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| Re: Motorola handie talkie 1944 [message #390565 is a reply to message #390542] |
Fri, 31 January 2020 15:36   |
hancock4
Messages: 6746
Registered: December 2011
Karma: 0
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Senior Member |
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On Friday, January 31, 2020 at 11:45:03 AM UTC-5, JimP wrote:
> Saw it in lots of movies back in the 1950s, but from what I have seen
> in documentaries and read in books, they didn't always work.
> Particularly after air drops.
I'm not surprised. Unless they were built to extremely
heavy rugged standards--which would've made production slow
and very expensive--I can't see how technology of that era
could withstand the shocks of combat service. I'm thinking
of all the solder joints breaking loose.
In the 1950s, when they built amplifiers for overseas cables,
they were built to very high standard, and thus were
extremely expensive. They did have a 20 year lifespan.
Likewise, after the war they developed premium grade
tubes for computers and aircraft that were more rugged.
https://books.google.com/books?id=flMEAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PA91& amp;dq=life%20overseas%20cable%20repeater&pg=PA91#v=onep age&q&f=false
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| Re: Motorola handie talkie 1944 [message #390571 is a reply to message #390542] |
Fri, 31 January 2020 16:09 |
Peter Flass
Messages: 8375
Registered: December 2011
Karma: 0
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Senior Member |
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JimP <solosam90@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Thu, 30 Jan 2020 14:11:04 -0800 (PST), hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com wrote:
>> What is commonly called a "walkie talkie" is shown as a
>> "handi talkie".
>>
>> https://archive.org/details/the-saturday-evening-post-1944-0 9-23/page/n87/mode/2up
>>
>> A staple of every war movie.
>>
>> how well they worked in combat I don't know. Obviously took
>> a tremendous physical beating--hoped the tubes would hold up.
>> Also subject to intense heat/humidity in tropical conditions
>> that caused a lot of materials to rot out.
>
> Saw it in lots of movies back in the 1950s, but from what I have seen
> in documentaries and read in books, they didn't always work.
> Particularly after air drops.
>
Yes, read a lot about the problems. Didn’t Market-Garden have
communications failures?
--
Pete
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| Re: Motorola handie talkie 1944 [message #390575 is a reply to message #390571] |
Fri, 31 January 2020 16:24 |
hancock4
Messages: 6746
Registered: December 2011
Karma: 0
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Senior Member |
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On Friday, January 31, 2020 at 4:09:52 PM UTC-5, Peter Flass wrote:
> JimP <solosam90@gmail.com> wrote:
>> On Thu, 30 Jan 2020 14:11:04 -0800 (PST), hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com wrote:
>>> What is commonly called a "walkie talkie" is shown as a
>>> "handi talkie".
>>>
>>> https://archive.org/details/the-saturday-evening-post-1944-0 9-23/page/n87/mode/2up
>>>
>>> A staple of every war movie.
>>>
>>> how well they worked in combat I don't know. Obviously took
>>> a tremendous physical beating--hoped the tubes would hold up.
>>> Also subject to intense heat/humidity in tropical conditions
>>> that caused a lot of materials to rot out.
>>
>> Saw it in lots of movies back in the 1950s, but from what I have seen
>> in documentaries and read in books, they didn't always work.
>> Particularly after air drops.
>>
>
> Yes, read a lot about the problems. Didn’t Market-Garden have
> communications failures?
My guess is that in WW II there were a lot of communication
failures from the 'fog of war'. Since almost everything
was done by hand, there were a lot of intermediate soldiers
in the mix, delaying the passing of critical messages from
the field to the commander. Also, if a message was
encrypted and then decrypted, it was a slow tedious
process that caused delay. Message transmission itself
was slow.
For those interested, the Army Green books has a three volume
set on the Signal Corps downloadable for free (lots of other
topics, too. I'll dig up the URL if there's interest.)
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| Re: Motorola handie talkie 1944 [message #390576 is a reply to message #390575] |
Fri, 31 January 2020 17:21 |
Peter Flass
Messages: 8375
Registered: December 2011
Karma: 0
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Senior Member |
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<hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com> wrote:
> On Friday, January 31, 2020 at 4:09:52 PM UTC-5, Peter Flass wrote:
>> JimP <solosam90@gmail.com> wrote:
>>> On Thu, 30 Jan 2020 14:11:04 -0800 (PST), hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com wrote:
>>>> What is commonly called a "walkie talkie" is shown as a
>>>> "handi talkie".
