1952 One Tube Loudspeaker Set

Seventy years ago this month, the February 1952 issue of Radio Electronics showed how to put together this one-tube loudspeaker set for the broadcast band. The magazine noted that such a circuit had long been a favorite sport of the advanced constructor, but it was tricky, since much more gain and power was needed to drive a speaker.

The author actually used two circuits, shown below, and noted that the 1D8GT circuit performed best. In both cases, the tube was reflexed, meaning that it provided both RF and AF gain, and the RF stage used regeneration. The detector was the then relatively new 1N34 diode.

The circuit used permeability tuning, but noted that a variable capacitor would work equally well. A hinged cabinet was used, with the electronics in one half and the speaker and battery in the other.

Potassium Iodide for Nuclear Emergencies

Do not take any medicine unless directed to do so by a physician or public health authorities.

If you are reading this at the time of a nuclear emergency, then there are probably other priorities that are much higher than obtaining potassium iodide. Take care of those other priorities first. The following resources will provide you with useful information, and we recommend that you download them as soon as possible:

The author of this website is totally incompetent to offer any type of medical advice. Therefore, please do not take any pills that are recommended by this website, or any other website for that matter. You should only take pills that are recommended by your doctor, or other competent health authorities.

HHS Image.

But there could be some emergency situations where doctors or competent health authorities recommend that you take some particular kind of medicine. If you are unable to get that medicine because of the emergency, the medical advice won’t do you any good. Therefore, there are some medicines that it might be advisable to purchase before the emergency.

Can you think of a time when doctors were recommending a medicine, but that medicine was not available for purchase? Maybe some of our readers can think of an example.

In any event, it is possible that there could be a time when doctors recommend a particular medicine, but that medicine is not available. If that medicine is inexpensive now, then it would be prudent to buy some now. If your doctor tells you to take it at some later time, you can do so immediately. If you have extra medicine, you can give it to your friends and neighbors, if their doctor recommends it for then.

Potassium Iodide for Nuclear Emergencies

Potassium iodide (KI) is one medicine that your doctor might recommend in the event of certain nuclear emergencies. These could include a nuclear attack in your area, or even a nuclear attack in another part of the world. It could also include a Chernobyl-style nuclear accident or an attack against a nuclear reactor.

Nuclear radiation can, of course, cause many health problems, up to and including death. Potassium iodide can protect against only one hazard, namely exposure of your thyroid to radiation. In the big scheme of things, getting thyroid cancer many years later is a relatively small concern. If you’re old enough, you don’t have to worry at all, since you will die of old age before you get it. So if exposure to radiation is a possibility, then take precautions against the more serious risks before worrying too much about the future of your thyroid.

Thyroid. NIH image.

On the other hand, it is extremely simple to eliminate the risk of damage to your thyroid. If you flood your body with iodine before you are exposed to radioactive iodine, then the radioactive iodine will pass through your body harmlessly. But if you do not flood your body with iodine, then the radioactive iodine will collect in your thyroid, and you will potentially get cancer years later. So one concern during a nuclear emergency, albeit a rather minor concern in comparison to what’s going on, is flooding your thyroid with iodine.

Therefore, it is possible that some day, due to a nuclear disaster of some type, your doctor or public health authorities will recommend that you take 130 milligrams of Potassium Iodide. For example, according to the New York Department of Health, “if there is an emergency, you will hear an announcement from your local or state health officials. Your local health department will tell you when you should start taking KI and they will also tell you when you can stop taking it.” According to that site, the recommended dose for adults is 130 mg. Doses for children range from 16 to 130 mg, depending on age and weight.

You can read similar advice from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Centers for Disease Control, the Food & Drug Administration, the Department of Health & Human Services, and the World Health Organization. You can also find a good discussion at Nuclear War Survival Skills, and in this article written by a physician for laypersons.

What a well-organized government distribution might look like. VA image.

