Wax nostalgic about and learn from the history of early electronics. See articles
from QST, published December 1915 - present (visit ARRL
for info). All copyrights hereby acknowledged.
Here
is an advertisement for Hytron Corporation that I scanned from page
83 of my copy of the June 1944 QST magazine. Hytron was
a manufacturer of electron tubes. "So Many Owe So Much To So Few,"
reds the title line. That is a paraphrase of Winston Churchill's
famous statement during World War II, "Never
in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so
few." That was in August 21, 1940, more than a year before the
U.S. entered the war. Perhaps of greater interest to RF Cafe visitors
are the next lines: "In peace, the Nation's debt to the radio amateur
was great. During hurricanes, floods, and other disasters, he sprang
forward with emergency communications. His endless hours of patient
experimentations - particularly on the high and ultrahigh
frequencies - helped open up, as if by magic, whole new segments
of the radio spectrum. Traffic enthusiasts surprised the people
with unselfish service; DX hounds fostered international goodwill."
Hytron Corporation Advertisement
Hytron Corporation Advertisement
"In this "radio" war, the "ham," along with the professional,
became the backbone around which the Services and war plants built
the myriad, complex communications systems of war, and the secret
electronic weapons. He has trained and inspired the new recruits
- the tens of thousands of potential "hams." Hytron, especially,
owes much to the radio amateur. When he entered the Services and
war plants, he took with him a knowledge of Hytron tubes particularly
v-h-f types-and an admiration for them. Through his enthusiasm,
these tubes became vital parts of war equipment. When the time comes
to speak out for the return of his precious frequencies, Hytron
will not forget him. "
RF Cafe began life in 1996 as "RF Tools" in an AOL screen name web space totaling
2 MB. Its primary purpose was to provide me with ready access to commonly needed
formulas and reference material while performing my work as an RF system and circuit
design engineer. The World Wide Web (Internet) was largely an unknown entity at
the time and bandwidth was a scarce commodity. Dial-up modems blazed along at 14.4 kbps
while typing up your telephone line, and a nice lady's voice announced "You've Got
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