1963 Grocery Prices

For a look at grocery prices in 1963, this ad appeared in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette sixty years ago today, March 21, 1963. (You can click on the image for a larger version.) In those sixty years, the dollar has lost purchasing power, and a dime in 1963 was the equivalent of about a dollar today. Specifically, according to this inflation calculator, the 1963 dollar would be worth $9.78 in 2023.

So the coffee looks like a bargain at 49 cents a pound, but that’s the equivalent of almost $5 today. Bread is two loaves for 39 cents, but that’s almost $2 a loaf in today’s money. Most of the venerable Swanson TV Dinners were about 59 cents each, although if you were on a budget, the macaroni and cheese TV dinner would set you back only 39 cents.

They no longer come in the familiar aluminum tray (which, of course, was useful for many other purposes once the meal was done), but the modern equivalent of what was my favorite is still available. And adjusted for inflation, the price is about the same:

If you were shopping for groceries 60 years ago, what would you be having for dinner?

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1938 Projection Television

Eighty-five years ago this month, the March 1938 issue of Practical Mechanics discussed the state of the art in British television prior to the War. Shown here was a method for projecting a television image to an auditorium audience of hundreds.

As shown below, Tat the receiving end, a continuous loop of film was used. The image was exposed onto the film, which passed through a developer and dryer, after which it was projected. Then, the emulsion was washed off the film and a new layer added so that the film could be again exposed.

The following year, on September 1, 1939, television in Britain was shut down for the duration.

1948 Ham Station

This nicely equipped ham station appeared on the cover of Radio News 75 years ago this month. It’s compact because part of it, the 400 watt BC-610E transmitter is hidden away in another room and is being operated remotely. It’s being driven by the Hallicrafters HT-18 exciter shown on the top shelf, which by itself put out only about 4 watts.

The receiver, which this unnamed ham is tuning, is the Hallicrafters SX-43. Rounding out the station is a panadaptor and wire recorder.

Parallel Tracking Turntable, 1963

Shown here is a design that never really caught on, although it appears that there are a few purists who still cling to it. This is the parallel tracking turntable, also known as linear tracking. The advantage is said to be less wear and tear on your records, since the outer half of the groove doesn’t need to do the extra work of pushing the tone arm.

This illustration appeared on the cover of the British Popular Wireless, March 1963, and the accompanying article showed how to build it. If you don’t want to go to that trouble, and you’re an audiophile purist, you can purchase this one. One thing we can say for sure is that the advantage of such a turntable is even greater than oxygen-free speaker wire.

1943 Home Headphone System

The woman at left might look like she’s been hypnotized, but she’s actually just listening to a particularly interesting radio program, thanks to the whole-house headphone system described in the March 1943 issue of Popular Mechanics. Twisted lamp cord is carefully run through the walls, to open-circuit headphone jacks in whatever room they are desired. In the living room, the wiring is connected to the radio, and the magazine provides details on how to tap in.

1973 Electronic Calculators

The March 1973 issue of Popular Science reported that in the past year, a million Americans had become owners of electronic calculators, and the prices had fallen below a hundred dollars for the basic models. In 2023 dollars, that hundred dollars would be the same as $673, so it still wasn’t a trivial proposition. But they were quickly becoming an item that people could consider owning.

As I’ve recounted previously, a few months later, I recall uncharacteristic jealousy of the kid sitting in front of me in one of my classes whose parents coughed up $79 for his very own pocket calculator. It was just three years later when I was shocked to see the TI-30 scientific calculator in the store for only $29, and I quickly snatched it up, and it saw me through high school. By then, four function calculators were in the under-$10 category, and it was clear that they were around for the long haul. Teachers still said, “but you won’t always have a calculator with you,” but it was soon clear that even they were wrong.

The magazine included a buyer’s guide, and for the newbies, even showed the exact key strokes necessary to carry out everyday math such as balancing your checkbook (a largely forgotten art, it turns out).

