Category Archives: Nostalgia

Boat Anchor Tuesday: Hallicrafters S-40B and SX-100

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Chris Peters, who shares the above photo for Boat Anchor Tuesday and writes:

I was lucky enough to recently pick up both these familiar faces for $150.

Hallicrafters S-40B and SX-100

Both are in decent shape but are due for a recap and alignment.

Wow–both of these are classic sets, Chris! After a recap and alignment, I think you’ll especially be impressed with the performance that SX-100 delivers! Thank you for sharing!

Post readers: If you’d like to share a photo of your boat anchor on Boat Anchor Tuesday, simply send me an email with the photo and a short description. I’ll put it in the pipeline to publish!

Archived radio listings from four major US newspapers

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, John Figliozzi, who shares a link to this website which has archived radio listings from four major U.S. cities/newspapers from 1930-1960:

http://www.jjonz.us/RadioLogs/index.htm

As John pointed out, there is some serious nostalgia to be found here! Thanks for the tip, John!

Tuckerton Radio Tower’s rich history and once record-setting height

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(Image: RadioMarine.org)

(Source: The Sandpiper via Richard Langley)

Who knows how many Americans realize that 100 years ago the United States was at war? After all, when about 25 people on the street in Beach Haven in the summer of 2012 were asked for a SandPaper article what war the U.S. had been involved in 200 years previously, very few could answer the War of 1812. There seems to be a flaw in the way history is taught in the U.S., and maybe math as well.

So for those who don’t remember their high school history, in 1918 the U.S. was heavily involved – with well over 4 million troops in Europe – in World War I, the “War to End All Wars,” “The Great War.”

It is easy to imagine that even a world war wouldn’t very much affect what was then a remote and rural Ocean County. But it did, in many ways. German U-boats prowled the Atlantic off the Jersey Shore; nearby Fort Dix (at first Camp Dix) was created and became one of the premier U.S. Army basic training centers in the country for decades.

Nicholas Wood of the Ocean County Cultural Heritage Commission[…]discussed two aspects of Ocean County and WWI in his 75-minute lecture/slide show at the Long Beach Island Historical Museum on Monday evening.

[…]The second half of Wood’s presentation discussed the once-famous but now mostly forgotten Tuckerton Radio Tower, built in 1912 by the German government.

[…]The tower was 820 feet high, making it, at the time, the second tallest structure in the world, behind only the Eiffel Tower. It was one of the first and most powerful transatlantic radio stations ever constructed. It survived until 1955, when it was torn down and sold for scrap metal and today lends its name to Little Egg Harbor’s Radio Road.[…]

Click here to read the full story at The Sandpiper.

Boat Anchor Tuesday: National HRO-50T

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Price Kagey, who shares the following photo for Boat Anchor Tuesday and writes:

“My wonderful HRO-50T. I have replaced all tubes and now need to start on capacitors and resistors.”

What a beautiful radio, Price! Once you’ve re-capped and replaced the resistors in this girl, you’ll have a phenomenal receiver. I’m a sucker for those HRO dials! Thank you for sharing!

Share your photos on Boat Anchor Tuesday!

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Yesterday, as I took a little time to curate a massive collection of photos I took at the Museum of Radio and Technology, I posted a few “boat anchor” (heavy metal vintage radio) photos and labelled them “Boat Anchor Tuesday” on Twitter and Facebook.

Much to my surprise, I received a number of comments and emails with readers asking for more Boat Anchor Tuesday pics!

So I’ve decided to make it a feature here on the SWLing Post. After all, anyone who knows me knows that I’m a massive fan of boat anchors!

Your photos on Boat Anchor Tuesday!

Please send me a photo (or a few) of your favorite boat anchor. Every Tuesday, I’ll feature a reader’s boat anchor here on the SWLing Post.

If you can, include a few sentences about the radio: how you obtained it, what you like about it or any memories. We radio nostalgic people love this stuff!

Please send photo(s) and radio blurb to my email address found on our Contact page. I only plan to post one radio per week, so these will be scheduled far ahead to post automatically.

Shortwave Radio Recordings: SWL Digest from January 4, 1982

Discovering the Apollo Survival Radio

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In a previous post, I mentioned that I visited the US Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville Alabama last week (a museum I highly recommend to anyone interest in spaceflight).

While perusing numerous displays in the Saturn V Hall at the Davidson Center for Space Exploration, I noted this little radio in a case devoted to Apollo survival gear:

I found no detailed information about this survival radio at the display (not surprising), so I snapped a few photos and researched it when I got back to the hotel room that evening.

The Smithsonian Air And Space Museum was one of the few sources I found with a description of this radio:

Survival gear was provided to Apollo astronauts in the case they returned to Earth and there was a substantial delay in rescue and recovery operations. One item in the survival kit was a hand-held UHF radio. Beginning with the Apollo 12 survival kit the radio beacon was manufactured by the Cubic Corporation. It could operate either as a “beacon” or for two-way voice communications. Permanently set to operate at 243 MHz, the transceiver and its cylindrical battery pack were water-tight. It could operate in beacon mode for up to 24 hours. An extendable antenna, a second battery pack, and a spacecraft connector cable were also provided.

I love finding purpose-designed radios like the Apollo Survival Radio.

Post readers: Have you ever stumbled upon similar survival or purpose-built radios? Please comment!