The AWA Review Volume 27 • 2014 Published by THE ANTIQUE WIRELESS ASSOCIATION PO Box 421, Bloomfield, NY 14469-0421 http://www.antiquewireless.org Devoted to research and documentation of the history of wireless communications. THE ANTIQUE WIRELESS ASSOCIATION PO Box 421, Bloomfield, NY 14469-0421 http://www.antiquewireless.org Founded 1952, Chartered as a non-profit corporation by the State of New York. The AWA Review EDITOR Robert P. Murray, Ph.D. Vancouver, BC, Canada ASSOCIATE EDITORS Erich Brueschke, BSEE, MD, KC9ACE David Bart, BA, MBA, KB9YPD, Julia Bart, BA, MA FORMER EDITORS Robert M. Morris W2LV, (silent key) William B. Fizette, Ph.D., W2GDB Ludwell A. Sibley, KB2EVN Thomas B. Perera, Ph.D., W1TP Brian C. Belanger, Ph.D. OFFICERS OF THE ANTIQUE WIRELESS ASSOCIATION DIRECTOR: Tom Peterson, Jr. DEPUTY DIRECTOR: Robert Hobday, N2EVG SECRETARY: William Hopkins, Ph.D., AA2YV TREASURER: Stan Avery, WM3D AWA MUSEUM CURATOR: Bruce Roloson, W2BDR 2014 by the Antique Wireless Association, ISBN 978-0-9890350-1-9 Cover images: Front: Hallicrafters 5-T Sky Buddy with Boy, and without Boy. Back: Parts of the 5-T with Boy dial (Fig. 7 in article), and Hallicrafters 5-19 Sky Buddy. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy- ing, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner. Book design and layout by Fiona Raven, Vancouver, BC, Canada Printed in Canada by Friesens, Altona, MB Contents ■ Volume 27, 2014 Foreword .................................................... iv W. W. Grant Jacqueline (Jaci) Grant ........................................ 1 PATENT BATTLE Mike Molnar ................................................ 31 Part III: Otis B. Moorhead and the Vacuum-Tube Tangle Eric P. Wenaas............................................... 51 Strange to MY American EYes Robert Lozier ................................................ 129 Hugo GernsbacK: Predicting Radio Broadcasting, 1919–1924 Mike Adams................................................. 165 General Electric’S EarlY Transistor Radios Steve Auyer . 193 DOCUMENTING DISCOVERY David & Julia Bart............................................ 221 EarlY HistorY of Electrical Detection and Warning OF Natural Disasters Robert Colburn .............................................. 249 Clarence D. TusKA (1896–1985) Bart Lee . 255 The 5-T Hallicrafters SKY BuddY and All Other SKY BuddY Models Erich E. Brueschke............................................ 273 Foreword In the year 2014 the AWA is recognizing contributions of the Hallicrafters Com- pany. To mark the occasion, Erich Bruesche has provided us with the history of the Hallicrafters Sky Buddy series. Further, in his unimitable way, he has obtained the complete series of Sky Buddy receivers and writes a detailed account of how one goes about restoring them with original parts, some 50 years after their manufacture. Most particularly he describes how one replaces the dial belt in a model 5-T, a tricky procedure. Again we are bringing you The AWA Review without charge to the member- ship. This comes as a free benefit to members—your dues are not affected by the distribution of this journal. The AWA Review is the AWA’s peer reviewed journal. It serves as a historical record where the facts are verified by one or more anonymous reviewers. That gives it some extra credibility as a source of sound reporting of history. The free printing and distribution of this Review are again made possible by a generous donation from a long standing AWA member who wishes to remain anonymous. His gift is an indication that he is committed particularly to historical documentation as a key part of our hobby. This year’s volume reflects a number of trends. One is our continuing use of colour. Not many articles on early radio history need colour, but those that do, manage to make excellent use of it. Another trend in The AWA Review is the continuing participation by international authors. This year we have an author from Canada. This year’s volume exhibits a great deal of dedication and energy on the part if its authors. The result is a number of fine efforts, the first described above and then the following: ■ Jaci Grant had the good fortune to have had a father who was conspicuous in the development of broadcasting, and public broadcasting, in Western Canada. W. W. Grant’s early career as a radio designer and manufacturer was marked by legal difficulties. His public notoriety in that period results from his having been sued by Westinghouse and General Electric. Jaci and her family were anxious to tell the more positive side of his achievements, the development of broadcasting in the early days in Canada. ■ Mike Molnar like all of us, has reflected on the relative impact on wireless and radio development of the great inventors Edwin Armstrong and Lee deForest. In this volume he describes the influence of the two men from the perspective of the