|
 Dealing with the problem of
lightning strikes was of concern long before electronic equipment needed to
be protected from its effects. Fires that were the result of lightning have always
been a problem in nature, but they were really catastrophic to civilization once
cities crowded with close-quartered wooden buildings became the norm. Benjamin Franklin
observed that when the many lightning-induced fires of Philadelphia were sparked
(pun intended), it was almost always the tallest structures in the area that were
hit. Those fire often spread to neighboring buildings and burned down entire city
blocks. It was a devastating and frequency...
 "By observing
spintronic magnetic tunnel junctions in real-time, researchers found these devices
fail at unexpectedly low temperatures, offering valuable insights for improving
future electronic designs. Next-Generation Electronics Degradation A new study led
by researchers at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities is providing new insights
into how next-generation electronics, including memory components in computers,
breakdown or degrade over time. Understanding the reasons for degradation could
help improve efficiency of data storage solutions. The research is published in
ACS Nano, a peer-reviewed scientific journal and is featured on the cover..."
 Arthur C. Clarke's writings and contributions
to science are vast and influential, intertwining his imaginative narratives with
profound scientific concepts. Clarke is credited with proposing the idea of
geostationary
satellites in a paper he published in the October 1945 issue of Wireless World
magazine. Titled "Extra-Terrestrial Relays: Can Rocket Stations Give Worldwide Radio
Coverage?," he described the concept of using a network of geostationary satellites
to provide global radio coverage. Geostationary satellites are satellites that orbit
the Earth at the same rate as the Earth rotates, so they appear to stay in the same
place in the sky relative to a fixed point on the Earth's surface. This makes them
ideal for telecommunications and broadcasting, as they can provide constant coverage
of a particular area without the need for multiple satellites or complicated ground
infrastructure...
 Here we go with three new "What's
Your EQ?" challenges from the July 1961 issue of Radio-Electronics
magazine. Readers submit the problems, which typically involve creating a circuit
to perform a specified function, or determining how a given circuit works. The first
of these is more of a puzzle, since the author shows you how to go about arriving
at the answer. Since incandescent light bulbs are not overly familiar to a lot of
people these days, it might be to the advantage of pre-Millennials who grew up using
them and are acquainted with their properties. The second is an old-fashioned Black
Box challenge that some readers will solve without much...
 "Japanese operator SoftBank announced that
the Sunglaider, its large-scale solar-powered uncrewed aircraft system (UAS) designed
for
High Altitude Platform Station (HAPS) stratospheric telecommunications, was
utilized in a field trial conducted by AeroVironment and the U.S. DoD in New Mexico,
the U.S. During the trial, carried out in early August, Sunglider succeeded in achieving
stratospheric flight, the Japanese operator said. With a wingspan of 78 meters and
the capability to carry payloads weighing up to 75kg, the Sunglider is larger than
other publicly announced HAPS UAS..."
 Monday (any day, for that matter) is a good
day for Carl and Jerry stories, Mac's Electronics Service Shop sagas, Hobnobbing
with Harbaugh, electronics-themed comics, electronics quizzes, and other forms of
nerd entertainment. Here is another of Robert P. Balin's great challenges titled,
"Diagram
Quiz," this one from a 1966 issue of Popular Electronics magazine.
Most RF Cafe visitors will easily identify eight or nine of the ten diagrams. Relatively
few will be familiar with the Rieke diagram (hint: power amplifier designers will
know about it). The Biasing diagram is a bit misnamed IMHO, and could cause confusion...
 Anatech Electronics offers the industry's
largest portfolio of high-performance standard and customized RF and microwave filters
and filter-related products for military, commercial, aerospace and defense, and
industrial applications up to 40 GHz. Three new ceramic bandpass filters have
been announced for October 2024 - a 2275 MHz center frequency filter with a
bandwidth of 250 MHz, a 2275 MHz center frequency filter with a bandwidth
of 250 MHz, and a 6245 MHz center frequency filter with a bandwidth of
360 MHz. Custom RF power filter and directional couplers designs can be designed
and produced with required connector types when a standard cannot be found, or the
requirements are such that a custom approach is necessary.
 When you read this 1963 Electronics
World magazine article's title, I doubt you immediately assumed it would be
about a vacuum tube circuit, or even one that uses discrete transistors to implement
the circuit. Rather you most likely though it would be about an integrated circuit
(IC).
Operational amplifiers (opamp) are building blocks characterized (ideally) by
their infinite input impedance, zero output impedance, infinite open-loop bandwidth
and gain, zero input offset voltage, amongst other defined parameters. The first
commercially produced integrated circuit (IC) opamp came to market in 1964 via Fairchild
Semiconductor (the µA702, brainchild of Bob Widlar)...