>>>>
>>>> https://archive.org/details/the-saturday-evening-post-1944-0 9-23/page/n87/mode/2up
>>>>
>>>> A staple of every war movie.
>>>>
>>>> how well they worked in combat I don't know. Obviously took
>>>> a tremendous physical beating--hoped the tubes would hold up.
>>>> Also subject to intense heat/humidity in tropical conditions
>>>> that caused a lot of materials to rot out.
>>>
>>> Saw it in lots of movies back in the 1950s, but from what I have seen
>>> in documentaries and read in books, they didn't always work.
>>> Particularly after air drops.
>>>
>>
>> Yes, read a lot about the problems. Didn’t Market-Garden have
>> communications failures?
>
> My guess is that in WW II there were a lot of communication
> failures from the 'fog of war'. Since almost everything
> was done by hand, there were a lot of intermediate soldiers
> in the mix, delaying the passing of critical messages from
> the field to the commander. Also, if a message was
> encrypted and then decrypted, it was a slow tedious
> process that caused delay. Message transmission itself
> was slow.
>
> For those interested, the Army Green books has a three volume
> set on the Signal Corps downloadable for free (lots of other
> topics, too. I'll dig up the URL if there's interest.)
>
Sounds worth a look, anyway.
--
Pete
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| Re: Motorola handie talkie 1944 [message #390579 is a reply to message #390576] |
Fri, 31 January 2020 17:32 |
hancock4
Messages: 6746
Registered: December 2011
Karma: 0
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Senior Member |
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On Friday, January 31, 2020 at 5:21:17 PM UTC-5, Peter Flass wrote:
>> For those interested, the Army Green books has a three volume
>> set on the Signal Corps downloadable for free (lots of other
>> topics, too. I'll dig up the URL if there's interest.)
>>
>
> Sounds worth a look, anyway.
This is the general web page:
https://history.army.mil/html/bookshelves/collect/usaww2.htm l
The Technical Services has a bunch of stuff, the Signal
Corps (three volumes) is near the bottom. But I'd
recommend the other books in this series as well. The
Quartermaster is very candid about its successes and
failures in providing food and housing to the troops,
including its ill-fated lemonade drink that was so
bad it was used as a floor cleaner instead.
https://history.army.mil/html/bookshelves/collect/ww2-ts.htm l
(Admittedly, pages and pages detailing the best closure
drawstring for a duffle bag may be overboard, but it
does show the challenges in development.)
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| Re: Motorola handie talkie 1944 [message #390595 is a reply to message #390571] |
Fri, 31 January 2020 20:03 |
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Originally posted by: JimP
On Fri, 31 Jan 2020 14:09:51 -0700, Peter Flass
<peter_flass@yahoo.com> wrote:
> JimP <solosam90@gmail.com> wrote:
>> On Thu, 30 Jan 2020 14:11:04 -0800 (PST), hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com wrote:
>>> What is commonly called a "walkie talkie" is shown as a
>>> "handi talkie".
>>>
>>> https://archive.org/details/the-saturday-evening-post-1944-0 9-23/page/n87/mode/2up
>>>
>>> A staple of every war movie.
>>>
>>> how well they worked in combat I don't know. Obviously took
>>> a tremendous physical beating--hoped the tubes would hold up.
>>> Also subject to intense heat/humidity in tropical conditions
>>> that caused a lot of materials to rot out.
>>
>> Saw it in lots of movies back in the 1950s, but from what I have seen
>> in documentaries and read in books, they didn't always work.
>> Particularly after air drops.
>>
>
> Yes, read a lot about the problems. Didnt Market-Garden have
> communications failures?
Different frequencies. Air cover had one set, infantry another. So the
infantry couldn't call for help. Other units could contact the air
cover. And as mentioned earlier, the walkie takies broke or they ran
out of batteries.
