Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Skip Arey (N2EI), who shared the following video on Facebook:
Any electrical spark creates radio waves and acts as a transmitter. You hear sparks on a radio as interference. That’s why lighting makes radios crackle, and even the tiny spark in a switch is enough to make a noise on the radio when turning on a light./blockquote>
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Edward Ganshirt, who shares the following:
This is a Hallicrafters S-72L “barn find” I restored.
This turned out to be a furniture refinishing project and not a radio (electronics) restoration job.
It is a 1949/50 era portable with batteries and 1 volt tubes.
When I brought it home the cosmetic condition was such, I kept it away from the litter box out of an abundance of caution to prevent it from being buried by the cats.
This is a very early portable radio made out of plywood and coated with brown wall paper fabric imitating cheap portable record players and luggage of the era.
I decided to laminate it with cedar drawer liner to give it some class instead of vinyl wallpaper.
While learning to laminate wood is another skill outside the scope of this article, The trick when applying laminate is to prevent bubbles forming under the laminate.
Also all divits and dents should be filled in with Bondo or wood filler. The surface is lightly sanded with very fine sandpaper and at least 8 layers of gloss water based floor varnish applied and allowed to thoroughly dry before the next coat.
This radio has nice audio quality, It has a BFO and tunes the longwave band through 11MHz.
The only regrets is cleaning it aggressively which took away a lot of the “old radio smell”, but the cedar aroma will keep the moths out.
Fantastic, Ed! Thanks for sharing. I think you made a considerate upgrade to the S-72L. Great to hear this radio plays well and has excellent audio. I found one at a hamfest once in slightly better cosmetic condition, but much worse electrical condition than your pre-restoration unit. I’m sure I took a photo of it, but I can’t seem to find it in the archives.
Post readers: any other Hallicrafters S-72L owners out there? Have you ever installed wood laminate on a radio cabinet? Please comment!
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From “Fear of the Walking Dead”
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributors Kevin and Stan who share the following article from Gizmodo. Stan notes:
You (and your readers) often comment on radios in movies and tv shows,
so I thought ya’ll might be interested in the following article:“Where Movies Get Their Vintage Electronics”
https://gizmodo.com/where-movies-get-their-vintage-electronics-1832218560Turns out, some come from an electronic waste recycling company in NYC,
which repairs and resells some of the waste they collect, puts the best
specimens in a museum/prop library for movies and TV show, and the rest
is recycled in an environmentally conscious way without ending up in a
landfill.
Fascinating! That vault looks amazing! I think it’s brilliant that set designers reach for vintage radios and I’m glad the vault has a ready supply!
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Rich Nowak, who kindly shares photos from the Orlando Hamcation Flea Market.
Click on each image to enlarge:
What an impressive amount of vintage radios! I’m planning to attend Hamcation next year (2020)–now I know I’ll need to bring my truck to haul back all of the boat anchors! 🙂
Thank you for sharing these, Rich!
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, James Branch, who shares the following comment regarding the shipment of heavy vintage radios:
On the issue of shipping Boat Anchors, I’ve had good experiences using Greyhound Package Express, Tough-bin structural foam footlockers and proper padding.
The parcel is loaded at the bus station of origin and usually remains on that bus to its destination without having to survive a sorting center or multiple unhappy loading personnel.
It may be inconvenient to drop off and pick up at the bus terminal, but considering the irreplaceable nature of these rigs, it’s worth the effort.
I had no idea! Thank you for the tip, James!
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Charlie (W4MEC), who shares this fascinating film which documents the production and calibration of crystals in 1943. I had no idea of the amount of labor and attention to detail this process required–an absolutely fascinating process:
UPDATE (08/09/2022): the YouTube account associated with this film has been deleted by the owner.
Click here to view this same film now hosted by the Antique Wireless Association.
(Source: ARRL News via Ron)
Alexanderson alternator in the SAQ Grimeton VLF transmitter.
Sweden’s Alexanderson alternator station SAQ has planned a Christmas Eve transmission on 17.2 kHz. The transmitter will be tuned up starting at around 0730 UTC, and a message will be transmitted at 0800 UTC. The 200 kW Alexanderson alternator is an electromechanical transmitter dating back to 1924.
The event will be streamed live on the Alexanderson site YouTube Channel. Listener reports are invited via email or direct to Radiostationen Grimeton 72, SE-432 98 Grimeton, Sweden. Amateur Radio station SK6SAQ will be active on Christmas Eve on 7,035 and 14,035 kHz on CW, or on 3,755 kHz on SSB. Two stations will be on the air most of the time.