 Nickel-cadmium (NiCad) batteries have a
long and significant history in energy storage, with their invention attributed
to Swedish engineer Waldemar Jungner in 1899. Jungner's work laid the foundation
for an electrochemical power source based on nickel oxide hydroxide and cadmium,
leading to the development of the rechargeable NiCad battery. It was a pioneering
breakthrough because it represented one of the earliest forms of rechargeable energy
storage systems. This battery technology found widespread use in various industries
due to its robust performance and ability to be recharged multiple times. At its
core, the chemistry of NiCad batteries involves the reaction between cadmium (the
negative electrode) and nickel oxide hydroxide (the positive electrode), with potassium
hydroxide as the electrolyte. During...
 These two
tech-themed comics from the September 1969 issue of Electronics World
magazine are pretty good. I especially like the one where the guy's wife entered
his printed circuit board layout in an art contest. PCBs were just starting to gain
momentum in production electronics as they replaced the old point-to-point wiring
method. Also popular in that era was high fidelity stereo equipment. Owning a system
with speakers that operated from 1 Hz through 30 to 40 kHz was major evidence
of an audiophile's technical savvy, even though the human ear con only detect frequencies
in the 30 Hz to 20 kHz range. Dogs can hear frequencies up into the 45 kHz
range. Porpoises can hear up to 150 kHz. A ferret can hear from 16 Hz...
 TotalTemp Technologies offers advanced
and innovative methods for meeting and optimizing your thermal testing requirements.
We specialize in benchtop thermal testing because small batches are typically the
most cost-effective approach. We offer heat transfer by conduction with thermal
platforms, forced convection as in traditional temperature chambers, combined systems,
and thermal vacuum for Space Simulation.
Thermal testing of Traveling Wave Tube Amplifiers and other devices with dramatically
uneven power dissipation can easily be achieved with a dual zone thermal platform.
Managing the heat produced by the electron gun side allows for the RF outputs side
to be tested at various required temperatures. The Dual Zone Thermal Platforms allows
the user to maintain safe controlling...
• Ham
Radio Serving Southeast U.S. Recovery Efforts
• Radio
"A Godsend for So Many" in Helene's Aftermath
• Estate
Planning for Hams
• Intel's Woes Damaging
U.S. Chip Indpendence
• Is
Gen-Z Low Car Ownership a Threat to Radio? (they
can't afford cars due to massive inflation - not because they don't want a car)
 Amrad, American Radio & Research Corporation,
was based in Medford Hillside, Massachusetts and was founded in 1915 with funds
from J. Pierpont Morgan. The company's first manager, Harold James Power, was an
amateur radio enthusiast and built a research laboratory. In 1916, Amrad made its
first broadcast to J. Pierpont Morgan Jr., who was aboard the ocean liner "Philadelphia."
Amrad received orders for military radio equipment during World War I, but discontinued
these orders after the war ended. To keep the company afloat, Amrad produced items
such as electric egg beaters and cigar lighters. In 1919, Amrad was awarded a contract
to make 400 SE1420 receivers, and it began advertising components for amateur radio
enthusiasts...
 This "Which
Dry Battery for You" article is a follow-on from the previous month's "Dry Cell
Battery Types" in Radio-Electronics magazine. It was a time long before the dominance
of rechargeable lithium batteries. In 1963, battery-powered devices were nowhere
near as widespread and diverse as they are nowadays. Hand tools like drills, saws,
routers, planers, and screwdrivers got their power either from a wall outlet or
the user's arm and hand muscles. Lawn mowers, grass and hedge trimmers, chain saws,
and snow blowers were powered mostly by gasoline, although some models plugged into
the wall. Those devices which did use batteries most often had no built-in...
 "Researchers have developed a new architecture
for optical computing called
diffraction casting, offering power-efficient processing by using light waves.
This method promises better integration and flexibility for high-performance computing
tasks and could be used in fields like AI and machine learning. As artificial intelligence
and other complex applications demand ever more powerful and energy-intensive computers,
optical computing emerges as a promising solution to enhance speed and power efficiency.
However, its practical application has faced numerous challenges..."
 The Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) was established
in 1946 as a result of the Atomic Energy Act, signed into law by President Harry
S. Truman. This legislative decision marked the United States' formal entry into
managing and controlling atomic energy, a rapidly advancing field that had been
essential in concluding World War II through the development and use of nuclear
weapons. The AEC was conceived to handle not only military applications of atomic
energy but also to develop peaceful uses, such as energy production, medical research,
and industrial applications. The creation of the AEC emerged from the Manhattan
Project, the secret wartime effort to develop atomic bombs. The Manhattan Project
brought together prominent scientists like J. Robert Oppenheimer, Enrico Fermi,
and Niels Bohr. After the war, however, the question arose...
 Empower RF Systems, the technology leading
provider of high-performance RF amplifiers, is proud to announce the launch of the
Model 2221 X-Band Pulsed High Power Amplifier. The Empower RF 2221 amplifier
operates in the 9-10 GHz X-band, delivering an impressive 8000 W peak
output power with long and short pulse widths. Its applications encompass radar
systems, electronic warfare, HPM research, and electromagnetics effects testing.