--
Jim
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| Re: Motorola handie talkie 1944 [message #390628 is a reply to message #390595] |
Sat, 01 February 2020 15:16 |
hancock4
Messages: 6746
Registered: December 2011
Karma: 0
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Senior Member |
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On Friday, January 31, 2020 at 8:04:11 PM UTC-5, JimP wrote:
> Different frequencies. Air cover had one set, infantry another. So the
> infantry couldn't call for help. Other units could contact the air
> cover. And as mentioned earlier, the walkie takies broke or they ran
> out of batteries.
I think the had heavy duty carbon batteries back then, but
still their life was limited. Alkaline batteries were a huge
improvement in life. It seems alkalines were available
much earlier than they hit consumers, but I'm not sure
if practical or available in WW II.
When I was a kid I played with No. 6 dry cells. They
lasted forever. There were different formulations for
different kinds of service.
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| Re: Motorola handie talkie 1944 [message #390636 is a reply to message #390628] |
Sat, 01 February 2020 16:47 |
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Originally posted by: JimP
On Sat, 1 Feb 2020 12:16:40 -0800 (PST), hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com wrote:
> On Friday, January 31, 2020 at 8:04:11 PM UTC-5, JimP wrote:
>
>> Different frequencies. Air cover had one set, infantry another. So the
>> infantry couldn't call for help. Other units could contact the air
>> cover. And as mentioned earlier, the walkie takies broke or they ran
>> out of batteries.
>
> I think the had heavy duty carbon batteries back then, but
> still their life was limited. Alkaline batteries were a huge
> improvement in life. It seems alkalines were available
> much earlier than they hit consumers, but I'm not sure
> if practical or available in WW II.
Haven't noticed any info about which batteries were used in WW2. Most
of the books I have read mentioned flashlights and batteries, but not
type of battery. From the few photos I have seen, likely D batteries.
> When I was a kid I played with No. 6 dry cells. They
> lasted forever. There were different formulations for
> different kinds of service.
The No. 6 batteries I saw were used in lanterns we took camping in Boy
Scouts. I think they were Coleman brand.
--
Jim
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| Re: Motorola handie talkie 1944 [message #390725 is a reply to message #390636] |
Tue, 04 February 2020 15:10 |
hancock4
Messages: 6746
Registered: December 2011
Karma: 0
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Senior Member |
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On Saturday, February 1, 2020 at 4:48:21 PM UTC-5, JimP wrote:
> On Sat, 1 Feb 2020 12:16:40 -0800 (PST), hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com wrote:
>> On Friday, January 31, 2020 at 8:04:11 PM UTC-5, JimP wrote:
>>
>>> Different frequencies. Air cover had one set, infantry another. So the
>>> infantry couldn't call for help. Other units could contact the air
>>> cover. And as mentioned earlier, the walkie takies broke or they ran
>>> out of batteries.
>>
>> I think the had heavy duty carbon batteries back then, but
>> still their life was limited. Alkaline batteries were a huge
>> improvement in life. It seems alkalines were available
>> much earlier than they hit consumers, but I'm not sure
>> if practical or available in WW II.
>
> Haven't noticed any info about which batteries were used in WW2. Most
> of the books I have read mentioned flashlights and batteries, but not
> type of battery. From the few photos I have seen, likely D batteries.
It seemed D batteries were popular, based on the ads.
But portable radios required an "A" and "B" batteries that
looked like boxes.
>> When I was a kid I played with No. 6 dry cells. They
>> lasted forever. There were different formulations for
>> different kinds of service.
>
> The No. 6 batteries I saw were used in lanterns we took camping in Boy
> Scouts. I think they were Coleman brand.
A No. 6 is big but only puts out 1.5 volts. You might have
had 6 volt or even 12 volt batteries specially designed for
lanterns.
Interestingly, during WW II, outdoor heaters and cookstoves
were fueled by gasoline. One had to use "white" (unleaded)
gas for them. I would guess that would be a fire hazard
and maybe it was, but the stoves back then ran on gasoline.
Now they use kerosene.
