Category Archives: AM

Stuart Sizer: Heathkit designer, dad, and “bon vivant”

Two weeks ago, through a radio preservation group, I met the son of Heathkit product designer of the 1950s-70s, Stu Sizer––”stylist, artist, maker of models, bon vivant.” His son described the discovery of a few vintage Heathkit brochures, photos, and illustrations his father kept in his family’s basement shop, many of which had been scanned at some point.

Stu Sizer––”stylist, artist, maker of models, bon vivant”––was tasked with crafting Heathkit’s user-friendly and attractive exterior designs. For many years Sizer was Heathkit’s only product designer, and was therefore often busy. “He was a great dad,” his son told me, “but he spent a lot of time in the basement proof-building kits.” He adds wryly, “Let that be a lesson to the hams of this world.”

Sizer’s son kindly shared with us the following scans and photos of his dad’s work, many of which are original drawings; the series concludes with some clippings featuring Sizer.

On Stuart Sizer

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James adds an LM386 amplifier kit to his Heathkit GR-150

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, James Surprenant (AB1DQ), who shares this update to his review of the Heathkit Explorer Jr. TRF AM radio receiver kit:

With regard to the Heathkit TRF AM receiver kit, I did indeed build my LM386 amplifier.

I was planning on home-brewing it from scratch as the chip is pretty much all you need and there are various proven schematics for the circuit, but in the end I went with a small kit from Nightfire Electronics for $10 plus $5 shipping that I found on Amazon.com.

It was a bit cheaper to buy it in kit form, of course, and then there was the convenience of having all the parts in one place.

Here is a photo of the kit as advertised on Amazon…

And here is my build with the Heathkit…

I modified the kit to add a 3.5mm input jack, replacing the RCA jack that came with the kit, to make it easier to plug into the Heathkit radio.

I deliberated whether to install the audio amp into the Heathkit cabinet drilling out a couple of holes for the pot shafts. It all would have fit and I could have easily mounted the 3″ 8 ohm speaker to the back panel of the Heathkit radio. In the end, I decided to keep the radio original and mounted the amplifier board on a small piece of wood I found at a hobby store and decided to leave it all exposed. It works well, all things considered.

(Click here to view video on Facebook.)

It worked well and per my original review on SWLing Post, I feel Heathkit should have included such a little amp in the kit – it makes a big difference.

Many thanks for the update, James! That little LM386 amp kit seems like an affordable addition for any receiver lacking an amplifier or adequate audio amplification.

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Tuning the Scott Marine SLR-M at sea

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Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, Vendel Boeree (K2DSI), who writes:

Hi Tom, I just wanted to compliment you on your fine website. As a kid I would listen to Radio Netherlands which made me quite the hit with mom because she was homesick for our native Holland for quite some time. I was heart broken to find out that Radio Netherlands went dark not that long ago.

Back in 1967 my family moved to Australia and went there by freighter. Things didn’t work out as planned and we returned on an old American freighter, the “African Moon”.

I became friendly with the radio operator on that ship and he let me shortwave listen when he was off watch. The receiver was a “Scott” and appeared to be the same as yours. They also had a “Scott” receiver in the lounge that had a slide rule dial that was used for entertainment purposes. I was hooked. I wanted to be a radio operator.

Needless to say I didn’t follow through on that dream and I suppose that’s just as well seeing as how ROs are a thing of the past.

Take care and keep up the good work.

Vendel Boeree/ K2DSI

Thanks so much for sharing those memories, Vendel! I bet reception was nothing short of amazing while you were at sea. I’m guessing the slide rule model Scott you listened to in the lounge was the model SLR-F (click here for a photo).

Just the other day, my wife looked around my radio shack and asked what radio I would grab if the house were on fire. My answer was the Scott Marine SLR-M. It represents everything I love in WWII era receivers: built like a tank, great sensitivity, beautiful back-lit dial, built-in speaker, phono in, a magic eye and–since it was intended as a troop morale radio–beautiful room-filling audio.

Yep. Scottie’s a keeper!

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Radio Preservation Task Force conference in the press

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Last week, the Radio Preservation Task Force held a conference which focused on saving America’s radio heritage. I had hoped to attend in DC, but sadly had a conflict in my schedule that weekend.

I’m happy to see that the conference got several mentions in the press.

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Bill Patalon, for sharing a link to this article in RadioWorld:

Preservation Conference Highlighted Unique Radio Perspectives

The launch of the first “Save America’s Radio Heritage” conference saw a greater turnout than expected, with a total of roughly 300 attendees over two days in the nation’s capital last week.

The event, held at the Library of Congress and the University of Maryland, focused on the state of radio preservation, but the conference was more than just about the process of preserving historical recordings and other radio documents, but sharing some of America’s unique uses of the medium.

The Radio Preservation Task Force calls itself the first national radio history project of the Library of Congress. It grew out of the Library’s ambitious National Recording Preservation Plan, published in 2012. The task force says radio is “perpetually declared to be a dying medium” but nevertheless attracts dedicated listeners and commercial and public support. The organizers have said radio’s history is a chronicle of culture and a potential trove for historical researchers. The national plan in 2012 specifically called for a symposium to discuss the challenges of preserving American radio broadcasts; last week it was put into action.[…]

Continue reading on RadioWorld’s website…

The conference also caught the attention of APM’s Marketplace:

Task force aims to preserve radio history

A group of librarians, academics, and audio enthusiasts is gathering in Washington Friday for a first-of-its kind conference. The topic: “Saving America’s Radio Heritage.” The meeting is part of a massive effort to preserve recordings going back to the early 20th century.