With a rugged, modular design, the 2221 offers a reliable, high-performance solution
for applications demanding significant X-band power. Key Features and Specifications
The model 2221 amplifier operates in the 9-10 GHz X-band frequency range, delivering
an impressive 8 kW of peak pulsed output power...
 Although not in the title as it used to
be, this 1964 Electronics World magazine piece by John T. Frye is
a "Mac's
Service Shop" story. If Mac and Barney are the stars of the saga, then it can
be none other. The story is about how the misdeeds of a few dishonest operators
can taint the reputation of an entire industry - nothing new there. Barney is telling
Mac about a "sting" ploy pulled by a consumer protection group whereby TV sets with
a specific easy-to-troubleshoot problem introduced to see how repair technicians
from a suspect company would bill the service. I'll not spoil the ending for you;
however, a comment mentioned that $10 would have been a reasonable price for a house
call that included the fix. According to the BLS's inflation calculator, $10 in
1964 was the equivalent of about $102 in 2024...
 Ever the futurist, in 1962 Radio-Electronics
magazine editor Hugo Gernsback was making the case for occupying
millimeter- and submillimeter-wave bands. In fact, he first proposed the concept
back in 1959. He refers to it as "gap between the infrared (IR) and radio regions."
IR is generally understood to include wavelengths from around 750 nm (400 THz)
to 1 mm (300 GHz). Gernsback cites work done by Professor Gwyn O. Jones,
of Queen Mary College of the University of London, with the claim that among other
advantages of millimeter-wave (mm-wave) is an ability to penetrate certain wavelength
"windows" in the atmosphere where lower frequencies do not propagate efficiently,
more "channels" of communications can be accommodated, smaller antennas could be
used, and narrower focused transmission beams possible...
 Werbel Microwave's WMRD10-7.2-S is a
10-way resistive splitter that covers up to 7.2 GHz with ultra-wide bandwidth.
This unique design accomplishes extremely flat frequency response in a small radial
package. Our unique design approach provides higher than expected isolation between
outputs at far ports than would be achieved in a typical star topology. It has applications
in markets such as CATV, test and measurement, and military radio. Its small size
makes it easy to integrate into compact systems. Designed, assembled, and tested
in the USA.
 Hugo Gernsback, often heralded as the "Father
of Science Fiction," was an extraordinary figure whose influence extended beyond
the realm of speculative literature into the world of electronics, radio communication,
and futurism. His life, inventions, and publications shaped not only popular science
but also the practical development of radio and electronics, making him a pivotal
figure in early 20th-century technological advancements. Gernsback was born Hugo
Gernsbacher on August 16, 1884, in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg, to a wealthy family.
His father, Moritz Gernsbacher, was a winemaker and merchant, while his mother,
Bertha, came from a prominent local family. Hugo had several siblings, though details
of his early family life remain somewhat obscure. From a young age, Hugo showed
a strong interest in science and technology, particularly in electricity and wireless
communication. He attended local schools in Luxembourg and later pursued formal
education at the Technikum in Bingen, Germany...
 These government programs take forever to
implement, then a major portion of the money gets wasted in bureaucracies, payoffs,
and misappropriations (e.g.,
8 EV charging stations after spending $7.5B). "If you know CostQuest at all
you probably think of it as the company that the FCC hired to clean up and refine
its national broadband map. But the company is also working with state broadband
offices on their
Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) programs. To give a little background,
CostQuest works with the FCC on its national broadband map. But it was also hired,
separately, by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA)
to work with states..."
 The
Radio Corporation of America (RCA) holds a significant place in the history
of American technology and business. Founded in 1919, RCA was initially created
as a government-sanctioned monopoly to manage the United States' growing interest
in wireless communication. During its peak, RCA was a dominant player across multiple
industries, including consumer electronics, communications, broadcasting, and defense
technology. Its influence extended through radio, television, radar, semiconductors,
and beyond. The inception of RCA was rooted in the growing importance of wireless
communication during and after World War I. The company was established by General
Electric (GE), which was pressured by the U.S. government to create a new entity
that would ensure...
 When this was originally posted it was the
beginning of the IEEE's 2007
Microwave Theory and Techniques Society's (MTT-S) International Microwave Symposium
(IMS) in Honolulu, Hawaii. This advertisement from the January 1969 issue of Electronics
World magazine promoted Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
annual symposium. Per the MTT.org website, the very first IMS show was held in 1995,
in Orlando, Florida. The 1969 IEEE International Convention & Exhibition, which
was not specifically a microwave electronics theme, was held in the New York Coliseum,
located in New York City...
 If you have been wanting access to
nitrous oxide (N2O), aka laughing gas, in order to "encourage" someone
to divulge subconscious (or intentionally suppressed) information, but don't want
to pay the high cost of storage bottles and refilling, then here are instructions
in a 1949 issue of Popular Science magazine for brewing some on your own.
