Short Wave Craft Magazine, January 1935

  

"Xmas Dream of a Short-Wave Fiend"

Wow, take a look at the gifts on that tree! The January 1936 cover of Short Wave Craft magazine shows a young radio fan blissfully dreaming of a tree loaded with presents—tubes, coils, transformers, test equipment, a speaker, world globe, a telegraph key, microphone, shortwave manual, meters, and more.

His imagination is sparked by whatever he's hearing on his bedside radio, a modest shortwave set. If his wishes come true, he may be listening to something more elaborate before long.

In addition to the usual construction articles and lists of shortwave stations, this issue includes a feature article entitled, "They Are TELEVISING in Berlin!"

The article frankly admits that Germany was well ahead of the US in TV technology:

While practical public television is fast asleep in the country, the German and other European television experimenters have been forging ahead, and the accompanying illustrations and discussions give new light on what we "might have done!"

The article describes in some detail a new German system for mobile TV transmission from remote locations. Inside an enormous truck was a complete television studio. The image was captured with a conventional film camera, whose film was developed in a mere 60 seconds with special onboard equipment. The processed film (complete with sound) was then scanned and transmitted via shortwave to a television central station. From there, it was broadcast to television receivers in theaters or homes.

As cumbersome as it sounds nowadays, a similar film-based fast-development system was also used in England around this time.

The article goes on to describe contemporary German TV receivers: a home model with a screen as large as 10 inches, and a theater projection with a screen measuring 10 by 12 feet. In the United states, television was actively under development, but nothing comparable had been displayed in public.

Midwest 16-tube All-Wave Receiver

The back cover of this issue contains an ad from the Midwest Radio Corporation, touting its new 16-tube receiver at the amazing low price of $57.50.

I happen to own a Midwest DD-18 from the following year, so this ad is interesting to me. Long gone are the days when you could buy so much radio for so little money!

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