July 1971 was the month in which I got my first license. My first call sign was WN8KTZ, and the license was dated July 16, 1971, the date of my 16th birthday!
July 1921, A Sure-Fire CW Circuit, E. W. Whittier, 1DH
At this point in amateur radio, hams were still switching over from spark to CW. Indeed, another article in this issue is titled, “The Ideal Relay Spark Station.” This article describes a simple CW transmitter using two UV-202 tubes, capable of outputting 30W at a plate voltage of 600 V.
July 1971, The Ground-Image Vertical Antenna, Jerry Sevick, W2FMI
Antenna articles tend to age well. This article is no exception. I would guess that this is a report on Sevick’s beginning experiments with vertical antennas, which resulted later in his book, The Short Vertical Antenna and Ground Radial.
One article in this issue that has not aged so well is “A Second Look at Linear Integrated Circuits” by Douglas A. Blakeslee, W1KLK. It describes several of the linear ICs available 50 years ago and how to use them in amateur radio. The linear ICs that we have today far surpass the functionality and performance of the ICs available then.
July 1996, An Improved Multiband Trap Dipole Antenna, Al Buxton, W8NX
As I say, antenna articles age well. This article describes an 83-ft. antenna that resonates on 80 meters, 40 meters, 17 meters, and 10 meters with a single set of traps. The traps for this antenna are double, coaxial-wound traps that have lower reactance and a higher quality factor (Q) than most traps, and as a result, have less loss than conventional traps.