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| Re: Motorola handie talkie 1944 [message #390730 is a reply to message #390725] |
Tue, 04 February 2020 17:01 |
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Originally posted by: JimP
On Tue, 4 Feb 2020 12:10:00 -0800 (PST), hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com wrote:
> On Saturday, February 1, 2020 at 4:48:21 PM UTC-5, JimP wrote:
>> On Sat, 1 Feb 2020 12:16:40 -0800 (PST), hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com wrote:
>>> On Friday, January 31, 2020 at 8:04:11 PM UTC-5, JimP wrote:
>>>
>>>> Different frequencies. Air cover had one set, infantry another. So the
>>>> infantry couldn't call for help. Other units could contact the air
>>>> cover. And as mentioned earlier, the walkie takies broke or they ran
>>>> out of batteries.
>>>
>>> I think the had heavy duty carbon batteries back then, but
>>> still their life was limited. Alkaline batteries were a huge
>>> improvement in life. It seems alkalines were available
>>> much earlier than they hit consumers, but I'm not sure
>>> if practical or available in WW II.
>>
>> Haven't noticed any info about which batteries were used in WW2. Most
>> of the books I have read mentioned flashlights and batteries, but not
>> type of battery. From the few photos I have seen, likely D batteries.
>
> It seemed D batteries were popular, based on the ads.
>
> But portable radios required an "A" and "B" batteries that
> looked like boxes.
>
>
>
>>> When I was a kid I played with No. 6 dry cells. They
>>> lasted forever. There were different formulations for
>>> different kinds of service.
>>
>> The No. 6 batteries I saw were used in lanterns we took camping in Boy
>> Scouts. I think they were Coleman brand.
>
> A No. 6 is big but only puts out 1.5 volts. You might have
> had 6 volt or even 12 volt batteries specially designed for
> lanterns.
I remembezr them being 3 volts, but I'm unsure.
> Interestingly, during WW II, outdoor heaters and cookstoves
> were fueled by gasoline. One had to use "white" (unleaded)
> gas for them. I would guess that would be a fire hazard
> and maybe it was, but the stoves back then ran on gasoline.
> Now they use kerosene.
I met on the air a ham radio operator who lives in another state, he
has a kerosene powered generator for his fridge, and another one for
his radio.
--
Jim
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| Re: Motorola handie talkie 1944 [message #390734 is a reply to message #390725] |
Tue, 04 February 2020 18:04 |
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Originally posted by: J. Clarke
On Tue, 4 Feb 2020 12:10:00 -0800 (PST), hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com wrote:
> On Saturday, February 1, 2020 at 4:48:21 PM UTC-5, JimP wrote:
>> On Sat, 1 Feb 2020 12:16:40 -0800 (PST), hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com wrote:
>>> On Friday, January 31, 2020 at 8:04:11 PM UTC-5, JimP wrote:
>>>
>>>> Different frequencies. Air cover had one set, infantry another. So the
>>>> infantry couldn't call for help. Other units could contact the air
>>>> cover. And as mentioned earlier, the walkie takies broke or they ran
>>>> out of batteries.
>>>
>>> I think the had heavy duty carbon batteries back then, but
>>> still their life was limited. Alkaline batteries were a huge
>>> improvement in life. It seems alkalines were available
>>> much earlier than they hit consumers, but I'm not sure
>>> if practical or available in WW II.
>>
>> Haven't noticed any info about which batteries were used in WW2. Most
>> of the books I have read mentioned flashlights and batteries, but not
>> type of battery. From the few photos I have seen, likely D batteries.
>
> It seemed D batteries were popular, based on the ads.
>
> But portable radios required an "A" and "B" batteries that
> looked like boxes.
>
>
>
>>> When I was a kid I played with No. 6 dry cells. They
>>> lasted forever. There were different formulations for
>>> different kinds of service.
>>
>> The No. 6 batteries I saw were used in lanterns we took camping in Boy
>> Scouts. I think they were Coleman brand.
>
> A No. 6 is big but only puts out 1.5 volts. You might have
> had 6 volt or even 12 volt batteries specially designed for
> lanterns.
>
> Interestingly, during WW II, outdoor heaters and cookstoves
> were fueled by gasoline. One had to use "white" (unleaded)
> gas for them. I would guess that would be a fire hazard
> and maybe it was, but the stoves back then ran on gasoline.
> Now they use kerosene.
The backpackers and mountain climbers I know still use white gas. The
stoves available now will run on kerosene (or diesel or jet fuel or
butane or propane or just about anything else that will flow through a
pipe and burn) but they're still happiest and hottest with white gas.
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