A while back I purchased a stack of ancient amateur radio magazines.  They’re so old, some of them date back before I was hatched(!)   I find all sorts of interesting information in them, from basic electronics (TUBES, of course) to ads.   It’s incredibly interesting to look at the differences in advertising between then and now, not to mention the prices.

Apparently amateur radio was always an expensive hobby if you decided to buy equipment, as opposed to making your own.  The March 1963 issue of QST Magazine lists a Hallicrafters SX117 receiver at $400 new.  I have no idea what they’re getting for them today (can’t find any listings) but what is four hundred 1963 dollars worth today?

In other news, the ARRL was seeking donations for their building fund.  One comment with a donation was “… I cannot understand why you were not overwhelmed with donations when they were first called for.  Four packs of cigarettes given up or one highball by all members would do the trick.”

Wow, things really have changed, haven’t they?  When I get the time travel machine geared up, I have to go back and ask them what they’d think of $4 per gallon gas and $5 per pack ciggies.

There was an article on buying surplus crystals and changing the frequency.  Apparently you could raise the frequency by  running an emery board across them and lower the frequency by making a dot with a pencil on one end, then the other.

In gear reviews, you got tube type, layout, and sometimes schematics.  When was the last time you saw anything like this recently?

[dammit, if this is the beginning of my midlife crisis, I sure picked a sad one…]

The 25 Years Ago column dealt with March 1938.   Good grief!

And then there was Humor:  “K4QIZ, a bachelor, claims that children should be called `heterodynes,’ not `harmonics.’  If we’re going to kid around, why not call them `images’?”

There’s an interesting article for beginners called A.C. in Radio Circuits.  Since A.C. hasn’t changed, it’s as valid today as in `63.

There’s a very good report called Typhoon Karen, about amateurs’ service during that event.  [Oddly enough, that’s the same term I use for when my wife looks a bit too manic or is mad.]

The column `The World Above 50 Mc’ features 420Mc Moonbounce.  [The measurement we know as megaHertz (MHz) used to be known as megacycles (mc) and kilocycles (kc).]

A proposal filed with FCC by the International Crystal Manufacturing Co., to crate a new “hobby class” license was unanimously opposed by the ARRL Executive Committee… [nothing changes.]

160 Meter Privileges Expanded!  1800-2000kc bands opened up a bit.  SSB was prohibited as of April 1963.  The changes had to do with sharing the space with Loran.  The changes for the Northeast coast states were 500/200watt input power day/night and 1900-1925/1875-2000 were off limits.

There’s a picture of President Hoover(!) visiting the Radio Society of Great Britain.  [dammit, why wasn’t history this interesting in school?]

The column “YL News and Views” reflected women’s (YL=young lady) views.  It’s good to see the women were at it!   They sure had some big… ummm… equipment :)   Yes, we buy our equipment by weight, not by volume - just like desserts.  Unfortunately `63 was pre-cleavage era.

That’s just a tiny amount of what I found.

Some of the equipment I use dates from 1953 (receivers and guitar amps - all tube).  It’s interesting to go back and collect usable items from before I was born.  To say tube equipment holds up would be an understatement of vast proportions.

more in another installment of  amateur radio observations from old magazines…