Purchase of N2O is legal, and is used, among other things, as an engine supercharger
which is injected into the intake manifold. I had a friend back in the 1970s with
such a system installed on his 1968 Camaro that had a 454 cu. in. big
block in it. It could easily pop the front wheels off the ground. Dentists and doctors
still use it as an anesthetic, food products like whipped cream...
 The evolution of
Crosley
radio products is a fascinating journey through the golden age of radio, a period
marked by significant technological advancements and changing consumer preferences.
Powel Crosley Jr.'s genius lay in his ability to combine affordability with cutting-edge
features, making his radios highly desirable for the average American household.
Crosley Radio Corporation's products evolved rapidly, reflecting the company's commitment
to innovation and its response to market demands. Crosley's radio journey began
in 1921 when he created the Harko, an affordable crystal set that was small and
compact enough to sit on a tabletop. Early radios at the time were relatively...
 It is amazing how some substrate layouts
look exactly like a block diagram of circuit they represent. "With increasing data
rates in mobile communications, the need for more powerful high-frequency electronics
is growing. This is particularly true for satellite-based global communication networks,
which must function reliably and securely in all weather conditions and at any location.
In the ESA Magellan project, researchers at Fraunhofer IAF, together with UMS and
TESAT, are therefore developing novel efficient
GaN transistors and high-power amplifiers for LEO and GEO communication satellites
to provide high..."
 Allen B. DuMont, a pivotal figure in the
early days of television and electronics, was born on January 29, 1901, in Brooklyn,
New York. His contributions to the advancement of television technology, particularly
through his work on cathode-ray tubes, and the founding of the DuMont Television
Network, left a lasting mark on the broadcasting industry. DuMont's early years
were marked by adversity. As a young boy, he contracted polio, which left him bedridden
for several months. Despite the physical limitations imposed by the disease, DuMont's
intellectual curiosity flourished, and he turned to reading and tinkering with electronics
to occupy his time. This early exposure to electrical engineering would shape his
future. DuMont's passion for electronics was evident from an early age. By the time
he was a teenager, he had built his own radio receiver. He attended Rensselaer Polytechnic
Institute (RPI)...
 Ever heard of "sferics?" That's a new word
in my technical lexicon as of right now. Sferics (aka spherics), is a contraction,
derived from "atmospheric" phenomena, specifically referring to the electromagnetic
signals generated by natural events in the atmosphere, such as lightning discharges.
Over time, its use has become specialized in the field of meteorology, physics,
and certain branches of electrical engineering, where it is used to describe specific
types of electromagnetic emissions. It was mentioned in this "News
Briefs" column in a 1961 issue of Radio Electronics magazine. Also
in the news was the decreasing conductivity of the atmosphere due to low sunspot
activity. Ham DX'ers love sunspots since by charging the upper atmosphere, it facilitates
long distance communications. Japanese color TV sets were deemed "impressive." Much
more...
 "Recent advancements in
phonon laser technology, which utilizes sound waves rather than light, show
promising new applications in medical imaging and deep-sea exploration. A novel
technique enhances these lasers by stabilizing and strengthening the sound waves,
allowing for more precise and powerful outputs. This development not only improves
existing uses in medical and underwater applications but also extends potential
uses to material science and quantum computing. Scientists in China have made a
significant leap in developing lasers that use sound waves instead of light. These
'phonon lasers' hold promise for advancements in medical..."
 Powel Crosley Jr., an American inventor,
entrepreneur, and industrialist, was born on September 18, 1886, in Cincinnati,
Ohio. He became one of the most prolific figures in American industry, with contributions
spanning from radios to cars, and from kitchen appliances to television broadcasting.
His innovative spirit, coupled with a keen business sense, enabled him to leave
an indelible mark on American consumer culture during the first half of the 20th
century. Crosley's early years were shaped by a supportive, middle-class family.
His father, Powel Crosley Sr., was a successful attorney, which afforded young Powel
and his siblings a comfortable upbringing. Crosley was drawn to mechanical and electrical
engineering from an early age, demonstrating an innate talent for tinkering. As
a boy, he built his own working model of a car...
 "In these modern times, electronic systems
are usually operating within an
electromagnetic-interference (EMI) environment that contains many other electronic
systems. These systems need to exist and fully operate undisturbed while meeting
electromagnetic compatibility (EMC). EMC requirements are separated into two main
parts: Electromagnetic immunity - a system must not be disturbed by any other systems.
The electromagnetic interference in a system can't disturb any other system. Then,
if immunity and emission requirements are individually met, the electronic product,
such as an integrated circuit (IC), may be marketed from an EMC point of view. Measurement
methods for EMI and electromagnetic emission (EME) are fully described for ICs in
the IEC62132-4 (immunity) and IEC61967-4 (emission)..."
 The
Space Race was one of the most significant geopolitical and scientific competitions
of the 20th century, driven by the rivalry between the United States and the Soviet
Union during the Cold War. It spanned from the late 1940s through the 1970s, with
a focus on achieving superiority in space exploration, a domain viewed as critical
not only for scientific advancement but also for military and strategic dominance.
