Cool Pic Archive Pages
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These images have been chosen for their uniqueness. Subject matter ranges from
historic events, to really cool phenomena in science and engineering, to relevant
place, to ingenious contraptions, to interesting products (which now has its own
dedicated Featured Product
category).
Maybe it comes from having crossed the
half-century Rubicon (14
years ago as of this writing), but
with increasing frequency I find myself seeking out vintage magazines to learn how
the world used to be. I am a realist who has no misconceptions about how
things used to be idyllic and that today is utter debauchery, but it is apparent from a
lot of the publications that we surely have changed significantly in the last 50+
years - better in some ways, worse in others. Technologically we are much better
off; societally, not so much.
For many years I have been purchasing of WWII era QST and other electronics
magazine titles listed on eBay. I do the same thing for vintage model magazines
on my Airplanes and Rockets website.
Selected articles and advertisements are scanned and posted. A lot of the information
is timeless in its application since the fundamentals of electronics and flying
models never change.
 The
company advertisements from the World War II era are very interesting in that they
oft times include a theme that proudly proclaims their commitment to America and
her Allies' victory in the effort. Many familiar faces are seen in the ads, some
of the country's longest existing electronics companies: RCA, Triplett Instruments,
IRC, Raytheon. Below are a few that I scanned from the September 1942 (less than
a year after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor), and September 1943 editions of
the American Radio Relay League's "QST" magazine.
  Of particular interest to me is the Bliley
Electric Company, which is located right here in Erie, PA, about 5 miles from my
house. Today the name is Bliley Technologies,
I suppose as a perceived need to modernize the company image. What has not changed
is Bliley's products - crystals, oscillators, and other frequency generation items.
Here is a nice slideshow of their
production facility. Do you wonder what the Greek word "κρυσταλλος" at the top of
the ad translates to? It is "crystal ice!"
BTW, Bliley is not the only well-known electronics manufacturer in Erie. Spectrum
Control (now API Technology) is headquartered
here, too.
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Bliley Electric
(κρυσταλλος
= crystal ice)
September 1942 QST
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Amperex Electronic Products
September 1942 QST
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Eimac Tubes
(Eitel-McCullough, Inc.)
September 1942 QST
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Hallicrafters Company
September 1942 QST
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Hammarlund Manufacturing
September 1942 QST
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IRC
(International Resistance Company)
September 1942
QST
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Ohmite Manufacturing Company
September 1942 QST
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Raytheon Manufacturing Company
February 1943 QST
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Raytheon Manufacturing Company
September 1942 QST
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RCA Transmitting Tubes
(Radio Corporation of America)
February 1943 QST
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Speer Carbon Company
September 1942 QST
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Sprague Specialties Company
September 1942 QST
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Taylor Tubes
September 1942 QST
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Thordarson Electric Manufacturing
September 1942 QST
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Triplett Electrical Instrument Co.
September 1942 QST
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Hallicrafters
July 1944 QST
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Posted June6, 2025
(updated from original post
on 7/8/2019)
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