1963 GE Clock Radios and Phono

1963Feb27If you were in the market for a radio or phonograph 60 years ago, you could pick up one of these at the local drug store, although the ad admonished you not to call it that.

Shown here are the GE Model 1530 stereo phonograph, and models C465 and C467, and models C433 and C434 clock radios.  The radios are typical “All American Five” circuits.  Come to think of it, my first ever radio of my very own was a similar model (but without the clock) also purchased from a local drug store.

The ad appeared in the Washington Evening Star, February 27, 1963.



War Emergency Radio Service, 1943

1943FebRadioRetailing2We’ve previously discussed the War Emergency Radio Service (WERS), a wartime civil defense service set up to harness the talents of amateur radio operators who were otherwise off the air for the duration of World War II.

Eighty years ago this month, the February 1943 issue of Radio Retailing takes a look at how the local radio dealer might fill part of the need in supplying equipment and expertise. The illustration shown above is a mobile repair facility, and undoubtedly some of the personnel shown here service radios as their civilian job as well.

In addition to radio operators, a role likely filled by hams, the dealers might fit into one of five other categories: Maintenance, procurement, construction, repair, and training.



1953 Three Tube Shortwave Receiver

1953FebRadioElecSeventy years ago this month, the February 1953 issue of Radio-Electronics carried this circuit for a simple three-tube regenerative receiver for the shortwave bands. The magazine lamented that many younger hams and SWL’s grew up in an era of chrome-plated super-dooper receivers, and didn’t realize that for about $15, they could construct a receiver that would outperform communications receivers selling for nearly $100.

With plug-in coils, the set tuned 3.5 – 30 MHz, using three 1T5 tubes. The first served as RF amplifier, the second as regenerative detector, and the third as audio amplifier. The construction details were rather limited, but the magazine did warn that such a receiver was susceptible to hand capacitance, which could be minimized by a metal chassis and an RF choke added at a strategic location in the circuit.



1983 Grocery Prices

1983Feb24For a look at grocery prices 40 years ago, this ad appeared in the Pittsburg Post-Gazette on February 24, 1983. There’s been a lot of inflation in 40 years, and according to this online inflation calculator, one dollar in 1983 was the equivalent of almost exactly $3 today. So ground beef was only $1.29 per pound, but that’s about $3.87 today.

The price of eggs aren’t shown, but I bet they would be a bargain compared to today. If you were making dinner 40 years ago, what would you buy?  You can click on the image to see a larger version.



1938 Distance Learning

1938FebRuralRadioThe students shown here are now almost 100 years old, but 85 years ago, they were learning about the atmosphere in science class. These students, Marian Oakley, Henry Kehrer, Hannah Esterman, and Bruce Kunkel, were receiving instruction in person from science specialist Harry A. Carpenter, but hundreds of other students were taking part in the same class by radio, on station WHAM.

For several years, the Rochester, NY, schools had been conducting this sort of distance learning via radio. Afternoons, radios would be switched on in classrooms both in and outside of Rochester, and students would get their lectures by radio. Lessons could include well known guest speakers, music programs featuring the Rochester Civic Orchestra, and programs on books presented by the Rochester Public Library. The photo shown here appeared in the February 1938 issue of Rural Radio, and the students shown here attended Frank Fowler Dow School No. 52.



1938 Utah Junior Transmitter Kit

1938FebPM3Eighty-five years ago this month, the February 1938 issue of Popular Mechanics featured this 25-watt CW transmitter kit, the Utah Junior transmitter from Utah Radio Products of Chicago. The kit sold for under $16, not including tubes, meter, and crystal. The transmitter used a 6L6, with the RF stage mounted on one chassis and the power supply mounted below it for a neat design. To make assembly foolproof, small components came pre-mounted on the chassis.

You can read more and see a nicely restored example at W0VLZ’s blog.



