‰  NOW 35 WPM  ‰  TEXT IS FROM JANUARY 2015 QST  PAGE 99‰

VINTAGE RADIO FROM SEPARATES TO COMBOS TO TRANSCEIVERS THE TRANSCEIVERS WE
TAKE FOR GRANTED TODAY HAVE THEIR ROOTS IN A DESIGN REVOLUTION THAT BEGAN
IN THE 1950S.  RON POLLACK, K2RP K2RP ARRL. NET  IN THE BEGINNING, THERE
WERE TRANSMITTERS, AND THERE WERE RECEIVERS.  EACH WAS SELF CONTAINED, WITH
NO MUTUAL PARTS OR CIRCUITS, AND A HAM NEEDED AT LEAST ONE OF EACH TO GET
ON THE AIR.  THIS OPERATING ENVIRONMENT PRESENTED SPECIAL CHALLENGES THAT
ARE LARGELY UNKNOWN TO AMATEURS TODAY.  FOR EXAMPLE, CRYSTALS WERE OFTEN
USED TO CONTROL THE TRANSMITTING FREQUENCIES.  WHILE SOME VARIABLE
FREQUENCY OSCILLATORS, OR VFOS, WERE AVAILABLE FOR TRANSMITTERS BEFORE
WORLD WAR II, THEY WERE NOT COMMON DEVICES UNTIL WELL INTO THE 1950S.
UNTIL THEN, HAMS WERE OFTEN RESTRICTED TO TRANSMITTING ON DISCRETE
FREQUENCIES THAT WERE DICTATED BY THE CRYSTALS THEY OWNED.  SINCE THE
TRANSMITTER FREQUENCY WAS DETERMINED BY THE CRYSTAL, THE COMMON PRACTICE
WAS TO CALL CQ AND THEN TUNE THE BAND WITH YOUR RECEIVER FOR A RESPONSE.
NEEDLESS TO SAY, THIS WAS INEFFICIENT IN TERMS OF SPECTRUM USAGE BECAUSE
CONVERSATIONS WOULD OFTEN END UP OCCUPYING TWO SEPARATE FREQUENCIES.
ANOTHER CONSEQUENCE OF SEPARATE FREQUENCY DETERMINING SYSTEMS FOR
TRANSMITTING AND RECEIVING WAS THE PRACTICAL INABILITY TO CONDUCT NET OR
ROUNDTABLE OPERATIONS ON A SINGLE FREQUENCY, UNLESS ALL MEMBERS OWNED THE
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