July 9, 2006

FM Walkie-Talkie (Aug, 1950)

Filed under: Radio — @ 9:56 am
Source: Mechanix Illustrated ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Aug, 1950
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I thought that a walkie talkie implied something you could carry, not strap on your back and lug around.

FM Walkie-Talkie just announced by Motorola, Inc., of Chicago, 111., will be popular among law enforcement agencies, fire protection departments, forestry services, railroads, etc. It has 24 tubes and weighs 19 lbs. A tip-up loudspeaker broadcasts over the operator’s shoulder or to nearby listeners. It has a range of from five to seven miles, depending upon altitude and presence of physical obstructions.

July 5, 2006

“Carryphone” Aids Trainmen (Apr, 1947)

Filed under: Radio — @ 9:58 am
Source: Popular Science ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Apr, 1947
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Wow! Look how portable and convenient it is!

“Carryphone” Aids Trainmen
Engineers and trainmen can keep in constant touch with their own crews or talk with the crews of other trains with the “Carry-phone,” a portable telephone announced by the Pennsylvania Railroad. The device uses railroad tracks or wires as its communication channels, but transmits and receives messages through the air by induction, using a large metal loop.

June 17, 2006

RCA Radiotron (Oct, 1927)

Filed under: Advertisements, Radio — @ 6:00 pm
Source: Popular Science ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Oct, 1927
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This is some brilliant marketing here. Other brands of radio tubes may be as good as Radiotron, and yeah they may be cheaper, but that just means we’re the standard.

Ok, but why shouldn’t I buy the cheaper ones again?

RCA Radiotron

From time to time other tubes will be offered to you as being “as good as Radiotrons,” sometimes at a lower price. Which proves that the Radiotron is the acknowledged standard in performance.

The American people have used millions of Radiotrons in the last five years. Is it reasonable to suppose that imitators could give you Radiotron quality for the same money?
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June 15, 2006

Tiniest Tube Paves Way For Wrist-Watch Radio (Nov, 1947)

Filed under: Radio — @ 1:30 pm
Source: Popular Science ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Nov, 1947
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Tiniest Tube Paves Way For Wrist-Watch Radio

At right is shown the comparative sizes of a wrist watch and the new miniature radio transceiver being developed by the U. S. Bureau of Standards. The set both sends and receives short waves and also picks up standard radio broadcasts. It was designed around the tiny radio tube, not much larger than a grain of rice, that is shown actual size in inset at lower left.
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Radios in Your Hair (Jul, 1948)

Filed under: Movies, Radio — @ 8:41 am
Source: Popular Mechanics ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Jul, 1948
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Radios in Your Hair

RADIO receivers, tinier than a penny matchbox have been developed by Paramount sound men in Hollywood. These replace the megaphones that directors used in the days of silent pictures to shout instructions to their stars. The resulting confusion on crowded sets was nerve racking to both the director and members of the cast. When sound was added, the megaphone had to go. It was then replaced by intricate signaling systems and many necessary interruptions and expensive retakes. Now this tiny inductive-type receiver, that uses no batteries or tubes, is concealed on the actor’s person. It is claimed that it can pick up signals as far as 300 feet away from the transmitter which is placed near the movie studio stage.
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June 8, 2006

Racing Time For News Scoops (Apr, 1935)

Filed under: Radio — @ 9:26 am
Source: Modern Mechanix ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Apr, 1935
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Very interesting article about how the UPI used to report and distribute news. I’ll bet their operation ran a lot like this up untill about the 70’s when computers started taking over.

Racing Time For News Scoops

By ROBERT L. FREY

Executive Assistant United Press Associations

NEWS travels fast. It circles the globe like lightning while historic events are still in the making.

The world was reading the tragic details of the Morro Castle disaster while her passengers were still leaping from the burning decks of the doomed Ward Liner into the storm-swept waters of the Atlantic.

Less than 20 minutes after first radio operator Rogers sent his SOS from the Morro Castle, the tragic story was flashed over United Press leased wires into newspaper offices from coast to coast. Cables carried it to Europe, South America and the Orient.
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June 7, 2006

NEIGHBORS OF THE AIR (Feb, 1935)

Filed under: Radio — @ 8:05 am
Source: Popular Mechanics ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Feb, 1935
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NEIGHBORS OF THE AIR

“C Q—C Q—W6HHU calling and standing by———.”

This was the call from Albert Hanson, radio amateur, which brought details of the disastrous Long Beach earthquake and started the rush of relief.

With telephone and telegraph lines crippled, radio “hams” restored communication and shattered the veil of si-lence into which the tragedy had plunged the stricken area.
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May 30, 2006

Magic-Makers of the Radio Stations (Apr, 1934)

Filed under: Radio — @ 6:28 am
Source: Modern Mechanix ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Apr, 1934
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Magic-Makers of the Radio Stations

Sound engineers combine ingenuity and science to make up their bag of tricks.

THEY were dissecting the brain of Nicolai Lenin—on the radio. It was a news broadcast of the achievement of the Soviet Brain Institute in Moscow which had developed a means of slicing brain tissue into thousands of paper-thin fragments for scientific study.

“Give us the sound of a brain being sliced,” came the bizarre order to the sound effects department of the Columbia Broadcasting System.
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May 27, 2006

Radio is better with Battery Power (Oct, 1927)

Filed under: Advertisements, Radio — @ 3:34 pm
Source: Popular Science ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Oct, 1927
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Restored Enchantment

Radio is better with Battery Power

At a turn of the dial a radio program comes to you. It is clear. It is true. It is natural. You thank the powers of nature that have once more brought quiet to the distant reaches of the radio-swept air. You are grateful to the broadcasters whose programs were never so enjoyable, so enchanting. You call down blessings upon the authority that has allotted to each station its proper place. And, if you are radio-wise, you will be thankful that you bought a new set of “B” batteries to make the most out of radio’s newest and most glorious season.
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May 22, 2006

Portable Army Radio Tested (Nov, 1937)

Filed under: Radio, War — @ 8:28 am
Source: Modern Mechanix ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Nov, 1937
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It looks like you should be able to wind up that key in his back and make him march.

Portable Army Radio Tested
A PORTABLE field radio transmitting and receiving set that operates while strapped to a soldier’s back was satisfactorily tested by the Royal Corps of Signals at Alder-shot, England. The device features a special loop-type antenna, standard earphones and a hand microphone. The power supply unit is self-contained.

May 18, 2006

Giant Radio Tube Produced (Nov, 1937)

Filed under: General, Radio — @ 3:14 pm
Source: Modern Mechanix ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Nov, 1937
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“Oh my! Your tube is so big!”

Giant Radio Tube Produced
CLAIMED to be the largest ever made, a new water-cooled radio tube demonstrated in Chicago stands about eight feet high. The tube takes 18,000 volts in operation. Rated at 250,000 watts each, five of the new tubes will be required to operate a transmitting station now being assembled.

May 14, 2006

Mobile Broadcasting Booth (Aug, 1951)

Filed under: Automotive, Radio — @ 2:30 pm
Source: Popular Mechanics ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Aug, 1951
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This is a pretty cool looking vehicle.

Mobile Broadcasting Booth
Radio reporters and commentators view news events at firsthand from the weatherproof press box built on a truck chassis for the Columbia Broadcasting System. As many as four commentators can broadcast simultaneously from the observation platform at the rear of the truck. The Plexiglas windows provide full vision on three sides. A plastic bubble atop the truck gives full forward vision. The truck has a high-frequency transmitter powered by its own generator. It has a range of 35 miles from the home station and can tie into telephone cables for longer transmission.

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