Today, of course, the calculator is a practically free commodity item, as evidenced by some of the ones below, all available with free shipping:

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1973 National Scout Jamboree Arts & Sciences Competition

I remember seeing this notice (or possibly one like it from another source) fifty years ago in the March 1973 issue of Boys’ Life magazine.

As an aspiring scientist and Tenderfoot Scout, I was, of course interested in this opportunity to showcase my scientific knowledge before a national audience. The quadrennial National Scout Jamboree was to take place that year, and I was going. Normally, mere 12-year-old Tenderfoots did not participate in this event, but 1973 was an exception. That year, the Jamboree was being held at two separate locations, in Pennsylvania and Idaho. 1973 was the only year it was split that way. And 1973 also had the distinction of being open to regular troops. Normally, individual scouts sign up and are assigned to a provisional Jamboree troop. But in 1973 the BSA made the good decision, never repeated unfortunately, to open it up to all scouts to attend along with their normal troop and leaders. (Among the other events was the “wide game”, about which I’ve previously written.)

By March of that year, we were already signed up, and this announcement showed another opportunity. The Jamboree was to host an “Arts and Sciences” competition–a science fair combined with an art exposition. I don’t even remember the art part of the event, but I did sign up right away for the science fair. My exhibit was Atomic Energy, and I cobbled together a few interesting objects to put on display on my assigned 2-1/2 by 4 foot table. I remember borrowing a Geiger counter from the county civil defense department, and I had an illustrated brochure from the Monticello nuclear power plant. It was set up in a tent somewhere on the Jamboree grounds. After setting it up, I did visit a couple of times, although there wasn’t a lot of traffic.

I didn’t come home with a blue ribbon, but I did earn a red ribbon. In retrospect, it was probably a participation trophy, but it’s still a prized possession. Interestingly, this was before I got my ham license, and I never did run into KJ7BSA, the Jamboree’s special event station.

First Amateur Radio Lunar Echoes: 1953

Shown here, on the cover of the March 1953 issue of QST, are W4AO and W3GKP, carefully aligning the W3GKP antennas in preparation for bouncing their 144 MHz signals off the moon.

The feat had been accomplished by the U.S. military a few years earlier, but it was much more challenging with amateur power levels of 1000 watts. The first echoes came in 1950, but the two hams kept the early results under wraps and continued until a definitive echo was shown, which happened in early 1953, on 144 MHz.

The details of the operation were carried in that issue of QST. That first EME (Earth-Moon-Earth) or “Moonbounce” signal required a great deal of technical expertise, but both technical innovation and collective experience have made the feat much more achievable, with many stations logging more than 100 countries. For an idea of the relatively minimal amount of equipment now needed, see W5RZ’s 2016 article about portable EME from a park, in which he made contacts with Europe by bouncing signals off the moon from an antenna strapped to a charcoal grill.

Uncle Fester: The Early Years

Shown here, a hundred years ago today, in the Washington Evening Star, March 9, 1923, is film star Jackie Coogan, talking from WGY radio in Schenectady, NY. The device shown is the pallophotophone, used for recording sound on film.

Uncle Fester. Wikipedia image.

If the actor’s name rings a bell, it’s because he went on to play Uncle Fester in the Addams Family. Perhaps his trademark image with the lightbulb in his mouth was inspired by the pallophotophone.

1943 “Little Giant” Broadcast Receiver

The March issue of Popular Mechanics typically carried the plans for a receiver dubbed the “Little Giant,” and despite the war, the March 1943 issue was no exception. The couple shown above are putting the finishing touches on the set.

Wartime parts shortages were taken into consideration, and the set could be constructed with many parts found in the junk box. For example, the coils were wound on the cardboard forms retrieved from an old flashlight battery.

The circuit was a simple 3-tube TRF set, using a 12K7GT as RF amplifier, 12J7GT detector, and a 70L7GT AF amplifier driving a PM speaker. With a good antenna, the set would pull in stations a thousand miles away, but still had good selectivity for use even in a city with many stations.

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