Burns’ Electric Shop, Lancaster, WI, 1923

1923Feb21If you lived in a small town or out in the country a hundred years ago, you probably heard of radio. And if you were lucky, you probably got a chance to hear one. But it would have seemed risky to buy one. Would you be able to pick anything up, or would it wind up being a waste of money.

Burns’ Electric Shop in Lancaster, Wisconsin, took away the risk, as shown in this ad in the Grant County Herald, February 21, 1923. They would put a set in your house for five days at their expense, and then the radio would sell itself. It probably wasn’t a big risk. The town was in southwest Wisconsin, and eastern Iowa was a hotbed of radio activity at the time. At night, those stations would come in loud and clear, as well as stations in Chicago and more distant places.



1938 Directional Antenna

1938FebPM1This gentleman is adjusting his directional antenna, using an interesting design shown in the February 1938 issue of Popular Mechanics.

1938FebPM2The antenna itself consists of two doublet antennas at right angles. The combined antenna is fed with a four-conductor feedline, and down in the shack is a switch, allowing for nine different combinations. While this design wouldn’t work with today’s ubiquitous coaxial cable, it probably did help boosting your signal in one direction, or nulling out some interference.

It appears to be a commercial product from TACO, the Technical Appliance Corp. of Philadelphia, which was purchased in 1961 by Jerrold, and then by General Instrument Corporation in 1967.



1938 Phonograph & Mead Glider Ki-Yak Kit

1938FebPS1If you were in the market for a portable source of music 85 years ago, you couldn’t go wrong with this portable electric phonograph, shown in the February 1938 issue of Popular Science.

It weighed in at only 18 pounds, and measured a mere 7.5 x 11 x 18 inches. It featured a crystal pickup and six-inch speaker driven by a three-tube amplifier, and it could play either 10 or 12 inch records.

The magazine didn’t mention the name of the manufacturer, and the price is likewise not given. There was a Depression going on, and coming up with the purchase price might have been an issue for some readers. But the same issue of the magazine solved that problem, thanks to the ad below. You could assemble kayaks (dubbed Ki-Yak by the manufacturer, Mead Gliders, 15 S. Market St., Chicago)

1938FebPS2

The price is not shown here, but the kit apparently retailed for $15.75. One could assemble it at home in a few nights, and undoubtedly sell it for a tidy profit.

If you’re in the market for a similar phonograph today, they are indeed available, and the modern ones aren’t limited to 78 RPM.  And if you want a kayak, they’re relatively inexpensive as well, all put together. As with everything, you can get them on Amazon:

 



Some links are affiliate links, meaning this site earns a small commission if you make a purchase after following the link.

1948 Metal Detector

1948FebPracMech

The plans for this three-tube metal detector appeared in the British magazine Practical Mechanics 75 years ago this month, February 1948.  The general circuit is similar to inexpensive metal detectors sold today, although the modern versions are much smaller as they are transistorized.

According to the author, many coins, rings, and other metallic objects, some of considerable value, were found on the sites of old Roman camps in Dorset.

The general idea of this circuit is quite simple.  It  consists of an RF oscillator, the coil of which is held near the ground.  When that coil comes into the proximity of metallic objects, the change in permeability results in a change of frequency.  This type of metal detector can work quite well, but it does require a bit of practice.   The detector makes a loud squeal, and the best way to use it is to tune it carefully so that the squeal just barely disappears.  If it’s done carefully, the detector can be very sensitive.

Many people have bad experiences with the types of inexpensive metal detectors shown here, some of which look like toys, but that’s because they didn’t take time to carefully adjust them and practice.  It’s best to start out indoors, toss some metallic objects on the floor, and then carefully adjust the metal detector and see how it reacts when the coil is brought near the item.  After some practice, you can take it outside and look for treasure.  The metal detector above, with which Roman coins were found, is actually the equivalent of any of these detectors, and with a bit of practice, one of these will give similar results.

1948FebPracMech2

 



Some links on this site are affiliate links, meaning this site earns a small commission if you make a purchase after following the link.