century that has elapsed since Armstrong’s regeneration patent was first granted. iv The AWA Review ■ Eric Wenaas has followed the history of three independent vacuum tube makers who worked outside of RCA. These are Elmer T. Cunningham, Elman B. Myers and Otis B. Moorhead. Their exploits resulted in three articles, of which the third is reported here. Along the way, Wenaas has consulted origi- nal documents in the Smithsonian Institution and elsewhere, and reported their findings in great detail. This extensive research allows him to resolve previously unexplained mysteries. ■ Robert Lozier returns to the AWA Convention year after year, usually with an interesting presentation of some foreign radio equipment. Taken as a series, these exhibited sets indicate a long career of collecting radios not familiar to North American viewers. Why is Robert so interested in them? His article in this volume describes the range of the designs he has collected, and his insights into why they are that way. ■ Mike Adams has contributed an important series of articles and books, most of them about conspicuous individuals in the evolution of wireless and radio. In this volume he writes about Hugo Gernsback, who emigrated from Europe to America as a very young man. Gernsback was influential in development of radio through the publication of a series of magazines on a wide range of topics. Among many other things, he predicted radio broadcasting. ■ Steve Auyer worked as an engineer with General Electric through most of his career, but not in consumer electronics. He does have an interest in the way in which transistors made their way into home broadcast receivers. Here he delves in depth into the adoption of transistor technology by home receivers from its very beginnings until the end of production of home receivers by GE. ■ Dave and Julia Bart report on the influence over 100 years of those who belonged and published in the Radio Club of America and in the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. Distinguished individuals who belonged to one or both of these societies were destined to have a significant influence on the evolution of the wireless and radio fields. Published papers from these organizations were influential in subsequent developments, which of course was the intention of the organizers. ■ Robert Colburn witnessed a tornado touch down at a summer camp where he was staying at the age of 11. One might say this stimulated a life long interest in tornado detection. In the article in this volume, Robert explains how electrical and wireless warning systems were used from the early days to indicate the presence of tornados. Volume 27, 2014 v ■ Bart Lee is a charismatic author and presenter who contributes most years to this Review. This year he has chosen to mark the impact of the career of Clarence D. Tuska. Tuska began in 1907 as a radio amateur with a metal fil- ings coherer, and progressed through the technologies of the time. In 1914, along with a neighbor Hiram Percy Maxim, he founded the ARRL, and the following year the journal QST. He had a radio parts company after World War I, and ultimately was hired by RCA as their patent lawyer, although he had no legal training. Bart recounts the achievements of this amazing man. Again this year our sincere thanks go to these authors for their fine work. A smoothly finished article often obscures the work that went into writing it, not to mention the time involved. We continue to use the services of experts in the field as peer reviewers. We believe that this process raises the overall quality of The AWA Review. Some of our reviewers have served in this role for a number of years now and deserve our special thanks. The reviewers for this issue are: David Bart, Erich Brueschke, Neil Friedman, Joe Knight, Crawford Mac Keand, Gerry O’Hara, Franz Pichler, Ludwell Sibley, John Terrey, Glenn Trischen, and David Willenborg. This year book designer Fiona Raven is again involved in the design of the publication. What you see before you is the result of her skilled efforts. She con- tinues to use her templates for the layout of the material. In addition this year, Fiona was responsible for the detailed layout of the information on pages. Again we thank Fiona for her contributions. AWA members and others with an interest in wireless communication history are encouraged to submit manuscripts to The AWA Review. A section titled Tips for Authors follows. We try to make the publication effort more collaborative than challenging. The single most important message in this regard is to contact us early if you are considering writing an article. A cumulative index of Tables of Contents of all previous issues of The AWA Review is maintained on the website of the AWA at http://www.antiquewireless.org. I have enjoyed receiving and editing your important efforts in historical docu- mentation over the past years.