Amateur Radio Quiz: Blasts from the Past
By H. Ward Silver, N0AX
noax@arrl.org
With all of the old QST magazines online for ARRL members, why not take a tour through radio history and see if you can find the answers to these questions in the articles and advertising sections!
1) A flying animal graced the cover of this popular shack reference -- name the animal and the reference!
2) Which Amateur Radio vendor was owned by "Uncle Leo?"
3) Match the electronic "jobber" with the city.
a. Burstein-Applebee e. Syosset
b. Lafayette Electronics f. Kansas City
c. Butler Radio g. Chicago
d. Cortland Radio h. Los Angeles
4) Match the slang with the manufacturer:
a. Squawk Boxes e. Drake
b. Hot Water f. Heath
c. Twins g. Gotham
d. Flash! h. Gonset
5) Who manufactured the Super-Pro receiver? Hammarlund or Hallicrafters?
6) What was one of antenna manufacturer Mosley Electronics' first products?
a. receiver
b. transmitter
c. keyer
d. amplifier
7) Radio Row and the World Trade Center had what in common?
8) Name the manufacturer of the "Trans-Oceanic" and its most famous advertising slogan.
9) What type of equipment would have been manufactured by Brown Brothers?
a. headphones
b. keying paddle
c. microphone
d. SWR meter
10) What was the name of the E. F. Johnson amplifier based on the 4-400 tube?
a. Ultra
b. Thunderbolt
c. Bandsweeper
d. Annihilator
11) What were vacuum tubes called in RCA's classic design manual?
a. Radiotrons
b. Valves
c. Thyristors
d. Quasars
12) What type of components are these?
a. Brown Devil
b. Orange Drop
c. Nuvistor
d. Breadslicer
e. Dog bone
f. Nixie
13) The most widely modified surplus transmitter after World War was the ARC-_____.
a. 3
b. 5
c. 9
d. 11
14. Match the product names and types:
a. MICRO-TO f. Receiver
b. Navigator g. Transmitter
c. Cherokee h. Amplifier
d. 75A4 i. Transmitter
e. Warrior j. Keyer
15. What word added before "Ranger" would change it from a transmitter to a receiver?
Bonus : Where were Heathkits made?
Answers
1. c and g -- The "Flying Horse" is still the symbol for Callbook publications.
2. World Radio Labs and Leo Myerson, W0GFQ, were famous for the Globe series of transmitters.
3. a-f, b-g, c-h, d-e -- These companies were the source of parts for the amateur homebrewer.
4. a-h, b-f, c-e, d-g
5. Hammarlund
6. a -- the CM-1 was manufactured in the early 1960s.
7. Cortlandt Street in New York City
8. Zenith -- "Where the quality goes in before the name goes on."
9. b -- Their attractive paddles and keys featured chrome hardware, distinctive red paddles and knobs, as well as a crinkle-finish black base.
10. b -- Even a version contained in a desk was made.
11. a -- The Radiotron Design Manual was the bible of the electronics designer.
12. a -- resistor, b -- capacitor, c -- vacuum tube, d -- variable capacitor, e -- insulator, f -- numeric display
13. b -- The ARC-5s were cheap, abundant and easily modified to work on 40-meters -- they were everywhere!
14. a-j, b-g, c-i, d-f, e-h
15. Adding "Sky" would create the "Sky Ranger" -- a popular receiver made by Hallicrafters.
Bonus -- At home! The company was -- and is! -- located in Benton Harbor, Michigan.
Back