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#71
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It's been a long, long time...
"Tony Clayton" wrote in message ... In a recent message "Scurvy Dog" wrote: "Bruce Remick" wrote in message ... "Scurvy Dog" wrote in message ... "Bruce Remick" wrote in message ... One of my favorites was the 99¢ "cat's whisker" crystal set that most kids had at one time in the 1940's. You needed earphones for that. I was probably too young to realize how amazing that simple little thing really was. chitchat I had one of those old cat's whisker crystal sets back in the 50s. I was fascinated by it. Wish I still had it. /chitchat I think they can still be had from several companies that deal in "nostalgia" items. Probably not for 99¢ anymore. It would make a eye-opener gift for some young iPod kid who has seldom had the occasion to listen to a radio. He (or she) might enjoy connecting a couple wires to a dry cell (do they still sell those things?), mount the crystal, connect some earphones, and actually hear radio stations coming out of practically "nothing". The beauty of the old crystal radio is that it needed no external power... I remember listening to the Halle Orchestra playing the Messiah on mine. The aerial lead was connected to my bedsprings. I later made a one valve amplifier radio, but there must have been a dry connection in the tuning circuit as when I listened to one programme I could hear several others in the background! A capacitor might have fixed that problem... |
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#72
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It's been a long, long time...
"mazorj" wrote in message ... Since we're now solidly into chit-chat about obsolete electronics technology: "Bruce Remick" wrote in message ... ... First I bought and read some old textbooks that explained radio workings, how to do basic testing, and how to replace capacitors, etc. It's amazing how many old tube radios simply need a few new capacitors to get back on the air. Tubes go bad less frequently than you might think. As a teenager I worked in a drugstore that had a big metal display rack of radio and TV tubes and test sockets. We did a brisk business because transistors were still a novelty and even though most tubes lasted for years, every household's assortment of tube devices would have the occasional blow-out. I recall my folks sending me to the local drug store with a tube or two to check on their big testing machine. If one turned out bad, there was a supply of replacements stored in a compartment at the bottom of the tester. I got my first portable radio around then, a 6-transistor Sony about half the size of a cigar box. We chose it over a cheaper 5-transistor model because the salesman assured my mother that 6 transistors were better than 5. We kids would boast about how many transistors our radio had. A real radio that could fit in your pocket was such a novelty that even people who didn't listen to the radio had to have one. Anyone remember the earliest portable consumer radios? They still had tubes and were the size of two bread boxes. They had two batteries, an A (which later begat the smaller AA and the AAA and the AAAA lines) and a massive B which I think supplied higher voltage and/or amperage for the tubes. It was like lugging a piece of luggage around with you. Our first portable was a heavy, plastic-cased Emerson, about the size of a briefcase and twice as thick. Half of the innards was battery of some type. Whatever, it never stored power for long so we had to be frugal playing it when a plug in was also available. Sorta like the old "farm radios". There's a cottage industry of retro types who value old tube radios and amplifiers. The sound they produce is distinct from that of modern electronics. It provides a different listening experience, especially when mated with the warmer sound of vinyl records. Accoustics buffs also treasure classic microphones from the golden age of radio for their distinct characteristics. Sound quality is in the ear of the beholder, but there's probaby something to all this besides nostalgia. I bought a couple inexpensive, non-working, "project" 1930's table radios on eBay and learned how to trace wires, do simple tests, make solder connections, etc. Those were the ones I got working. I also found a couple Usenet groups like this that featured amateur radio repair discussions. Friendly types, they helped answer a number of questions I had. In the 1970s I built several Heathkit receivers, which were a great value for the money until technology and cheap overseas factory labor made them more of a hobbyist curiosity. It was a good learning experience even though most of the time I had no idea of what I was doing except soldering components. You got the general idea when installing obvious parts like jacks and switches and volume and tuning controls. (The analog tuning dial, with a red stick traveling on a string connected to the tuner, was particularly finicky to assemble and adjust.) The rest was pages and pages of "Solder Resistor #217 into locations 217A and 217B". God help you if you reversed a diode or any of the umpteen connections was a cold joint. Don't go too hog wild until you're sure you really want to get involved in this stuff. I lost interest once my shoulders healed. But I still listen to the radios that I fixed. Sounds like (double entendre intended) the ideal listening source for that Sunday-night show on classic radio programs! I thought of that very thing, except I can't receive FM. |
#73
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It's been a long, long time...
