenith announcing the “Cobra-Matic” record changer. A couple of the consoles including it are shown below. “Cobra” is the shape of the tone arm, and “Matic” means that it’s fully automatic.

And it was planned for the future. Who knew what other speeds and sizes of records might show up, so this one was continuously variable for 10 to 80 RPM, to be compatible with all known records, and any that might show up. Record size was also adjustable, so this changer was set for anything.



1945 Emerson Postwar Radios: Model 502

Eighty years ago, production of civilian radios was still banned, but the public and radio manufacturers knew that the end was in sight, and manufacturers were gearing up to meet the pent-up demand. This ad appeared in the Detroit Evening Times, August 26, 1945, and shows what Emerson had planned.

Unlike some similar ads, which were a little bit unclear about what exactly they would be selling, this one hit it pretty close, and featured the 5-tube model shown here. It’s identified in the ad as the model 502.   To make sure you got one of the first, you could go to your local Emerson dealer and place an order.

The set was popular.  My family had an Emerson 503 in the kitchen. This was a more or less identical model, but with a wooden case rather than Catalin. When it stopped working, it was given to me to “fix,” although I wound up simply dismantling it. Many years later, I got another example on eBay, and got it working by replacing the capacitors. Mine is shown here.  (If you look carefully, you can see the dial light, as it was playing when I took this picture.  Like most AA5’s, it’s a pretty good receiver.



Teleservice Hobby 3T 29 MHz Transceiver, Italy, 1965

Sixty years ago, this young Italian made made the cover of Radiorama magazine
https://www.worldradiohistory.com/INTERNATIONAL/Radiorama/Radiorama-1965-08.pdf
demonstrating this portable transceiver, Model Hobby 3T, from Teleservice, via B. Galliaria 4, Turin, Italy. The radios did not require a license, but operated on 29.5 MHz with an output power of 5 mW. They had a range of a few hundred meters.



Trailer Radio Shop, Elkhart, IN, 1940

Shown above is the radio service shop of Charles Hurt of Elkhart, Indiana, in 1940, shown here in the August 1940 issue of Service magazine.  He had been in business for a number of years without really making a living, and realized that he had to make some changes. He figured out that to be profitable, he had to make a profit on every single transaction, and he established a bookkeeping system to make sure that happened.

He also realized that there was fierce competition in his area, any one of which were able to press their advantages and force him out of business. The answer was to expand his service area and do it efficiently. Therefore, he purchased the trailer shown here, made it his shop, and adopted the slogan “service at your door.”

Hurt is also shown in this illustration in the December 1940 issue of National Radio News, which notes that the arrangement was also advantageous to the customer, as they avoided charges for pickup and delivery. This item also reveals that for AC power, the trailer was equipped with a dynamotor and storage battery.



1940 Portables

Eighty-five years ago, this couple is relaxing at the beach while they show off some of the latest personable portable radios available on the market. They include models from RCA Victor, Automatic, Emerson, Sonora, Majestic, and Philco. The picture appeared on the cover of Radio Retailing, August 1940.