Rooted in rocket technology developed during World War II, the Space Race transformed
the world's understanding of science and technology, culminating in the most dramatic
achievement: the landing of humans on the Moon in 1969. This treatise explores the
key milestones, the countries and key players involved, technological developments,
the interplay between military...
|
 Radio & Television News ran
a two-part article on the state of the art of computers in the late 1950s (this
is part 1). It had only been since ENIAC's (Electronic
Numerical Integrator And Computer) debut in 1946 at Massachusetts Institute
of Technology (MIT) that the public (or science community for that matter) was getting
used to regularly hearing about computers in the news. By 1957 there were many companies
popping up with electronic computer offerings. Originally the exclusive purview
of university research labs and defense installations, the size and cost of computers
was moving into the realm of affordability by corporations that used them for accounting
and bookkeeping, and in some cases even rented idle time to outside users. Desktop
PCs and notebook computers were still the realm of crazy dreamers ...
 Each month Radio-Electronics magazine
ran a column called "'What's New?," which contained a few products recently introduced
to the marketplace, production floor, research laboratory, etc. First up was the
introduction of wire wrapping as announced by Bell Telephone Laboratories a couple
years earlier (see Bell Labs full-page ads in Radio-Electronics and
Radio & Television News in 1953). Wire wrapping is still used today for
quickly prototyping circuits that are not too sensitive to crosstalk and super high
speed. Next was the announcement of a five-transistor pocket radio from a Japanese
company named Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo, which you know today as Sony. Heathkit had recently
put out a build-it-yourself analog computer that used 65 vacuum tubes for $750 ($7,342
in 2020 money). A button-hole-size transistor radio was also reported...
 Is it permissible to say, "Pig Latin," these days without being jailed for engaging
in hate speech or being accused of cultural insensitivity? ...not that I really
care. Carl Kohler's story from the November 1966 issue of Popular Electronics
had me waxing nostalgic over a similar scenario from my own boyhood. It begins with
Mrs. Kohler (aka "Goodwife") suggesting that she and Mr. Kohler resort
to speaking in Pig Latin in order to prevent their mischievous sons from learning
where the Christmas presents were being hidden. My parents did exactly the same
thing to my sisters and me - and that...
 Here is a bit of "outside-the-box" thinking
from the vacuum tube era that is essentially a form of integrated circuit, where
the active and passive components are discrete rather than semiconductor. The concept
was to provide an assembly that could be plugged directly into a signal gain path
tube socket and provide an additional amount of amplification without needing to
do any special wiring or mounting of components to the chassis. The cost of $9.95
in 1951 is the equivalent of $99.99 in 2020 money, so it wasn't a cheap upgrade
- and that did not include the cost of an additional tube (about another $10 in
today's money). Given typical electronics service shop rates of just a couple bucks
per hour in the early 1950s, it might have been cheaper to pay the local guy to
do a customization of the circuit, and then tweak the operation of the entire television
or radio set. Having high voltage connections exposed outside the metal chassis
posed a serious electrocution potential (pun intended), and might have even made
the set more susceptible to interference...
 We are solidly in the middle of baseball
season in America, so this "Carl & Jerry" story from a 1950 edition of Popular
Electronics comes at a good time. As is the case with many "Carl & Jerry"
episodes, this one involves the use of an amateur radio rig. Find out how and why
Jerry willingly commits "Baseball Interference" (BBI) to beat the opposing team
at their own game. I feel obligated to point out that although it was for a good
cause, Jerry actually violated the FCC regulation for Amateur radio operators stating
that no broadcaster may intentionally interfere with another person's transmission.
Title 47 CFR 97.101(d) General Standards - "No amateur operator shall willfully
or maliciously interfere with or cause interference to any radio communication or
signal." BTW, up until a few years ago, we didn't have MLB with a bunch of virtual-signaling
players and club owners who regularly insult half (or more) of their supporters...
 When Charles Feldman published this article on
thin-film transistors (TFTs) in a 1964 issue of Electronics magazine, he had
no idea that the devices would eventually play a major role in liquid crystal
displays (LCDs) in everything from wristwatches to large screen television and
computer displays. Materials and fabrication techniques have evolved
considerably since 1964, but the fundamentals remain the same. Other than LCDs
and some solid-state sensors, I am not familiar with any other applications that
are heavy users of TFT technology. This 2016 paper titled, "Review on thin- film
transistor technology, its applications, and possible new applications to
biological cells," gives a little historical perspective and a comparison of
CMOS versus TFT...
 All types of
sales and repair services get accused of ineptness of skill which requires more
time than necessary, overcharging for parts and/or labor, underhandedness in faking
problems and selling unnecessary replacement parts, improper customer interfacing,
sloppiness in appearance and/or work environment, failure to arrive on time for
appointments, etc. Some of the most often cited these days are auto mechanics, cellphone
repairers, home improvement contractors, lawn care, and builders. Up until about
a decade ago when cellphone repair began to dominate over computer repair, the latter
was a big source of complaints. In the 1950s and 60s, it was TV and radio repairmen
who took a lot of abuse not just from their customers, but from large, organized
electronic service conglomerates and were abetted by mostly ignorant media outlets
looking for a good story ...