"mazorj" wrote in message ... "Bruce Remick" wrote in message ... "Scurvy Dog" wrote in message ... ... The beauty of the old crystal radio is that it needed no external power... Y'know, you're right there. I had forgotten after all these years so I did a little Googling, too, and noted that all you needed for power was a proper length of antenna wire-- no battery. Like magic! Like picking up Casey Kasem on your braces. You got that? All I could get was a clear channel country music/religious station in the Midwest. Every time the orthodontist did an adjustment, it came in louder and clearer. Bummer. What brand of toothpaste were you using? That made a difference. Don't you remember Bucky Beaver? He was able to bring in Europe on his uppers. |
#74
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It's been a long, long time...
"Bruce Remick" wrote in message ... "mazorj" wrote in message ... "Bruce Remick" wrote in message ... "Scurvy Dog" wrote in message ... ... The beauty of the old crystal radio is that it needed no external power... Y'know, you're right there. I had forgotten after all these years so I did a little Googling, too, and noted that all you needed for power was a proper length of antenna wire-- no battery. Like magic! Like picking up Casey Kasem on your braces. You got that? All I could get was a clear channel country music/religious station in the Midwest. Every time the orthodontist did an adjustment, it came in louder and clearer. Bummer. What brand of toothpaste were you using? That made a difference. Don't you remember Bucky Beaver? He was able to bring in Europe on his uppers. Good old Bucky would exhort consumers to "Brusha, brusha, brusha. Brusha with Ipana" All this non-numismatic chitchat must be frustrating Reid the Net Cop to no end! g |
#75
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It's been a long, long time...
On Apr 8, 8:12*am, EricBabula wrote:
Hello again, everyone! Yes, I've been on an extended leave of absence from RCC - sorry about that, if you care. If you're happy about that, sorry I'm back! Well, not really sorry. *I just started reading RCC on and off, again, and remembered all the fun discussions we used to have. And I kinda miss it!! Looks like there might be a couple regulars from years past, still hanging around! But, it looks like RCC is very quiet - is that true? I'm reading on groups.google.com, and am not seeing very much traffic here. I lost my News Feed (Road Runner/Time Warner Cable in WI doesn't support Newsgroups anymore). I get just a few new posts a week on Google Groups - that can't be, can it? Anyway - I think I'd like to find a new News Feed service (FREE if possible), and a Newsreader (I used to use XNews and liked it - will have to see if that still works). Is Tera News (Free) still the way others have gone, in order to get all the RCC posts, including alt.binaries.pictures.numismatic??? Any other suggestions? Anyway - so I really haven't done much of anything with coins since I "left" reading and contributing to RCC. I have big plans to image all my coins some day, but never seem to get to that. The "Honey-Do" list never seems to get smaller, no matter how many things I cross off!! And, the kids are keeping us so busy - the only free time we really have is Friday nights. Really, the only coin-related thing I've done is: I've just recently started reading "Crime of 1873 - The Comstock Connection" - about the Comstock silver mines, and the history leading up to the creation of the Trade and Morgan Dollars. If anyone recalls, I tend to be interested in Morgan Dollars above most coins, for whatever reason. Maybe it's my love of the Wild, Wild West as a youth. Maybe it's the design of Lady Liberty (not particularly attractive, but nicely designed) and the Eagle. Maybe it's because I love big, heavy, shiny silver! I don't know. I do love other coins, too. I have only collected U.S. coins, though, I do have some coins from other areas of the world - mostly as gifts from others. Anywhoo, I'm hoping to be back to RCC, at least on a part-time basis. If anyone has suggestions on a good, reliable News Feed that'll get me all the RCC and ABPM posts, I'd much appreciate it! I feel like I'm missing a ton, here on Google Groups. Have a Great Day!!! Eric Babula Welcome Back Eric! I too have been on a bit of a leave of absence from RCC. Davey |
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