by Joe Veras, K9OCO

INDEX

Many consider 1930 to 1980 as the “golden age” of American radio technology. It was a time of extraordinary innovation driven by a rare breed of pioneering engineers and entrepreneurs. This 50-year span saw the introduction of receivers, transmitters and transceivers that would become famous throughout the world. They became the treasured favorites of Amateur Radio operators, soldiers and professionals.

50 Years of Amateur Radio Innovation takes you on a guided tour of more than 400 of these legendary radios, lovingly restored by their owners and gorgeously photographed by Joe Veras, K9OCO. Each photo includes a brief description along with the year the radio was introduced and its selling price at that time. Many of the radios are quite rare; this may be the only place you will ever see them! Others are sure to bring fond memories of equipment you may have owned yourself.

Hardcover. 128 pages. © 2008, The American Radio Relay League, Inc.

Solly’s dream is for his son Teddy to one day become a concert violinist. Eventually he comes to understand and to endure the heartbreak of knowing that the dream never will be realized. As Solly watches, life takes Teddy from gifted violin student to adult engineer and scientist. In the end, there emerges the essence of redemption as Teddy returns to the violin late in life and fulfills his and his father’s vision.

Full Circle is a work of fiction based on real events, which will fascinate readers from ages ten to one hundred who are interested in radio, communications, and music. You'll see how it was to grow up in a family whose members trace their heritage to that great wave of immigrants that crashed onto America’s shores in the mid to late 1800s.

About the author: Theodore J. Cohen, N4XX, has been an engineer and scientist for more than 40 years. He received his first amateur radio license in 1952. He has published more than 350 papers, articles, columns, essays, and interviews in the technical, scientific, ham radio, and popular literature. Ted is a life member of the American Radio Relay League (ARRL--The national association for AMATEUR RADIO).

216 pages. © 2009, Theodore J. Cohen (published by Authorhouse)

Communications Par-Excellence!
An Exciting Glimpse at an American Corporate Success Story

Ten Tec's vision was to become a leader in Amateur Radio, radio communications, and manufacturing. This book details the first 40 years of their journey. You'll discover their evolutionary development as they strived to become a leader in the world of communications.

• Founder Al Kahn's childhood and interest in communications and sound systems Ten-Tec's connection to Electro-Voice
• Small incremental developments that have led to evolutionary changes in manufacturing
• The development of digital communications
• The human element within the corporation
• The company's high standards of service and quality

Hardcover. 132 pages. © 2008, published by Springflower Publishing.

Shortly after WWII the Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB) produced a hugely popular series of booklets detailing various aspects of Amateur Radio. This series of books published in 1947-1949 covered Amateur Radio as it was then. The RSGB is now re-issuing these booklets, in their original form as a special edition. Each book is a historical encapsulation of electronics as it was and what radio amateurs were doing with it. The set contains 6 booklets with a nearly 450 pages of fascinating material. Not only is this collection a historical master class in Amateur Radio, it provides an ideal understanding of the way the past has shaped the direction of current technology.

Books include:

VHF Technique - Propagation of VHF waves; VHF aerial systems; VHF transmitters; VHF receivers; VHF measurements; Frequency modulation. 96 pages

Transmitter Interference - Cooperation and goodwill; Interference to medium-wave broadcast reception; Interference curable at the transmitter; Interference curable at the receiver; Interference to television. 32 pages

Valve Technique - General considerations governing valve operation; Voltage amplifiers; Audio frequency power amplifiers; Radio frequency power amplifiers, frequency multipliers and oscillators; Detectors; Frequency changers; Power rectifiers; Special applications; Noise generated in valve amplifiers; Valves for VHF. 104 pages

Receivers - Fundamental principles; Principles of receiver design; Tuning circuits; Straight receivers; Superheterodyne receivers; Frequency-modulation receivers; Construction; Power supplies; Fault-finding, adjustments and calibration. 96 pages

Microwave Technique - Introduction to microwaves; Circuit elements - tuned circuits and cavity resonators; Circuit elements - waveguides; Circuit elements - valves; Transmitters and receivers; Aerials; Measurements. 68 pages

Simple Transmitting Equipment - Fundamentals; Aerials; Simple transmitters; Five-band 25-watt transmitter; Simple VFO circuit; Crystal-controlled frequency sub-standard. 52 pages

Size 184x120mm. Published by Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB).

"There never was, in the whole history of wireless, a bigger role for the amateur wireless enthusiast."--author Geoffrey Pidgeon

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Possibly the most important UK wireless traffic in World War II was handled by a unit formed in 1938 as part of the communications division of Britain's Secret Intelligence Services (SIS). The Secret Wireless War offers a history of the SIS, its growing use of wireless in the 1930's, its involvement in the dissemination by wireless of Enigma (Ultra) intelligence, and a whole range of secret uses of wireless as part of the successful prosecution of the war.

The Secret Wireless War documents the personal tales of those who were part of this most secret of units, and events that helped to win the war: secret agents abroad, wireless operators handling "Ultra" and agent's traffic, wireless engineers, interceptors, and administrators; the story of Churchill's personal wireless operator; a fleet of 70+ Packard motor cars and converted Dodge ambulances used as mobile wireless stations; and hams listening to the Abwehr (German secret service) and the Gestapo.

This is an extraordinary story that includes hams among those patriots that undoubtedly helped the allied war effort.

