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World Radio put Council Bluffs on the cutting edge of technology

Discussion in 'Amateur Radio News' started by W0PV, Jan 14, 2019.

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  1. K5XS

    K5XS Ham Member QRZ Page

    What a terrific story! Thanks for writing it!
     
  2. K8SD

    K8SD Ham Member QRZ Page

    Very cool story......

    That area of the US was indeed Silicon Valley for the radio world. In fact, During the 1950-1960 Zenith radio had a very large plant in Sioux City, IA that produced the old 5 tube table top AM radios. Some folks I know said they were putting out over a million radios a year off the production line. Zenith produced several spin-offs such as Dale Electronics across the river in Yankton SD just to produce a single inductor for that line when sources ran up. Some from Dale migrated to M-tron industries in Yankton which also produced quartz crystals for the military and later for the CB boom. There were probably a couple dozen crystal manufactures up and down the Missouri river valley form Kansas city to Yankton making multi millions of crystals units in the CB boom. At one time when CB's went to 40 channels in the 70's there where as many as 48 crystals in each CB radio! One each for the receive and transmit oscillator and 6 to 8 more for the crystal band pass filters. Until the PLL came along invented by a Japanese engineer. That was the being of the end for the crystal boom. I'm fortunate to still be in the quartz business. That area of the great plains was and still is home to radio pioneers like King Radio and Garmin. And lets not forget about that little company in Cedar Rapids IA, Collins Radio.

    Great memories form that region.

    Barry, ex WB0PJB, Yankton SD
    Now K8SD, New Glarus, WI
     
    K0DD and W0PV like this.
  3. N4MU

    N4MU Ham Member QRZ Page

    The year was 1962. I was at an amateur radio summer camp (Camp Albert-Butler in Elkin, NC) to study and test for my general class license. One thing I still can picture (and "hear") is the Globe King transmitter that sat on half a picnic table in the mess hall. I still can hear those relays ker-chunking as it would get switched into transmit mode...WOW! Never had one but loved the sight and sound of that one!
     
  4. VK3KTO

    VK3KTO Ham Member QRZ Page

    Great story. Some of Leo's WRL gear found its way to VK. My first rig was a Globe Scout. Wish I still had it!
    73 de Mike VK3KTO
     
  5. W0PV

    W0PV Ham Member QRZ Page

    Clarification of credit - only the intro was written by me, but I appreciate your sentiment. The rest of the post (under the photo) is a recent article in "The Daily Nonpareil" newspaper of Council Bluffs. Click on the highlighted blue headline to see it on their web site.
     
  6. W9AFB

    W9AFB Ham Member QRZ Page

    Not everyday that Council Bluffs makes the headlines! A neat story for those who missed out on that period of history.
     
  7. W0PV

    W0PV Ham Member QRZ Page

    Barry aka TRON !! (also the famous ex-NSØN) I was thinking of Midwestern NAQRO kin like you when posing this. It's great to see your interesting response, you are indeed Mr. Xtal :cool:

    Hope to OTA or eyeball QSO you again some day SOON, perhaps Xenia (?) I will be at Hamcation Orlando this year too.

    73, John, WØPV (ex-WAØPEV)
     
    K8SD likes this.
  8. W0PV

    W0PV Ham Member QRZ Page

    In case you or others missed it, the blue highlighted headline under the photo in the OP is a hyperlink to the article in the local newspaper. It contains two more photos of interest, see below.

    [​IMG]

    "Helen Fans assembles a citizen band radio at World Radio Laboratories facility at 3415 W. Broadway in 1959".

    [​IMG]

    "Just three days into 1954, the city experienced what would prove to be the worst fire of that year. A three-alarm blaze destroyed the World Radio building at Seventh and Broadway. Seeing smoke, a passerby pounded on the doors of the eleven second floor apartments giving the residents ample time to flee to flee to safety."
     
  9. W0HXL

    W0HXL Ham Member QRZ Page

    I lived in Omaha for 50+ years and knew Leo. He was a member of Nebraska Chapter 25 and Omaha Chapter 210 QCWA. I still have the 1985 ARRL Handbook that Leo signed . He was a real pioneer in radio and certainly Ham Radio.
    Dick Newsome W0HXL
     
    K0DD, KE0XQ, KE4OH and 1 other person like this.
  10. NI0S

    NI0S XML Subscriber QRZ Page

    What a great story. In 1964 after serving in the Air Force, I made a trip to WRL and purchased a WRL 6 Meter transceiver kit which I installed in my VW.

    Norm, NI0S
     
    K8SD, N0NB, K0DD and 1 other person like this.
  11. K0NEB

    K0NEB Ham Member QRZ Page

    Leo was my Elmer. I would not be a ham today if not for the personal guidance of Leo, a friend of my family growing up in Omaha. I took my Novice code classes at WRL and got my Novice in January 1969. I this week celebrate 50 years in amateur radio, and I owe it all to Leo, W0GFQ!
     
    K0PV/SK2023, N0NB, K7LZR and 5 others like this.
  12. W1YW

    W1YW Ham Member QRZ Page

    I'm in love:)
     
    K1LKP and W0PV like this.
  13. W1YW

    W1YW Ham Member QRZ Page

    I don't know why, in the case of gals chasing guys, that the combination of a 'pretty girl ---that solders' was never obvious....
     
    N0NB likes this.
  14. K0UO

    K0UO Platinum Subscriber Platinum Subscriber QRZ Page

    I loved that place and had a World Radio Lab ham call area map in my first ham Shack
     
  15. KE4OH

    KE4OH Ham Member QRZ Page

    My memory may not have this exactly correct but .... I remember back in the late 70s when I was a new ham, a group put together an operating event called the Classic Radio Exchange (still around today but called the Classic Exchange.) Participants made QSOs and got bonus points based on how old their rigs were. Lots of WRL gear used during these events.

    I believe for the first few years, there was an extra award called the "Leo Meyerson Lookalike Award" for, as one might guess, the participant who most closely resembled Leo. I just always thought that was neat and a great way to honor a man who made a huge contribution to radio.

    I have a completely beat up, but working, Globe Scout 680 and a Galaxy GT-550 waiting it's turn for the workbench. So that's an early and late example of the gear old Leo had a hand in.
     
    KE0XQ likes this.

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