Book Review: War Diaries by Volodymyr Gurtovy

My friend Volodymyr “Wlad” Gurtovy, US7IGN, has published a book about his experiences living in Kyiv, Ukraine, in the middle of a war. Wlad, like me, is an attorney, and lived a middle-class existence similar to mine, until Russia invaded eastern Ukraine in 2014. He and his family then relocated to Kyiv, but with Russia’s 2022 invasion, he was once again in the middle of the war. His wife and teen son and daughter evacuated to Poland, where they were able to find an apartment, thanks in part to the generosity of friends in America and elsewhere.

He remained behind, partly because he was prohibited by law from leaving, but mostly because he felt the need to stay behind and defend his native land.

The most compelling part of his book is his account of the mundane details of life in the middle of a war. Wlad lives in a fifth-floor apartment building in the middle of a city of 2.8 million (prewar population). Some days, the supermarkets are open, and some days they are not. The mail continues to go through, but some days, it’s too dangerous to go to the post office to pick it up. Power, water, and heat are sometimes turned on, but they’re often unavailable. When he needed dental work, he was surprised to find the dental office near his home open, staffed by dental students. There are even a few accounts of his visits to court on behalf of some pro bono client. To me, the descriptions of how he navigates this dystopia are fascinating, especially since his life prior to the war wasn’t too different from mine. Many who follow this blog have an interest in emergency preparedness, and I’m sure they will also find this book compelling.

Of course, since Wlad is a ham, radio is a main character in the story. He gets much of his information from the broadcast radio, and one of his main roles has become that of radio repairman so that others can remain in touch when their radio has problems. He also recounts listening in directly to Russian pilots and both Russian and Ukrainian troops.

As the title suggests, it’s written in chronological format, and you’ll have a hard time putting it down, wondering what’s going to happen the next day.

The book is available at Amazon, as a paperback, hard cover, or Kindle.

If you feel moved to provide additional assistance to Wlad’s family, please see our crowdfunding campaign to help with their needs at GoFundMe or GiveSendGo.

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1962 Westinghouse Saranade Part 15 Doll

Sixty years ago, the editors of Popular Mechanics did some testing of the latest toy offerings to see how they would hold up to rough use. The results appeared in the November 1962 issue.

One of the most intriguing toys they tested was the $40 Saranade doll from Westinghouse, shown above. But Saranade was much more than a doll. She was what one site called a “creepy Part 15 doll.” She came complete with her own record player (which played all speeds, 78 through 16 RPM). But it wasn’t just any record player. The player had a “DOLL – PHONO” switch. In the phono position, it played just like any other record player. But in the doll position, the speaker cut out, and the sound came out of a speaker strategically placed in the doll’s stomach.

The player had a one-tube amplifier inside, and when the switch was flipped, it became a transmitter on 180 kHz, in the Part 15 Lowfer band. In fact, it’s the only commercial product that I can think of that took advantage of this band. The doll contained a receiver, apparently transistorized, tuned to this signal. The doll contained neither tuning nor volume control. Fine tuning was accomplished with a control on the record player.

As with other toys reviewed, both the doll and record player survived drop tests, and were pronounced by the editors to be suitable for rough service at the hands of kids. Other items reviewed were the megaphone and perfume kit shown below, as well as the General Electric model EF 150 5 transistor shortwave receiver kit, which retailed for $29.95.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving from OneTubeRadio.com!

A hundred years ago, Thanksgiving 1922 was to be a radio Thanksgiving, as shown in this ad in the Washington Times, Nov. 26, 1922. There were 35,000 radio receivers in Washington, and to celebrate the holiday, the Continental Electric Supply Co., 808 9th St., was sponsoring a concert on station WIL at 3:00 PM.

Ten Commandments for Radio Fans: 1922

A hundred years ago, radio was definitely becoming a phenomenon, as evidenced by making the cover of Popular Science, November 1922.

The magazine contained ten commandments for the radio fan, authored by Jack Binns, described by the magazine as America’s most popular writer on radio. Many of the commandments are common sense, such as “learn how to use your tuner properly,” although most are outdated, such as “do not use a loop aerial with a crystal detector.”

The second commandment admonishes the reader not to make the ground connection with a gas pipe, but it’s not for the reason you might think. It turns out that gas pipes are insulated at certain points, so it just wouldn’t work very well.

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Hitler’s First Mention in the New York Times: Nov. 21, 1922

A hundred years ago today, November 21, 1922, Hitler first made the pages of the New York Times, page 18 to be specific. The newspaper’s Munich correspondent concluded that the “Nationalistic anit-Semitic movement (the word “Nazi” didn’t appear in the article) has now reached a point where it is consiered potentially dangerous, though not for the immediate future.”

The paper noted that the anti-Semitic propaganda had reached a point where “a number of prominent Jewish citizens have sought asylums in the Bavarian highlands, easily reached by fast motor cars, whence they could hurry their women and children when forewarned for an anti-Semitic St. Bartholomew’s night,” (which happened eleven years later).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kristallnacht

But the paper reassured readers that this couldn’t happen: “Several reliable, well-informed sources confirmed the idea that Hitler’s anti-Semitism was not so genuine or violent as it sounded, and that he was merely using anti-Semitic propaganda as a bait to catch masses of followers and keep them aroused.”