 Have you heard of an
Alford Loop antenna? I hadn't until reading this article. It is a four-sided
structure consisting of identical folded ½-wave dipoles on each side, with a common
feed. Opposing sides have their elements 180° out of phase with respect to each
other. The intention is to provide nearly omnidirectional FM radio reception across
the entire 88-108 MHz band. A little research on the Alford Loop reveals that
Mr. Andrew Alford developed this configuration to enable simultaneous, co-located
transmissions of FM radio stations. In that case the four antennas are individually
fed by transmitters on different frequencies. Alford is credited with inventing
antenna systems for the VFH Omnidirectional Range (VOR) and Instrument Landing System
(ILS) navigational aids...
 Popular Electronics reader Frederic D.
Barber, Jr., was having none of the newfangled designations for standard
physical units as reported in the April 1966 issue. He, and evidently many others,
was not ready to accept the replacement of terms such as cycles per second (cps) with
Hertz (Hz), or seemingly any other change that included honoring a person by using his/her
name. We don't know whether...
 Many topics of the
electronics-themed comics which appeared in Radio-Craft were suggested by the
magazine's readers. Staff artists like Frank Beaven turned those suggestions into
cartoons. For a while there was a special feature called "Radio Term Illustrated"
where, as the name suggests, terms like "Signal Generator" and "High Potential"
are rendered in farcical form. These four comics, two of each type, appeared in
a May 1947 issue of Radio-Craft. I have to admit that even with my familiarity with
vintage electronics memes I do not get the Television "Organ" comic (yes, I understand
the organ grinder, but not how it applies to TV).
 Engineering and science magazines, websites,
and discussion panels frequently report on and lament the lack of
women and minorities in both realms. You might think this is a
relatively new concern since, but as evidenced by this 1972 Popular Electronics
tidbit the effort to attract women and minorities into the fields has been going
on for half a century. At the time, women and minorities made up about 2% of undergraduates
in engineering curricula. The proportion was 20% as of 2015 according to a recent
report by the ASEE. During that same time period (1970), according to the National
Center for Education...
 Sending telegraph messages, whether by wire
or wireless means, has always been expensive, particularly considering charges are
determined by the character (letter, number, symbol). Accordingly, the Shakespearean
line from Hamlet declaring that "brevity is the soul of wit" can be reworked to
"brevity is the soul of economy." A telegraph wire, unlike a telephone call, is
a legally binding communiqué, as is of course a written letter, but a telegram is
immediate transmission of information for time-critical messaging. A series of "commercial codes" were developed enabling senders to save often
significant money by sending multi-character codes that represented entire phrases
and/or sentences. What struck me about this article that appeared in a 1948 issue
of The Saturday Evening Post is how, following a court case involving how the inadvertent
swapping of two character positions in a code...
 Carl
Kohler has done it again with his mini techno-drama entitled, "R/C Frankie." The
story and Kohler's trademark illustrations appeared in a 1955 issue of Popular
Electronics magazine. When Popular Electronics first began publication
in 1954, it devoted major column space to the topics of amateur radio, home buildable
electronic gadgets, stereo hi-fi recording and playback, and radio controlled modeling.
Here he got a twofer by hitting on R/C and home brew projects. R/C Frankie was an
early conceptual model of the kinds of incredible human-like robots being manufactured
today. It was rather crude in comparison with escapement control of movement and
operation on the interference prone 27 MHz Citizens Band, the latter of which
might have been the root of Frankie's ultimate demise. You'll get a kick out of
the dialog between the self-proclaimed "electronic geniuses" and "the wife" (aka
"friend wife) and, of course, the ending ...
 RF Cafe visitor Vince S. saw the "Barney
Turns Inventor" episode of "Mac's Radio Service Shop" series recently posted here
which told of Barney's idea for a vacuum tube tester that would set all the switches
and voltages based on a coded card for the particular tube type. That story appeared
in a 1950 issue of Radio & Television News magazine. I don't know when Hickok
came out with their first
"Cardmatic" tube tester, but as Vince noted in his message to
me, the idea might have been borne of John Frye's fictional scenario. This
full-page advertisement for the Hickok Model 121 High-Speed Portable Cardmatic Tube
Tester comes from the March 1958 issue of Radio & TV News. A YouTube
video of a Model 121 Cardmatic is included below...
 Decibels
always have been and always will be a daunting subject to a lot of people. For electronics
types, the issue of when to multiply the
logarithm of the ratio by 10 or by 20 seems to be the biggest stumbling
block. After many years of working with decibels, it becomes second nature. There are
still instances, though, where I see seasoned engineers and technicians routinely confuse
unreferenced decibel units (dB, the logarithm of a ratio) with logs of ratios referred
to some base value (dBm, dBV, etc.). The bel unit was originally created to quantitatively
assign changes in perceived levels of sound loudness...
