A Crummy Commercial

This is an interesting article about tape recording in the postwar 1940s: https://spectrum.ieee.org/magnetophon-laugh-track I actually listened to the AI voiced version of the article which was good.  Although magnetic recording must have appeared to be inevitable, I suspect that having someone like Bing Crosby both use and invest in it didn't hurt.  AI also seems inevitable but very few prominent people (aside from the technologists) are touting AI - perhaps AI also needs a champion like Crosby ?  (What am I saying ?  :) I recall hearing that Bing was known as being casual in dress for his radio show but he apparently wasn't keen on doing two versions of the same show for the east and west coasts with hours in between.  I suppose another possible advantage of tape was that Bing didn't have to do the show in the evening, he could do it anytime during the week.  I knew about his investment in Ampex but had never heard about the origins of the laugh track bef...

Referring again to the recent buy of stuff from Ebay mentioned here: https://wb9kzy.blogspot.com/2026/06/buy-first-think-later.html I started fooling with the Ameco Code Practice Oscillator: from the original listing It looked a little grungy both outside and inside but it did fire up.  There are two holes marked N and P which must have been used for wiring to an external supply / charger.  Inside a mod was made to the battery holder (A Keystone, they still sell them !) to add a diode and two GE AA Nicads.  Of course the Nicads have leaked to the extent of having the wiring to the holder corrode off. As a first step I removed all the screw and bolts from the front panel: And then washed it with some liquid soap: I think it looks OK.  Here's a photo of the CPO parts themselves: Next step will be to replace that battery holder with something new - not sure if I should get the original Keystone or just use a plastic one.  I'll have to think about it.  OK, I th...

Both kinds of bucks tend to be skittish.  Here is one from last night: VVhats this ?  Another mystery communique from the IRS ?: yes, I blanked out stuff for no good reason, just for fun I believe it's my 2025 tax refund, the other kind of bucks.  Hopefully I'll find out on Monday. Yes, this is all my fault because I at least partially refused to conform.  I didn't have an ID.me account so I couldn't file my taxes online.  So I mailed them in, at the last minute.  It took a while for them to get into the system.  I had an error which the IRS corrected in my favor which was nice.  But I also entered my bank account number incorrectly - TWICE ! :(  So apparently no direct deposit this year. Update August 3, 2026: It was a checkie for Chuckie from Uncle Sam - just like 1974 ! Best Regards, Chuck, WB9KZY http://wb9kzy.com/ham.htm

With the recent tornado, mentioned here: https://wb9kzy.blogspot.com/2026/07/tornado_0277261982.html I was wondering where the Olsons lived in 1938 when they went to see the Tom Mix Circus.  Just through dumb luck, I finally found where the Olsons lived in 1938 here: 5th entry: Charles A. OLSON source: https://content.mpl.org/digital/collection/AMP/id/445 By the 1940 census they had moved to Milwaukee and when my Dad was born in 1930 they lived in Portage. Thanks to Google I was able to let my fingers do the walking and found 527 W. Prospect on the map: And using Street View I got a glimpse of the house: hopefully the recent tornado didn't mess things up I remember my Dad saying that they lived on the Fox River - his dog (a collie named Laddie) had the run of the back yard to the railroad tracks.  Grampa had rigged up some kind of overhead wire which allowed Laddie to run free.  Apparently Laddie would periodically escape the wire.  When they moved to Milwaukee Laddi...

At first I wondered if this truck was an AI creation: source: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/386817055479827672/ But no, it's way too cool for AI to be involved  :) https://www.hagerty.com/media/automotive-history/are-labatts-streamlined-semis-the-coolest-trucks-ever/ source:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIHLZgkg4ZU I've been reading the book: Scale by Geoffrey West.  I'll have a more complete report when I finish it.  But I thought this point was interesting: Author West is saying that when a designer is told to optimize economy and performance the resulting car will be similar no matter the manufacturer.  They aren't copying each other, they are all moving towards the same goal.  But the results are kinda meh.   "Honest, Sgt. Friday, I can't tell one make of car from another anymore" The streamlining on the Labatt's truck may not have been functional BUT it did catch the eye and that was the main specification for a rolling Labatt beer...

I found this clipping looking for a place to stash a book of matches - it was in a music box: Not sure of the source, probably just filler from a book catalog ? (the back is a blurb for a book called: Lost Gardens of England).  Now that I think about it, there is a bookseller, Bas Bleu (blue-stocking) that used to send this kind of newsprint type catalog: https://www.basbleu.com But I can't really check, the site won't let me in :(  must be the VPN or ?? Answering my own question about the clipping, it was apparently from this book: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/737216/brit-think-ameri-think-by-jane-walmsley/ Here's an updated page of the terms: Maybe the newsprint clipping was an earlier version of the book ?  Anyway I thought it was funny. Best Regards, Chuck, WB9KZY http://wb9kzy.com/ham.htm

One of the items from the most recent electronic assortment purchased on Ebay: https://wb9kzy.blogspot.com/2026/06/buy-first-think-later.html was a Heathkit HD-1410 iambic keyer.  It's a 5 IC TTL keyer with a discrete transistor clock generator, iambic B and a universal keying output for both cathode and grid block rigs.  The design is simpler than the WB4VVF Accu-keyer.  The HD-1410 also has an AC supply built in as well as mechanical paddles, a sidetone and a tune switch - it's a pretty complete design. So I was hoping that it might just work at first try.  I was disappointed :(  One minor problem was that the included AC cord didn't quite fit right.  It will power the unit but if the cord sags or is moved it loses contact.  One way around this might be to replace the chassis AC power connector with an IEC "computer" connector ?  I'll have to think about it.  Similarly the DC power input uses some Molex connector for which I don't have a ma...