After a disaster in which your local and state health authorities tell you to take potassium iodide, the hope is that your Government will spring into action and distribute the potassium iodide to the public. For it to do any good, you need to take it before being exposed to the radiation. So you need to hope that your Government will spring into action very fast. They might, but it’s probably not something you can count on. And even if they spring into action fast enough, they might not have enough for everyone. So if you get yours from the Government, that might mean that some other person won’t get any. Therefore, it would be very wise to purchase it before the emergency. Fortunately, the cost of potassium iodide is low, and like everything else, you can buy it on Amazon:

Keep in mind that the adult dose is 130 mg, and if you are buying for only adults, that’s probably the most convenient size. If you need smaller doses, you can cut up pills, but it might be more convenient to buy smaller dose pills. Prices can vary, so shop around the various options to find the best option for you. You can probably buy potassium iodide from your local pharmacy. I don’t believe a prescription is required, but it’s probably up to the discretion of your pharmacist. But since it’s readily available on Amazon and other online sources, I would use one of them.

All of these products are available, and are intended for human consumption. It seems to me that it’s cheap insurance to buy it now, just in case your doctor or public health authorities tell you to take it. (Note: some health food stores sell potassium iodide supplements, but some of these have doses in the microgram range, which is much too low for radiation protection. Also, the amount of potassium iodide in iodized salt is much too low to provide any protection.)

A Consideration for Those With Small Children

Potassium iodide (KI) has a very bitter taste. This is generally not a problem, as long as someone is able to swallow a pill. For very young children, however, it might be necessary to cut a pill into small parts, and/or mix it with a liquid for them to drink. Because of the taste, it is possible that they will not be able to take the medicine. Therefore, if you anticipate this as a problem, you might consider purchasing potassium iodate (KIO3), which does not have a strong taste and can be mixed with food or beverages. For more information, see this site.

Update: Apparently, the FDA is not allowing sale of potassium iodate. For more information, see this site. Page 99 of Nuclear War Survival Skills contains some tips on making potassium iodide more palatable in case you need to cut up one of the pills and feed it to young children.

An Even Cheaper Alternative

There is an even cheaper option that we should mention: You can buy the materials you need to whip up a batch in your kitchen. As outlined in Nuclear War Survival Skills, you can purchase reagent quality potassium iodide. In fact, the local high school chemistry lab might have a large bottle, since it is used in a popular experiment to make elephant toothpaste.

One bottle is sufficient to make thousands of doses. However, the contents of the bottle must be diluted many times to make them safe for human consumption in the proper dose. Your doctor or public health authorities might be reluctant to tell you to take something you whipped up in the kitchen using materials from the chemistry set. But if you’re willing to take that chance, and potentially help hundreds of your friends and neighbors, you can purchase the reagent grade potassium iodide at Amazon. Be sure to download the instructions for making it safe for human use and the information at this site. You can order from the following Amazon links:

Using Iodine Transdermally

Warning: You must never drink elemental iodine, sometimes known as tincture of iodine, sold under the brand name Betadine. It is used as an antiseptic to apply to your skin. In an emergency, you can use this product to protect your thyroid–again, not be drinking it– but by painting it on your skin. For more information, see this site. I suspect that in the case of a radiation emergency, even if this product was available, pharmacies might refuse to sell it because they would believe, possibly correctly, that some patients would drink it. However, if you are faced with a nuclear emergency and you are otherwise unprepared, it’s possible that you might have this product in your medicine cabinet.

The following websites also contain information about potassium iodide, and have it available for sale: ki4u.com and nukepills.com.

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

1922 Horse Mobile

Shown here is the horseback radio station of an unnamed Western radio enthusiast. The one-tube set was powered by batteries and used a very short aerial. The illustration was on the cover of the February 1922 issue of Radio News, and according to the magazine (which also carried a photograph), the set operated on a wavelength of 80 meters, and provided good telephonic communication over short ranges with the ranch house.

For the ground connection, one wire was run to the horseshoe, and this was found to be satisfactory. The article did not state whether the horse was positive ground or negative ground.

Joseph J. Pekot, Nanticoke, PA, 1952

1952FebNRN Shown here 70 years ago is Joseph J. Pekot of Nanticoke, PA, on the cover of the February 1952 issue of National Radio News. Pekot had always driven a coal truck, but after being discharged from the army, he wanted to enter a field of study that would always be expanding. Since electricity and radio had always interested him, he enrolled in the National Radio Institute correspondence course, and kept his job while he studied at home. He graduated in 1948 and did complete service work in his part-time shop. He reported many satisfied customers.

Pekot, who fought at Normandy and the Battle of the Bulge, earning five Bronze Stars, died in 2001 at the age of 84.

