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The main source of power for early radios in pre-rural electrification 1930s West Texas: small windmills that charged batteries for them - the wind is almost al
by MandieD 3y ago
The main source of power for early radios in pre-rural electrification 1930s West Texas: small windmills that charged batteries for them - the wind is almost always blowing in West Texas. Zenith Radio Windcharger was the main type I remember seeing at the American Windmill Museum in Lubbock, a must-see if you find yourself in Lubbock for some reason.
On that note, learning CW (Morse Code) well enough to understand it by ear would be one my technical priorities if I were seriously worried about civilizational collapse, as well as more about early (pre-transistor) radio technology.
- jacquesm 3y agoYes, windmills would be a good choice. I've made a whole trip around the USA to make pictures of these old windmills, an amazing number of them are still around, sometimes even in working state. Waterpumpers for the most part but also lots of other uses including electricity generation.
- nullc 3y ago> about early (pre-transistor) radio technology I dunno if that's a good tradeoff. It's fairly difficult to make good tubes and the performance of pre-tube radio technology is extremely poor. Yet your home alone probably contains hundreds of transistors which could be scavenged to make radio receivers and transmitters. Constructed correctly these devices have no significant wear out mechanism.