Burgess Battery Advertisement
August 1934 QST

This could be a modern day photo of an American DHS (Department of Homeland Security) or an Israeli IDF (Israel Defense Forces) agent displaying a body bomb found on an attempted suicide bomber after thwarting an attack, but it's not. In actuality, it is a 1934 Burgess battery advertisement that appeared in QST magazine with the intent of demonstrating to Hams the kinds of research the company was doing. This design was called a "ribbon battery," and it could conveniently be wired in a flexible manner with almost any number of series and parallel connections to accommodate required voltage and current combinations, including taps for multiple voltages needed for vacuum tube radios. The packs could be "wrapped about one's body for portable receiver use." Hmmmm, maybe that's what made me think of the body bomb.

Burgess Advertisement

Ribbon Type Battery

A New Burgess Product

Believing that Radio Amateurs are interested in new developments, it is our plan to tell QST Readers about some of the ideas, methods and products evolved by Burgess engineers.

For example - Mr. W. B. Schulte is showing here a new ribbon or flexible type of dry battery designed for, and especially useful in laboratory, experimental and testing work. It has these characteristics: - (1) Flexible; it may be rolled into a compact cylinder, folded into two or three layers, or laid out flat. It may be hung on the wall, against a receiver cabinet, or even wrapped about one's body for portable receiver use. (2) A potential of 114 volts with taps every 6 volts. (3) Weight, 6.2 lbs. (4) Cost approximately 2¢ a volt .• To any radio amateur who may be interested in this, a detailed description will be forwarded upon request. The Ribbon Battery is a laboratory product, and offered for laboratory rather than general commercial use. Burgess Battery Company, Freeport, Illinois, U. S. A.

Burgess

Posted August 15, 2022
(updated from original post on 6/10/2016)