VOLUME 18            NOVEMBER 2001                NUMBER  11

RADIO MISCELLANEA -- NOVEMBER 2001

From Antique Radio Classified for November 2001
(Copyright 1996-2001 by John V. Terrey - For personal use only.)

"Antique Radio Classified" invites its readers to contribute letters and information for inclusion in "Radio Miscellanea" and elsewhere in the magazine. "In The Marketplace" is based on information submitted by the businesses themselves. All topics should be of general interest and sent to A.R.C., P.O. Box 2, Carlisle, MA 01741. All material submitted should be verified for accuracy and may be edited for publication, which is not guaranteed. See the masthead for more details.

Transatlantic Message's 100th
Dear Editor:

I wish to remind everyone who is interested in the history of radio that December 12, 2001, is the 100th anniversary of the reception of Marconi's first transatlantic message at St. Johns, Newfoundland. The message was transmitted from his station at Poldhu, Eng-land, on December 12, 1901. There is a bronze plaque at Signal Hill, Newfoundland, commemorating this event. I was able to visit this site many years ago.

--Harry Cap, Bridgewater, MA

Readers can look forward to articles related to this historic event in the December issue. (Editor)

Bravo Ted!
Dear Editor:

Here's my personal thanks to Ted Rogers for his excellent article in the October 2001 issue on installing grille cloth on curved surfaces. Not only is it an ingenious solution, but a well written and clearly illustrated article. Let's have more articles like this! In fact, if I ever get off my lazy butt, I might contribute one or two myself.

--Mike Simos, Merrick, NY

OK, Mike. You're on! (Editor)

Ad Success
Dear Editor:

Your magazine advertising was so effective that my item sold after the August issue came out. I have already had several calls since it sold. Thanks for your help.

--James Kluck, Huntington Beach, CA

On Crystal Slabs and Grinding
Dear Editor:

I would like to grind my own frequency crystals for some experiments. I know that in the past Hams used to grind their own transmitter crystals. Apparently that art has diappeared, along with the availability of crystal slabs. I know the process, but this is more or less a learning experience for me. Where can I find crystal slabs?

Speaking of crystal grinding, when I was on furlough during World War II, I visited my old high school chemistry/physics teacher. He showed me a machine which consisted of a rotary disc on which was mounted 10 or 20 chips of crystal that rotated alternately through a polisher and then into a pair of plates that connected them to a oscillator circuit and a frequency analyzer. If the crystal arrived at a preordained frequency, the machine dropped it into a box. If the crystal was below a set frequency, it stayed in the machine for more grinding. If it went above the frequency, it was dropped into a "future box" to be used for other frequencies. This was a real, automated crystal grinder in the 1940-1941 era.

--Alton A. DuBois, Jr., Queensbury, NY

A good reference on crystal grinding is "QST," May 1927, page 24. (Editor)

Meeting with A.J. Haynes
Dear Editor:

Wally Worth's excellent article about the Haynes DX receiver in the August 2001 A.R.C. reminded me of meeting A.J. Haynes in the 1940s. I was in New York City negotiating a contract with an amplifier manufacturer. A company engineer introduced me to a man with a speech impediment. One of my associates had this problem, and so I was able to talk to this man quite easily.

When he signed his name "A.J. Haynes," I asked him about the DX receiver circuit, and he told me that the Cockaday article in Radio Age had done a lot for kit sales, and that he received letters from all over the world praising him.

I told him that in 1924 I had altered my home-brew radio to his circuit, and it worked much better. Then we discussed the exciting 1920s radio days for an hour. Later, when I called the company about deliveries and the like, I would be transfered to Haynes, so that he could talk with me about the good old days of radio. I hope I added a bit of cheer to a fine old timer in radio. I have a brass-based, tipped UV201 tube with a Haynes-Griffin warranty sticker to remind me of A.J. Haynes.

Thank you for publishing Wally Worth's fine article.

--Serge L. Krauss, Elkart, IN

Ads - The Good and the Bad
Dear Editor:

I very much enjoy your magazine and look forward to seeing it each month. I have recently reintroduced myself to a hobby that I enjoyed as a youngster back in the 1950s when you could find many of these now collectible sets in the trash on the way to or from school. Today's kids don't know what they're missing.

The only part of your publication that disturbs me is the credibility of many of the ads. Although I have met some very sincere and responsive fellow collectors, I also have run across many misleading and overstated ads, as well as people who solicit money for a price list and do not respond, or who misrepresent a junk set not worth the bother of sending back. I know it's impossible to police this, so I try to purchase only items near home. Then I can look before I leap. On the other hand, there was an ad from a Seattle gentleman that I took a chance on, and I wound up with a set that is better than advertised and less costly than it would have been on the East Coast. So, go figure.

--William Devlin, Rockville Centre, NY

No Distance Too Great
The following was posted on the Internet by John Hagman as something he overheard at 6:15 A.M. Wednesday at the AWA Conference last September: "I'm so happy - I fly all the way from Japan for this tube!!" In our December AWA Conference report, we'll no doubt report on other similar success stories. (Editor)