December 1954 Popular Electronics
Table
of Contents
Wax nostalgic about and learn from the history of early electronics. See articles
from
Popular Electronics,
published October 1954 - April 1985. All copyrights are hereby acknowledged.
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With such a good response
to the posting of articles from vintage
QST magazines,
I figured it would be worth investing in some copies of other electronics-related
magazines because people old and young enjoy learning about the history of electronics.
Popular Electronics was published from October 1954 through April 1985.
I remember reading the magazine back in my USAF days (1978-1982). A couple batches
of Popular Electronics magazines came up for auction on eBay back in the
middle of 2011, and I managed to snag one set that included the December 1954 issue
(Vol. 1, No. 3, which was the third edition ever printed). It also included some
editions from early 1955 and others stretched into the early 1960s. This is the
first installment.
Popular Electronics was a hobbyist's magazine, and was chock full articles
on small electronics projects, Ham radio, radio-controlled aircraft equipment, audio
amplifiers, model train control, basic electronics lessons, and useful charts and
tables of data. The editors jumped right on that newfangled transistor thing when
it emerged as a commercial product! As with the
QST and the
vintage model aviation magazines I have posted from, the Popular Electronics
articles have been scanned and OCRed in order to make all the text searchable (just
posting a JPG of the page doesn't allow searching). Enjoy.
Emergency Radio Truck Covers Detroit Area
![Dodge officials are thanked by "walkie-talkie" for the truck they donated to Inter County Amateur Radio Club, December 1954 Popular Electronics](images/emergency-radio-truck-covers-detroit-area-dec-1954-pe-1_small1.jpg)
Dodge officials are thanked by "walkie-talkie" for the truck
they donated to Inter County Amateur Radio Club. Left to right: William C. Newberg.
president of the Dodge Div.; Fred J. amborn, vice-president and general manager;
L. J. Purdy. vice. president and general manager-trucks; George Wilde, trustee of
the radio club; Al Thomas, communications coordinator of the Detroit CD; Ted Hoffman,
Detroit assistant executive director of the Red Cross; and John Sauer, coordinator
for the ARRL of the mobile unit.
A ceaseless vigil is being maintained by members of the Inter County Amateur
Radio Club to provide valuable communications assistance in any disaster in the
Detroit area.
An emergency radio truck, donated by the Dodge Division of Chrysler Corporation,
serves as a mobile unit for radio station W8GIS. The mobile unit is equipped with
a generator and three complete radio stations, including a 2-meter teletype-writer.
Many East Coast and Midwest stations have been contacted on the 10-meter band transmitter.
![RF Cafe - Interior of mobile unit., December 1954 Popular Electronics](images/emergency-radio-truck-covers-detroit-area-dec-1954-pe-3_small1.jpg)
Interior of mobile unit. Joe Gardella (left) operates 2-meter
teletype while Gus Undy (right) vice-president of Multi-Products Co., donor of radio
equipment. operates 10-meter transmitter. Looking on are John Sauer. Fred J. Lamborn.
L. J. Purdy, and Wm. C. Newberg.
The unit has room for five operators in the 1272 foot body. The 6'-4" headroom
permits tall operators to stand erect. A heating unit keeps the truck comfortable
in cold weather.
The Club has built 104 "walkie-talkie" type units at a cost of about $25 each
for use with the mobile unit and in other communications work.
Members of the club are trained and ready to
provide vital aid in any emergency or disaster in the Detroit area. They work closely
with the Office of Civilian Defense and the American Red Cross in the area.
John Sauer, a Dodge employee, is coordinator on the mobile unit for the ARRL.
His car is also equipped so that it can work in conjunction with the mobile unit.
Posted October 26, 2022 (updated from original post
on July 1, 2011)
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