© 2008, By Geoffrey Pidgeon. 194 illustrations including pictures of secret agent's wireless sets! 422 pages, high-quality paper, paperback. Published by Arundel Books. ARRL is the exclusive US distributor.

Edgar Harrison was born in South Wales on St David's Day in 1915. He was a senior colleague of Geoffrey Pidgeon in MI6 (Section VIII) and he had the most extraordinary adventures in World War II. He was in Norway at the time the Germans invaded from where he had to beat a hasty retreat, and was in Brussels during the Blitzkrieg before escaping back to England via Dunkirk. While stationed in Greece the Nazis launched an overwhelming attack. He made his escape via Kalamata in a rowing boat before being rescued by a British destroyer, MS Kandahar. He was landed in Crete where he handled the Ultra traffic during the invasion by the Germans, and later evacuated to Cairo where he spent time recuperating from the wounds sustained in Greece during the retreat to Kalamata.

During all this and more he was, on five occasions, the MI6 wireless operator assigned to Winston Churchill at meetings with Allied leaders. After the war Edgar became the Principal Signals Officer of the Foreign Office - not bad for a boy who joined the Royal Corps of Signals as a boy apprentice in 1929 – at the age of just 14.

Also available: The Secret Wireless War: The Story of MI6 Communications 1939-1945

© 2008, By Geoffrey Pidgeon. 232 pages, high-quality paper, paperback. Published by Arundel Books. ARRL is the exclusive US distributor.

Some of the defining leaps in technology in the twentieth century occurred during the Second World War, from radar to nuclear energy. A fascinating and often overlooked contribution to the Allied victory and post-war development was the quartz crystal. The successful collaboration of the quartz crystal led to the rapid manufacture and frontline deployment of technically superior radios, and later became the core of some of the most basic devices of the post-war era.

Crystal Clear relates the story of the quartz crystal oscillator-from its early days as a curiosity for Amateur Radio enthusiasts to its use by the United States Armed Forces. It follows the intrepid group of scientists and engineers from the Office of the Chief Signal Officer of the U.S. Army as they raced to create an effective quartz crystal unit. They had to find a reliable supply of radio-quality quartz; devise methods to reach, mine, and transport the quartz; find a way to manufacture quartz crystal oscillators rapidly; and then solve the puzzling "aging problem" that plagued the early units. Ultimately, the development of quartz oscillators became the second largest scientific undertaking in World War II after the Manhattan Project.

Bringing to light a little-known aspect of WWII, Crystal Clear offers a glimpse inside one of the most significant efforts in the annals of engineering.

Hardcover. 230 pages. © 2007, by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

This book traces the life of Don Wallace, W6AM, and the early history of Amateur Radio. Don's experience with wireless in 1909 preceded government regulations or any form of licensing. Naval stations, commercial stations, ships at sea, and the first wireless experimenters all shared the same wavelengths.

Born in 1898, Don took an interest in wireless at the age of ten when the industry was just in its infancy. The timing was right for a bright and dedicated man to come along and make a lasting imprint on the wireless community. Over the years, he would be the radio operator for a President, build the best Amateur Radio station in the country, write a shortwave book, set the standards of operating achievement for many amateurs, share the podium with the most prominent amateurs of the era, build the largest and most powerful Amateur Radio station in the world, and be the role model for many of the young men entering the hobby. It was the latter that he enjoyed the most. Don held an annual open house and would go to great lengths to encourage newcomers to the hobby.

Although always a hobby to Don, many of the leaders of the radio industry came to know and respect him. The word always used to describe Don and his attitude toward the wireless hobby was "enthusiasm."

Hardcover. 288 pages. © 1991, published by Vestal Press Ltd.

As seen on KDKA and heard on The American Entrepreneur Radio Show...WWII Radio Heroes: Letters of Compassion is a story about ham radio operators and others alerting families of POWs during a time of war. The book features more than 30 letters and postcards sent to the author’s family in 1943, notifying them of her grandfather’s capture and status as a prisoner of war. Upon discovering these letters, Ms. Spahr, began researching the people who did this, and why, and reached out to find them or their next of kin, more than 60 years after the fact. Her journey is detailed in WWII Radio Heroes.

76 pages. © 2008, Intrigue Publishing

Amateur Radio station W6RO has enjoyed over 29 years of continuous operation aboard the Queen Mary. Nearly 100 radio amateurs volunteer every month to operate from the station. Since radio was reintroduced to the ship, W6RO has presented a positive image of the Amateur Radio Service to more than four million visitors.

Permanently docked at the Port of Long Beach, the Queen Mary is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Southern California. W6RO is a regular stop for visitors on the self-guided tour, and visiting radio amateurs may log in and get on the air. The former passenger liner is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Narrated by Nathan Brightman, K6OSC, Manager of W6RO aboard the Queen Mary.
Club Station of the Associated Radio Amateurs of Long Beach, Inc.

DVD. Running time 28 minutes. © 2008, The American Radio Relay League, Inc.

Written by the leading expert, Perera's Telegraph Collectors Guide is the most complete source of information for all those interested in telegraph keys from beginner to avid collector. Learn the historical background of telegraph keys and details of keys available from the early 1830’s through today. Includes tips on restoring telegraph keys, current prices, and a valuable cross referenced-index of the material.

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