[JMS] National - The First Ham Band Only Superhet?

[Edward Gable]

If you think of the earliest licensed ham operators, those of November 1912, 
stuck on  200 meters and down, then I submit that all receivers sold at that 
time were Amateur Receivers.  Then let's not forget the famous RCA patent 
war era when all non-RCA licensed receivers had a tag saying  ".....for 
Amateur Use Only...."  But I think the original thread was talking about 
super-hets and one would have to consider the 1921 Super used by Paul Godley 
during the Trans-cons.  Me thinks that was a set built for amateurs by the 
wireless specialty company, but I can't find any reference to that here at 
home.  Maybe at the museum.  Interesting topic, Don.

73,

Ed Gable  k2mp/w2an
AWA Museum


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Don Buska" <dbuska at wi.rr.com>
To: "The James Millen Society Members Email Reflector" 
<james_millen_society at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Friday, May 18, 2007 4:43 PM
Subject: [JMS] National - The First Ham Band Only Superhet?


> Hey guys,
>
> A month or so back I was chatting with my BA buddy Scott WA9WFA and 
> somehow got into talking about receivers.  Actually all of our talks are 
> about radios of old!  I was telling him that one of the reasons I liked 
> the early 1930's era Nationals is they had the only ham band only 
> receivers that I knew of.  My personal preference has always pulled me 
> away from those SW receivers that may have had calibrated ham bandspreads, 
> but always required using the crystal calibrator to zero the bandspread 
> with the general coverage tuning capacitor so that the bandspread 
> capacitor  would then track somewhat correctly on its logging scale.  You 
> all know what I'm talking about.  Heck even the later general coverage 
> variants from National like the NC-200 and NC-2-40 didn't even require the 
> goofy ham band-edge setting.
>
> So lets figure this one out.  Limiting it to Superhet receivers. Was 
> National the first company to make Ham Band only receivers?  I guess the 
> FB-7 would have been the first followed by the HRO.  Both of which would 
> have required the ham band plug-in coils naturally.  The FB-7 would be 
> 1933.  If we are talking receivers that are bandswitched, i.e. no plug-in 
> coils, then I would nominate the NC-101 series which started in 1936. 
> Even if you narrow it down to direct frequency readout you have the 
> NC-101XA which brings you too around 1938.
>
> Can any other manufacturer beat those dates for ham band only superhet 
> receivers?
>
> Maybe it's something we could promote.  National - The Maker of the First 
> Ham Band Only Superhet Receivers!
>
> 73
>
> Don N9OO
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