Interestingly, the article presupposes that reader’s have some knowledge of Hitler, as the article doesn’t bother to use his full name.

If you have a New York Times account, you can view the full article at the link above. Otherwise, you can find a copy at this link.

Meissner 2-CW Transmitter, 1952

Seventy years ago this month, the November 1952 issue of Radio News introduced this transmitter for the novice. While the article contained the full details for constructing the set, it was really a kit, the Messner Model 2-CW. According to that company’s 1954 catalog, the kit retailed for $40, plus $5.50 for a plug-in coil for the desired band. Normally, the novice would start out on 80 meters, with the included coil, but as they upgraded, they could buy coils for 40, 20, 15, or 10 meters.

The transmitter used a single 6L6 tube, plus a rectifier, and was self-contained with a built-in power supply. Cathode keying was promised to keep chirp to a minimum.

1922 Drone Delivery

Amazon might be starting drone delivery any day now, but as we can see here, it’s not a new idea. A hundred years ago this month, the cover of the November 1922 issue of Popular Wireless showed Major Raymond Phillips’ “famous” method for wireless controlled aerial mail. The issue included part of a series written by Major Phillips with some of the technical details of his system.

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1947 Police Radar

Seventy-five years ago this month, the cover of Radio Craft magazine for November 1947 showed this Connecticut State Police officer studying traffic speeds courtesy of a radar, the Electro-Matic Speed Meter from Eastern Industries Ltd. of Norwalk, CT.

The complete unit consisted of three parts, the transmitter-receiver with built-in antenna, the indicator-amplifier, and a power supply. The radar used the doppler effect, since the reflection from an incoming object shortened the wavelength, and this could be measured and correlated with speed.

A number of the units were being tested, and the magazine noted that those tests would probably result in the adoption of radar speed control throughout the state.

According to the magazine, Connecticut speeders protesting that they were only doing forty would soon find themselves arguing with radar.

The complete apparatus weighed in at only 45 pounds, and could operate on either 120 volts AC or 6 volts DC. The radar signal on 2455 MHz was about 0.1 watt. The magazine noted that the radar required an FCC station license, but since it was so easy to operate, no operator’s license was required.

Electronics Illustrated: 1958-1972

Fifty years ago this month, I got some sad news in the mail.

A couple of years earlier, as previously recounted here, I had been perusing the Publishers Clearing House mailing (which contained numerous personal notes written to me by my personal friend, company head honcho Robert H. Treller) and was intrigued by a magazine named Electronics Illustrated. I subscribed, and I think the magazine was one of the main things that spurred my interest in radio and all things electronic.

In fact, I even got my name in the magazine, as one of the finalists in the magazine’s “Win the World” contest, for submitting QSL card from shortwave and broadcast stations I had heard, as shown here in the March 1972 issue. I actually hadn’t submitted that many cards, and I was a little bit surprised that I had done as well as I had. And I was just a little bit proud to be a ten year old with my name in a national magazine. I figured the next year, I’d be able to easily win a valuable prize by employing a slightly better strategy.

But unfortunately, there would be no next year. Fifty years ago, the magazine delivered the sad news shown above, in the magazine’s November 1972 issue, which was to be the last. The magazine put the best spin on it as possible, and announced it as a “merger” with Mechanix Illustrated. But I knew better. I predicted that the “Electronics Illustrated” name would soon disappear completely, and it did. They had to placate us loyal subscribers by sending something, and they did it by continuing the subscription with Mechanix Illustrated. That was a good magazine, but it wasn’t the same.

The editor seemed to even concede this, in the full announcement buried deep in the last issue, in which he conceded that he would “miss the club-like atmosphere and special insider’s language.” He hit the nail on the head. I felt like I was a member of the club and had learned a new insider’s language, but now the club was to be disbanded. Bad news on the doorstep, indeed.

Fashion Pointers for Winter Fuel Shortages

The young woman shown here is about to turn 100, and she’s probably thinking about the prospects for fuel shortages this winter. But she’s undaunted and prepared for them, because she’s been through it before.

In 1942, there were also fuel shortages brought on by the war. The radiator was turned down many places, but according to the November 16 issue of Life Magazine, this girl learned a few tricks for keeping warm from her grandmother. Today, she’s probably teaching her grandchildren and great grandchildren the same pointers. The secret to stay warm was then, and is now, quilted fabrics. This young woman is showing off her quilted rayon taffeta slacks, quilted booties, and a closely knit long-sleeved sweater.

After you have your winter wardrobe picked out, don’t forget to check our earlier post about other preparations for winter power outages.

While we don’t know the name of the model, the photographer was Walter Sanders. The German-born photographer emigrated to the U.S. after being hounded by the SS for non-Aryan activities. As an enemy alien, his cameras were initially confiscated shortly after Pearl Harbor, but he was soon back in business.