oldradiogy

I am looking for information on R/C radios that were used during the mid to late 1950's (tube-type) or earlier. This is back in the days when the pulse units were used. Someone very accurately described these units as "radio encouraged" flights, in lieu of "radio controlled" flights. Have checked numerous web sites, but have not found much info yet. If there is anyone out there who flew or currently flies with these vintage radios, I would be very interested in some of your memories and experiences? Info needed is: popular manufacturers, descriptions of the high-end and low-end units, technical data on the radios, such as, number of tubes, channels, etc. Any info or website references would be very much appreciated.

Thanks for the help,
Bruce

tomgtv6

My Feedback: (1)

Check out the vintage section on the main page. These guys fly with this stuff still.

Tom

Jimbob-RCU

I have a book published in 1964 MODEL RADIO CONTROL. Edward L. Safford, jr. author. It is jammed full of theory and circuits, actuators,etc.
I built a solid state 27 mhz receiver from scratch to drive an escapement. Still works but never flew. Do you need anything specific??

oldradiogy

Thanks for the input. I'll take a look in the Vintage area to see what I can find. Jim, the 1964 book on RC sounds interesting. I'll check Amazon to see if they have a copy, unless you are willing to part with yours. If so, send me an email and maybe we can work something out. I currently restore and collect Broadcast radios from the 20's. I am expanding my radio collecting hobby to include my interest in RC. First project will be to reconstruct a plane that my Uncle gave me back in the late 50's, early 60's. Don't remember the date for sure, but it was an orange, silk stocking covered, "piper cub" type, with a 4'-5' wing span, and a two tube receiver. As I recall, it had both rudder and elevator control, so, suspect it was a two channel. With this in mind, I am looking for any of the radio gear from that era that might fit the bill. As you mentioned about you building your own receiver, he may have built the receiver himself, but suspect it was an off the shelf unit. The plane was built in the Los Angeles, California area, so would be helpful to know what RC units were popular in the Western states. Looks like the earliest RC plane was flown in 1936, based on what I?ve picked up on the Web. However, a little know fact is that Nikola Tesla actually built and patented an RC model submarine in the late 1890?s, so his submarine holds the honor of bing the first RC. The 1964 book you mentioned may provide some additional insight on the history of RC circuits in airplanes. With a project like this just kicking off, there are several items needed, including engines, servos, transmitter, receiver, and the other hardware. Will also need pictures of the available kits or planes from the late 50's, early 60's, to see if I can spot a plane that is similar to the one my uncle gave me. I have a Cadet Senior, which is very similar in design, but don't know how far back the Kadet series goes. Unfortunately, the plane he gave me was stolen from our garage just a couple of weeks after he gave it to me, so just have some 40 year old memories to pull from. Thanks, again, for responding to my post.

Thanks,
Bruce