The Amateur Radio Service
Photo courtesy of N6BT
The Amateur radio hobby has been around since the turn of the 20th century when early experimenters used primitive magnetic receivers and spark gap transmitters to communicate magically through the air . Radio Amateurs or "Hams" as they were to be called, contributed a vast body of knowledge to electronic communications in the last century.
Amateur Station 8WY in 1920
Such every day electronic items like cell phones, television, digital communications and even space communications owe their existence to the early pioneers in amateur radio. In the new century, amateurs continue to foster interest in technology among the general public, especially the younger members, who may go on to a career in some high tech field because of their exposure to the many facets of the amateur radio hobby. Amateurs radio is first a service, which has been demonstrated in hundreds of thousands of instances where amateur communications were employed during natural disasters, search-and -rescue assistance and during general public events where amateurs provide back up communications to a community.
It was amateur radio operators who provided a cadre of experienced communications personnel during the wars of the last century, including WWI, WWII , Korea and the Viet Nam conflict.
Today over half a million licensed radio amateurs still use the airwaves for experimentation, public service , education, and just plain fun. This page is designed to allow you to gain more information about the hobby and view some vintage equipment used by amateurs in the last century.
The best way to learn about amateur radio is from the America Radio Relay League the association for the amateur hobbyist . Click on the below logo to go to the ARRL site.
The "HAM Shack"
The term "Ham shack" describes the location of the radio amateurs main site for transmitting radio signals. In the early days, many amateurs had to use huge antennas for transmission and reception and that precluded operating from the house. Many were located in wood sheds, garages, chicken coops and barns, thus the name Ham Shack or Radio Shack . Most amateurs today can operate from any location but the main site of their transmitter is still called the shack. It can be a just a kitchen table or a dedicated room. Most shacks are a clutter of equipment, computers , books and other accouterments of the hobby.
The below photo is the former "shack" of N9JLW ( now W0KLB and re-located to a small town in Missouri.) that was located in a suburb of Chicago. I It is filled with equipment dating from the 1940s to today. Older HAMs will recognize many of the radios shown here and others can learn about some of them in the photos and text below. ( Station 8WY is much neater.)
Former HAM Shack of amateur station N9JLW/W0KLB
Equipment Collecting & Restoration
Every hobby has its collectors and, with equipment dating back to the beginning of the last century, amateur radio is rich in this area. The first 70 years of the hobby was dominated by vacuum tube radios which were usually large heavy objects and became to be known as "boat anchors" by the collector. The equipment used was a mixture of civilian and surplus military gear. Some were modified for special applications and others built from kits. The following is a view of some of the radios collected and restored by N9JLW.
Hallicrafter Model S38C 1946
William Halligan was a World War I veteran and wireless operator from Boston. After the war he worked in the then young "radio industry" eventually settling in Chicago where he formed a radio manufacturing company in 1935 and called it Hallicarfters. Over the next 31 years his company produced a wide range of electronic products, including amateur and military radios, televisions and electronic warfare equipment. The company was purchased by Northrop in 1966 and in the early 1970s the Hallicrafter name and amateur radio line was dropped. The S38 series was produced in various models from 1948 to 1960.
The above radio was purchased in 1953 at an Army PX in Korea and was used for twenty years and then stored away in a garage. This was one of Hallicrafters' first post WW II radios and it bears the styling mark of the famous industrial designer Raymond Lowery. When acquired it was a bucket of rust, pigeon droppings and spider webs. The paint was taken to bare metal and the electronics rebuilt where needed. It still brings in stations from around the world, demonstrating why Hallicrafter was called the "Radio Mans Radio" . Click on the following logo to learn more about the Hallicrafter Company and collecting radios.
Hallicrafter Model SX 111 Receiver- 1970
Halliicrafter Model S-53 -1948
National Model SW 54-1951
MILITARY RADIOS
The Anyone who has ever spent time in the technical arena of the military knows that the equipment employed is usually the best that the manufacturer can supply for the time. The cost of such equipment new is beyond that of the average hobbyist, however the fact that the government is always replacing the old with the new brings such equipment within reach via the surplus radio market. Below are two radios from the 1940s and 1950s that played vital roles in defense and happier roles in the hands of radio amateurs.
ARC ARC 5 Command Receiver
This ARC 5 Command receiver is one of a set of three owned by N9JLW. All were acquired in their original boxes with production dates in 1944. Command sets were used on board various aircraft and were powered by a 28 volt dynamotor. This set has been modified to work on the low amateur bands , yet it uses the same tubes and other components produced in 1944. The reception is sharp and solid after 60+ years. Uncle Sam got his moneys worth in these radios.
Model R390A Receiver
Developed by Collins Radio in the early 1950s the R390A Receiver was the backbone of communications in the US military and the last saw service on Navy ships as late as the as the early 1990s. This 28 tube triple conversion radio has a unique "digital" read out of the frequency that is accomplished by an ingenious mechanical gear train. The R390A was used by NSA and other Military Security Agencies for gathering communications intelligence at locations around the globe. (See the Army Security Agency link on the home page.)
The R390A and other military radio equipment are still available from surplus dealers, one of which is FAIR RADIO. Click on the logo to go to the FAIR site..