 Occasionally an unbuilt vintage Heathkit
item appears on eBay with really nice photos of the contents. Recently, a
Heathkit
SA-2060A Deluxe Antenna Tuner kit appeared. It tunes the entire 160 to 10 meter
range. Dual wattmeters measure forward and reverse power. The guy who listed it
says, "These tuners are the apex of the Heathkit tuner kits; I already have a built
one and it's my main tuner in the shack. Full legal limit 1500+ watts across the
HF bands, roller inductor tuner." This is a manual tuner with lots of mechanical
parts as well as electronic parts. Take a look at all the dial and knob extender
shafts, standoffs, mounting brackets, and attachment hardware. Wouldn't you love
to have something like this to spend a few hours assembling? Per the 1987 Heathkit
catalog, the SA-2060A was priced at $269.95 ($639.67 in 2021). That is not too far
off the price for a contemporary 2 kW tuner, such as the Palstar AT2K (6 to
160 meters) retailing at $595.99...
 This photo from an article entitled, "Exploring
Electronics with Simple Projects," which appeared in a 1958 issue of Popular
Electronics magazine, made me think of "The Radio Boys" series of books written
in the 1920s. A shorter series entitled "The Radio Girls" appeared as well. Both
titles told tales of a group of youngsters who were caught up in the "wireless"
craze of the era. They built their first receivers entirely from homemade parts,
including winding the tuning coil and fashioning a moveable tap on the coil.
Motivated by more knowledgeable adults - of which there were few in the day -
the kids progressed on to single-tube sets and then, after earning their
licenses, built and operated transmitters. Today such do-it-yourselfers are
called "Makers," and there is an entire industry and culture...
 Recognizing that many people were reluctant
to approach the theoretical aspect of electronics as it applied to circuit design
and analysis, QST magazine (the American Radio Relay League's monthly publication)
included equations and explanations in many of their project building articles.
Occasionally, an article would be published that dealt specifically with how to
use
simple mathematics. In this case, the June 1944 edition, we
have the second installation of at least a four-part tutorial that covers
resistance and reactance, amplifier biasing (tubes since the
Shockley-Bardeen-Brattain trio hadn't invented the transistor yet) oscillators,
feedback circuits, etc. In the July 1944 edition is the third installation
of at least a four-part tutorial that covers resistance and reactance,
amplifier...
 Here is an advertisement for
Delco
radios that I scanned from my copy of the April 1945 QST magazine.
"'Control the Air' has a new meaning today." That's the tag line referring to the
need to dominate wireless communications in the effort to conduct effective warfare.
Radio certainly wasn't a new science in 1945, but secure communications - including
spread spectrum techniques - was a vital technique both for transmitting and receiving
messages and for jamming the communication of our enemies. Even though Hollywood
actress Hedy Lamarr and music composer George Antheil came up with the concept of
frequency hopping spread spectrum in the early years of World War II, the U.S.
Department of War stuck mostly with codebook encryption techniques ...
 Unlike even the vacuum tube type AM radio
in the dashboard of my parents' car in the early 1960s that were self-contained
units, even earlier radios designed for cars and trucks had their bulky electronics
mounted under the sea or in the trunk, with a remote volume and tuning control mounted
in the dashboard. That greatly complicated the installation as well as the design
of the radio. This circa 1940
Belmont Model 678 Auto-Radio is a prime example. Note the unique cylindrical
shape of the radio chassis, and that the remote control is a pushbutton assembly
with rotating knobs for tuning and volume. Operating from a 6 volt DC car battery
(12 volts came later), these radios required a "vibrator" circuit to convert DC
to AC (and back to a higher level DC) in order to transform to a couple hundred
volts for the plate voltage of the tubes ...
 In the early 1930s, QST magazine
(ARRL's monthly publication) usually ran a line at the bottom of every page in the
back half of each issue that said, "Say You Saw
It in QST - It Identifies You and Helps QST." They even got the capitalization
correct (all lower case short prepositions and conjunctions, but I digress). The
December 1933 edition was a bit different, however, in that all the left-hand pages
had the message translated into one of fourteen different languages while the right-hand
pages used English. I deemed that discovery cool enough to scan and post here. Since
the only languages I speak with any fluency are English and Pig Latin...
 This "Recent Developments in Electronics"
from a 1960 issue of Electronics World had a lot of
antenna news that included a retarded surface wave antenna with high gain and
low silhouette for use in airborne early warning radar as well as ground based and
shipboard radar, a pair of 60-foot tropospheric scatter antennas that are specially
mounted at opposite ends of a 180-mile long section of the Gulf of Mexico, and a
104-foot-long rotating 50-ton radar antenna used for the SAGE early warning system.
Also reported was Westinghouse Electric's airborne Stratovision for broadcasting
educational television programming to rural areas out of reach of existing
towers...
