ALLIED RADIO

[Mark Langenfeld]

I don't mean to belabor the subject, but I can't let it pass. Allied Radio
was a big part of my early radio years. Jeez, I think I can still even
smell the pages of those great catalogs. In the late fifties and early
'60's most kids my age looked forward to the Sears Christmas "wish book;"
but my wish book was the Allied catalog.

A package from Chicago was always filled with treasure: a Weller
soldering gun, some P-R crystals for a few more Novice frequencies (each
packed in a little foam-padded box), a Telrex 2 mtr beam (to go with my
Heathkit "Twoer"), or a new call book. And I built a few
Knight Kits, as well: the Wireless Broadcaster, a Span Master, and my
Novice transmitter -- a Knight T-50 (6AG7/807/5U4GT -- gawd, you could
load those old pi-net rigs into ANYTHING -- wish I had it now!).
All-in-all, those kits were pretty solid, and fun to assemble and use.

It seemed as though things started slipping a bit by the mid-'60's. The
catalogs got a little scrawnier, the kits a little "flimsier," and the
equipment and component selections less diverse. The handwriting was on
the wall, I guess, but the good memories remain. Between the
shipments from Allied and Fair Radio Sales, I can't recall any UPS
packages I more looked forward to receiving.

Them were the days!

73,

Mark -- WA9ETW

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