1947 Crystal Sets

Seventy-five years ago this month, the February 1947 issue of Popular Science carried plans for a number of crystal sets under the heading “Crystal Sets: The First Word in Radio.” The science of radio had made great strides in one generation, but the magazine noted that the generation of engineers and technicians had all grown up on crystals.

Despite those advances, the humble crystal set had never passed out of the radio picture. Beginners and those who like doing a lot with a little found the circuits inviting. The example shown above was a radio-phonograph, and the magazine noted that a (piezoelectric) crystal phono pickup could drive a set of headphones just as well as a crystal set. While the design shown here used an electric motor, a clockwork turntable could replace it, making a radio-phonograph independent of any power source.

1947FebPS2selective The set shown at left was said to be superselective, and the one at the right was an ideal portable. For use while camping, it needed only a long spool of wire and a stake for the ground. Finally, the set below added one tube for a stage of audio amplification.

Minerva Radios, 1947

From 75 years ago this month, in the January 1947 issue of Radio News, here are the latest radio offerings from Minerva Corporation of America, located at 238 William Street, New York, close to the Manhattan approach to the Brooklyn Bridge. The site appears to be very close to the current location of Spruce Street School and the New York by Gehry apartments.

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1952 Boys’ Life Transmitter

Seventy years ago, the Novice license was new, and Boys’ Life took full advantage by showing scouts how they could get on the air. The January 1952 issue showed how to put together the one-tube 80 meter CW transmitter shown here. A previous issue had shown a suitable receiver, and the next month’s issue would show the power supply and antenna.

Tune in the World: 1972

Fifty years ago this month, this gentleman was pulling in a shortwave program on his Hallicrafters S-120A receiver, and the excitement of his hobby was shared in a feature article in the January 1972 issue of Popular Mechanics.

The magazine noted that the hobby was enjoying a resurgence, since relatively inexpensive receivers had replaced the costly and rather crude-looking earlier models. There were numerous compact, smartly styled sets between $50 and $200, including the one shown above, which retailed for $79.95, and could run on either batteries or household current.

The article outlined the differences between receivers for international shortwave, and those for VHF-UHF signals such as police radio. It warned that the most sensitive communications receivers might cover only the ham bands, and “unless you’re interested in getting into amateur radio yourself, listening exclusively to ham talk can be a bit dull.”

Willetta Huggins, 1922

A hundred years ago this month, the January 1922 issue of Popular Mechanics carried the curious tale of sixteen-year-old Willetta Huggins. She had been both deaf and blind for three years, but she was able to “hear” by placing her finger on the diaphragm of a telephone receiver. “With this discovery she soon learned that she could conduct a telephone conversation almost as well as any normal child of her age.”

The magazine recounted a demonstration in which she successfully received a message by wireless telephone, witnessed by a number of dignitaries including Wisconsin Governor John J. Blaine. For whatever it was worth, the magazine noted that the message had been sent on 800 meters (375 kHz), and received with an audion detector and 50 foot antenna.

She also reportedly had the ability to discern colors by smell. In one experiment recounted by the magazine, she was able to identify the colors of six samples of yarn, simply by smell. She was also able to identify the color of the Governor’s suit by smelling it.

But this isn’t the end of the story. According to the New York Times, she was pronounced cured in 1924, and regained her vision and hearing. She ascribed her cure to her Christian Science beliefs, and attested that she had been “completely and permanently healed.” Reportedly, as of 1970, she had changed her name and was working as a Christian Science healer in a midwestern city.

How to Fight Fire Bombs: 1942

Eighty years ago today, according to the January 24, 1942, issue of Radio Guide, fire bombs were “ugly, dangerous weapons the enemy will eventually try to use right here in the U.S.A.” According to the magazine, hundreds of such bombs, each weighing only a couple of pounds, could carpet an area, causing particular damage if they hit the roof or attic of a building. Bing Crosby, therefore, took a few minutes out of the Kraft Music Hall program to allow Maj. John S. Winch to discuss how to deal with the threat.

The wrong thing to do was to hit them with water as soon as they landed, since the water would ignite the magnesium. It was necessary to wait about sixty seconds, and then if attacking it with a hose, to use a mist of water. The idea was to let the bomb burn out, and keep nearby material from catching fire. Buckets of sand stored at strategic locations were also indicated, according to the magazine.

This threat, of course, never materialized in the continental U.S. For the closest thing to happen, be sure to read our four-part series on the Fu Go Fire Balloons.

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