 Did you know that Mallory, the well-known capacitor
maker, at one time was at the forefront of solid state rectifier diodes? Not me, at least
before seeing this infomercial from a 1969 Electronics World magazine. I
know that they made selenium rectifiers that replaced many application which formerly
required vacuum tubes. This installation of Mallory's "Tips
for Technicians" is one of many run for the benefit of service shop guys who needed
to keep abreast of changes in technology. Note the admonition at the end: "Don't forget
to ask 'em - 'What else needs fixing?'"...
 As far back as 1966 electronics hobbyists knew
that silicon bathtub caulk was an excellent flexible insulator for electronics. It originally
went by the name "Silastic,"
which is a portmanteau of "silicone" and "plastic," and is a type of RTV (room temperature
vulcanizing) compound. It has a typical voltage withstanding of over 400 V/mil,
or 400 kV/inch, which is why it is used extensively on high voltage connections.
Dow Corning, its inventor, still sells various compounds of Silastic both as an insulator
and as a molding compound. I used it at Westinghouse Electric in the 1980's to seal metal
molds for overmolding towed sonar transducer arrays...
RF Cascade Workbook is the next phase in the evolution of RF Cafe's long-running
series, RF Cascade Workbook. Chances are you have never used a spreadsheet
quite like this (click
here for screen capture). It is a full-featured RF system cascade parameter
and frequency planner that includes filters and mixers for a mere $45. Built in
MS Excel, using RF Cascade Workbook is a cinch and the format
is entirely customizable. It is significantly easier and faster than using a multi-thousand
dollar simulator when a high level system analysis is all that is needed...
 Here is the 46th quiz I have posted from 1960s
and 1970s issues of Electronics World and Popular Electronics magazines.
Most of were created by Robert P. Balin. I like to save these for Friday afternoons.
Guys like me who cut our teeth on analog meters read these indications like a second
language. Even novices usually do a good job on the meter needles, but reading a mechanical
micrometer (#9) might be more of a challenge, especially if you have never used one before.
The same goes for a dial caliper. Can you read the dials on a mechanical gas or electric
meter, where some spin CW and others spin CCW?...
 The extreme level of complexity and
consolidation of circuit functions in today's functional integrated circuit (IC)
blocks makes it so that people with almost no instruction or experience in
circuit and system design can assemble and make work some pretty impressive
creations. The days of vacuum tubes and early discrete semiconductors required a
designer to know how to properly bias and interface various sections of circuits
and systems. Nowadays, with the ready availability of impedance-matched
amplifiers, filters, mixers, couplers, detectors, and other pre-packaged
components, even RF and microwave frequency systems are within the reach of
relative amateurs. Likewise, people interested in digital and microprocessor
circuits...
 The first thing I learned (or re-learned)
in reading this article is that in 1967, "Hertz" had only recently been assigned
as the official unit of frequency. According to Wikipedia, International Electrotechnical
Commission (IEC) adopted it in in 1930, but it wasn't until 1960 that it was adopted
by the General Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM) (Conférence Générale des
Poids et Mesures). Hertz replace cycles per second (cps). The next thing that happened
was that I was reminded of how images such as the op-art tracing of antenna oscillation
that are routinely generated today ...
 This assortment of custom-designed themes
by RF Cafe includes T-Shirts, Mouse Pads, Clocks, Tote Bags, Coffee Mugs and Steins,
Purses, Sweatshirts, Baseball Caps, and more, all sporting my amazingly clever "RF Engineers - We Are the World's Matchmakers"
Smith chart design. These would make excellent gifts for husbands, wives, kids,
significant others, and for handing out at company events or as rewards for excellent
service. My graphic has been ripped off by other people and used on their products,
so please be sure to purchase only official RF Cafe gear. I only make a couple bucks
on each sale - the rest goes to Cafe Press. It's a great way to help support RF
Cafe. Thanks...
 Banner Ads are rotated in all locations
on the page! RF Cafe typically receives 8,000-15,000 visits each
weekday. RF Cafe
is a favorite of engineers, technicians, hobbyists, and students all over the world.
With more than 17,000 pages in the Google search index, RF Cafe returns in
favorable positions on many types of key searches, both for text and images.
Your Banner Ads are displayed on average 225,000 times per year! New content
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to spider it multiple times each day. Items added on the homepage often can be found
in a Google search within a few hours of being posted. If you need your company
news to be seen, RF Cafe is the place to be...
 The December 1965 issue of Electronics
magazine reported in multiple articles on the state of
Japan's electronics industry. Japan's indisputable lead today
in many realms of semiconductor, commercial, and consumer products proves successful
implementation of the strategy described in these articles. Per this piece's NTT
employee authors, "In one decade, Japan's semiconductor industry has become the
world's second largest. Pioneering engineers, a variety of unusual devices, and
breakthroughs in miniaturization techniques account for phenomenal growth." A notable
claim is taking credit for inventing the ceramic "pill" packaging format for high
frequency transistors... |
