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Do Touch That Dial: 1957

From September 1957 in Columbus, Georgia, comes this next entry from the Amateur Radio file, starring K4JNL (Eddy Kosobucki). Plus: Riddles, Riddles, RIDDLES. Air conditioning by Philco. 4x5 inch acetate negative from the Shorpy News Photo Archive. View full size.

From September 1957 in Columbus, Georgia, comes this next entry from the Amateur Radio file, starring K4JNL (Eddy Kosobucki). Plus: Riddles, Riddles, RIDDLES. Air conditioning by Philco. 4x5 inch acetate negative from the Shorpy News Photo Archive. View full size.

 

On Shorpy:
Today’s Top 5

Riddles

Riddle, Riddles, Riddles was one of a series of triply-titled books for children and young adults. There were also Jokes, Jokes, Jokes and some others. One of my favorites was Space, Space, Space, a very good anthology of science fiction adventure stories.

Don’t make ‘em like that anymore

My parents bought a Philco air conditioner when I was born in 1956 and moved into a 60 year old home with radiators and boiler heat.

When I moved out in 1981, it was still pumping cold air. They never had it out of the window. My father worked for White-Rodgers and was informed the weak link in any device that has a manual temperature setting was the person turning the knob. Best to set it and forget it.

Driver

The driving transmitter (upper left, right by one) is a Johnson Viking "Adventurer" sold as a kit, with 50 watts of output from a single 1625 final tube, pi network tuning. He has a VFO plugged into the front octal socket that serves as a holder either for a crystal or a vfo. Whether he as a following amplifier somewhere I can't tell.

The Adventurer was popular with the Novice class (being under 75 watts legally required) and most people kept it when they advanced to the next higher class too.

Both of these "hams" appear to be

aficionados of Hammarlund receivers, Mr. Kosobucki using an HQ 150 model, manufactured by the firm founded by Swedish electrical engineer Oscar Hammarlund. In the 1960s I had an HQ 180A I used for "DXing" the broadcast band, primarily so I could canvass regional AM "Top 40" stations across the United States and Canada to figure out in advance what hits would descend upon Chicago in the coming weeks so I could amaze my classmates with my prescience. Both operators have state-of-the-art receivers, the HQ 150 introduced in 1956 and the Super-Pro SP-400 sx introduced the year the photograph was taken, 1946. My dream was to own and program a chain of "Top 40" AM stations. I became a university professor, instead.

Smoked ham

A titanic struggle: kick off your shoes, enjoy Philco vs. Sir Walter Raleigh and a forest of vacuum tubes. In Columbus, Georgia, the Home of Humidity.

Where's - - -

WKRP ??

Eddy observations

I'm thinking he would have been a fun guy to know, based only on the fact that he's doing this photo shoot barefoot. That, and he has what looks to be a good-natured grin. I'm also assuming he was able to quit smoking at some point since he made it to 81.

Homebrew gear

The shiny metal chassis at upper left appears to be a homemade audio modulator for the little Johnson transmitter to its right, based on the microphone input, volume control and meter, and the two big tubes. The other chassis above and to its right looks like the power supply to run the modulator, given the huge power transformer and other related parts.
It looks like it's well-made stuff.

Up in smoke

Sir Walter Raleigh ... in the can. King Edward cigars. Diamond matches to light them. You'd have to be a certain age to recognize those things.

But without cigar boxes, where would people have stored all the small "junk"???

Turn back the clock

I am a lapsed Ham from about 1970 until through inactivity let my license expire three years ago. I visited a lot of local hams and while the new gear back then was great, I thoroughly enjoyed the shacks with the old gear and home brewed stuff.

I haven't listened on the bands for a good while and it seemed to sound more like CB in some ways. I always liked operating CW more than SSB.

Tweaking the finals

QSL OM, I am twisting the knobs like I do on the XYL ... hi hi ...

Toe-tingling experience

"Operating barefoot" usually means without external amplification; here, Eddy's simply providing a better path for those stray RF currents to find the ground. Life on the edge! Is it any wonder that radio operators are so often called "Sparky"?

And with the shields and covers removed from all those add-on devices, he's got a fair shot at qualifying for the coveted Worked All Neighbors award.

Calling K4JNL

Do you have Sir Walter Raleigh in a can?

“Going Barefoot”

For ham radio folks it is a term that means he is transmitting without the benefit of an amplifier. Pretty old ham radio equipment so I not sure he really is “barefoot.”

CQ and ye shall find

K4JNL was the call sign of Eddy Kosobucki of Columbus. Based on the linked memorial, he appears to have been a friend and mentor to many in the amateur radio world.

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