The effort is not focused on the classic network quiz shows and radio plays of the 1930s through 50s, said Chris Sterling, who chairs the Radio Preservation Task Force at the Library of Congress.

“We’ve pretty much got that stuff,” he said. “What we’re talking about instead is trying to get the local radio voice in America: commercial, educational, college radio, all of that.”

One example is a 1956 interview with Rosa Parks from the Pacifica Radio Archives, recorded after Parks’ arrest for refusing to give up her seat to a white man on an Alabama bus.

Also at PopUp Archive:

http://blog.popuparchive.com/?p=836

And on the CBS Radio Network:

Those of us who work in radio are proud it has such a long and interesting history…

[…]But there’s a problem: Radio, by its very nature, is ephemeral. That makes its history a little hard to document.

A conference going on in Washington, DC is helping to make the airwaves a bit more solid.[…]

Continue reading and listen to the full audio report on the CBS Radio Network.

I hope the RPTF hosts another conference next year as I would like input on archiving AM/MW spectrum recordings–something I suspect few in the field even know exists!

Any SWLing Post readers attend the conference?

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Radio Caroline: A video diary of the weekend aboard the MV Ross Revenge

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Many thanks to Mike Terry who shared the following note and video via Facebook:

The great old days when the signal was mellow and radio waves were not blocked by buildings and hills and propagated beyond the horizon especially at night, it all added to the excitement. We would never have heard many of the great records of the 60s and later without this station! So many international stars made their name on the offshore stations around our coast 50 years or so ago. UK radio was changed for ever.

[Note: This video may only be viewable via Facebook or the SWLing Post site.]

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Mike’s low and high pass filter deals

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SWLing Post contributor, Mike Ladd, is an avid SDR enthusiast and an administrator of the SDRplay Facebook group. Mike contacted me about special pricing he has arranged for low and high pass filters through Rescue Electronics. Mike explains:

These filters retail for $70.00 each. I spoke to the builder. I told him who I was and what I do and got him to make a deal for anyone in the United States with these filters and a direct link to his site. I make zero dollars on this. I always try to give back to the hobby and the community any way possible.

You have 3 choices: a high pass filter, a low pass filter, or a combo package.

These are hand built one at a time by Paul W1VLF with your choice of SO-239 or BNC connections. Full details are below:

High pass filter $55 shipped anywhere in the USA

This filter will begin attacking the AM band at 1770 Khz and increase attenuation as frequency decreases.

You can see this in the screen capture of the swept filter below.

160 Meters and above is virtually left untouched, but below that is where the attenuation takes place.

The filter has attenuated 60 db by 960 KHz.

The AM band has some very large signals that can mix in the front end of your. A lot of these spurious frequencies can land in 160 meter band or above.

For instance, I have a big signal at 1080 Khz and another at 770 Khz, add these 2 together and you get a spur that falls at 1850 Khz

Picture this happening at multiple frequencies with multiple mixes and you have a raised noise floor in the 160 Meter band.

The filter is built into a 2″ x 4″ 1.25″ 1/8″ wall aluminum enclosure for excellent RF shielding

Low pass filter $55 shipped anywhere in the USA

The AM-2 filter has a cutoff at 520 KHz.

Then, and without a lot of fanfare it begins the attack on the MW band.

Purchase this filter if you are into NDB, DX’ing, Maritime Mobile, Navetex, FCC Part 5 600 Meter band.

Each filter is handmade and swept in my lab.

The AM -2 Low pass is equipped with BNC connectors.

The filter begins to roll off at 520 Khz and gives an ultimate rejection of around 80 Db.

The filter is built into a 2″ x 4″ 1.25″ 1/8″ wall aluminum enclosure for excellent RF shielding

Combo deal for both $100 shipped anywhere in the USA

Click here to view/purchase via Mike Ladd’s promotional page at Rescue Electronics.

Many thanks for sharing this Mike! During my presentation at the Winter SWL Fest last week, I spoke about the need for high/low pass filters for listeners who live in the presence of strong broadcasters and interference. Many of the inexpensive SDRs on the market do not have built-in filters and preselectors thus can overload under these conditions.

While filters can be homebrewed or built from kits, these filters seem to be a good deal for a quality shielded and tested product. Thanks for arranging this, Mike!

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AM radio proposal has Class A broadcasters upset

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(Source: Times Union)

When the sun goes down, AM radio signals travel much farther. You can listen to 50,000-watt stations such as WGY hundreds of miles away.

But that could soon change, if the Federal Communications Commission goes through with a plan to let more local stations broadcast through the evening hours and potentially makes changes in the daytime signal of WGY and other powerful stations.

The proposed change in protections to Class A stations such as WGY would ease restrictions on the smaller stations, which are now required to reduce power or change the direction they broadcast their signal so they don’t conflict with the more powerful Class A stations.

WGY has begun an online petition drive to oppose the changes.

Called “Save AM Radio,” the petition opposes reducing WGY’s so-called “protected service area.”

The changes, WGY says, “will make it very difficult for many of our listeners to receive our programming, especially at night and during morning and evening drive times.”

[…]The FCC, meanwhile, says the changes are being considered in an effort “to help revitalize the AM service.”

More local stations would give listeners a wider choice of programming, supporters of the change argue.

[…]WGY’s online petition is at http://www.wgy.com/features/save-am-radio-1919/
The FCC is accepting comments through March 21 and replies through April 18, at www.fcc/ecfs. Click on “submit a filing.” The proceeding number is 13-249.

Read the full article at the Times Union online…

I’m very curious what Post readers think about this proposal from the perspective of both access to regional information, as well as from MW DXing. Will this move crowd the AM broadcast band or give local stations a stronger voice?

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