Watson's Radio Club
Watsonian Reports 1940s - 1950s
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We have been unable to find any report announcing the setting-up of the Radio Club either by Bill Lyall before WWII or in 1947 when John Hughes arrived, but fortunately John recorded the early history of the Club in the booklets published for the Exhibitions - Careers in Electronics - in 1959 and 1965, available on this site, presumably after consulting with Bill Lyall, who remained teaching Physics at Watsons into the 1960s (including to your scribe). The first, short report in the Watsonian was published in May 1949 under School Topics and thereafter Radio Club reports were reasonably regular. In addition, there were a few radio-related articles not directly related to the Radio Club. Many thanks to Briain Wilson GM8PKL for using OCR - Optical Character Recognition software - to convert photocopies of the Watsonian pages to Word files.
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Spring 1947 p.34 - WATSON'S ON THE AIR (not Radio Club)
On Thursday, 22nd February, a B.B.C. recording-van drew up in front of the College Reception Room and shortly afterwards Watson's boys, pupils of Mme. Semeonoff, were reading, reciting and talking Russian into the microphone as it moved from boy, to boy. The records of the lesson are to be broadcast to Russia by the B.B.C. in their European service. So successful was this experiment that the B. B.C. have since asked permission to record Russian songs sung by Watson's boys.
May 1949, p.26 – RADIO CLUB
The Radio Club has had a successful term. A visit was paid to Blackford Hill Radio Station which proved very interesting. An ex-R.A.F. communications receiver has been installed and reception reports are being sent to various stations abroad.
November 1949, p.119 – SCHOOL TOPICS
RADIO CLUB – Secretary, J.M. Stirling.
May 1950, p.40 – RADIO CLUB
ATTENDANCE at the Club this session has been good, and although the greater part of our programme is practical there have been several talks, and a film was shown early this term. The ten-metre frame aerial erected on the roof of the geography department has proved to be successful in conjunction with one of the two sets used by the Club. Several outdoor activities and a sale are being planned for the summer term.
J.M.Stirling.
November 1951, p.92-93 ELFIN WIRELESS by the late James B. Naismith (English)
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ELFIN WIRELESS
Calling-up Signal . ELF
Sending Station . VERY SECRET
Announcer . Mr R. GOODFELLOW
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When the moon is sailing o'er
And mortals have begun to snore,
Finished with their 2LO,
Then our "horns of Elfiand " blow.
We could broadcast song and mirth
And music over all the earth
Long ere mortal folks could do it,
But the dull fools never knew it.
Sometimes when they're very small,
Baby mortals hear our call,
Smile and chuckle with delight
When they listen-in at night:
But later on they all grow deaf
And never pick up ELF.
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ELF begins to call:
Run, good fairies, one and all
Through the silver glades, and get
Dewdrops for your crystal set,
Or poke in grassy tufts for stray
Glow-worms on your valves to lay:
Quickly tie to twigs of furze Aerials of gossamers.
Off you go, you other seekers,
After hare-bells for loud-speakers;
Set them near your dancing-rings,
And after Queen Titania sings,
And our little gnome-band comes -
Honey-bag pipes, beetle-drums -
You will hear the latest dances,
Bat-glides, One-flaps, Moonbeam prances.
True we have no coloured gents
Behind our "twangling instruments,"
But Mustardseed will play the bones
As well as they play saxophones,
And the tongs (if he has got 'em)
By request of Mr Bottom.
You will hear the jingle fine
Of " fifty silver bells and nine:”
All the music of the spheres
Will be relayed to your ears.
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When the moon is overhead
And sleepy mortals go to bed,
Then we fairies, who are tireless,
Dance and sing all night to "wireless."
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November 1951, p.130 – RADIO CLUB
During the last session the Radio Club remained indoors studying the mysteries of how a radio set works and constructing simple short- and medium-wave receivers. On the first Wednesday of every month lectures were given by Mr Hughes on how different components of a radio set work and what these components actually do when a set is working. A.J. Oliphant.
November 1952, p.113 – RADIO CLUB
A VERY successful session was enjoyed by the Club. The monthly talks were on many varied subjects, ranging from "Electrons" to "Radar." On the practical side members constructed, among other things, a heavy-duty power-supply and a wavemeter. Thanks are due to Mr Hughes, whose unflagging energy and enthusiasm is the driving power behind the Club. T. W. G. Calvert.
July 1953, p.39 – RADIO CLUB
REGULAR meetings have been held each Tuesday afternoon. A set-building competition, divided into a junior and senior section, was held at the beginning of this term. The junior section winner was R. Pringle of the 3rd year and the senior section winner G. Allan of the 6th year. Recently a high frequency 75 Mc/s. oscillator was built and is now being adjusted. A. G. E. Allan.
May 1955, p.34 – RADIO CLUB
THE Club have been holding meetings on most Tuesdays after School. Two of the older pupils out of the dozen or so members of the Club are building an amplifier for the School which will be kept in Mr Hyde's room since he has the pick-up to go with it. The Club have decided to hold a short-wave building competition which will be judged by Mr Hughes some time during the summer term. G. W. Y.
May 1956, pp.16-17 – GM3BCD
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GM3BCD in action with Mr Simpson at the transmitter. (Photo by C.R. Taylor)
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GM3BCD
THE Radio Club has at last achieved its ambition to have its own short-wave transmitting station. This station is run by Mr Simpson of the Technical Department who operates the transmitter on the twenty metre and fifteen metre bands under the call-sign GM3BCD. The transmitter is in a small room under the Hall, giving easy access to the roof for the aerial feeders.
Although the transmitter has only been in use for about four months many contacts have already been made. The most distant of these so far have been with Alaska, Greenland and Malaya, but we are hoping that the recently erected V-beam aerial will enable us to contact some more distant amateurs. So far we have not established communication with a Watsonian any further away than Blackhall although we did contact one Herioter in London. Come on, 'Sonians!
For the technically minded, the transmitter is a crystal-controlled, screen-modulated 813 valve running 150 watts. At present we have two aerials, a horizontal dipole beamed north-south and a V-beam aerial beamed out towards the United States. Until recently we were using an ex-American Army BC-342 receiver but we have recently received delivery of a new CR100 receiver.
Gifts of literatures components or equipment would be welcomed and at present one pressing need is for some Dural rod to erect yet another aerial. We hasten to add that these aerials are quite inconspicuous and do not mar the good looks of the School building.
In addition to the daily operation of the transmitter the customary weekly meetings have been held every Tuesday, at which several of the younger members of the Club have built one- and two-valve receivers. Morse classes have been started and have become a regular feature of the Club's activities.
The Club was called upon to instal a public address system for use at the School Swimming Galas and the job was satisfactorily completed in time for this year's Gala.
We would like to express our gratitude to Messrs Simpson and Hughes for their help in running the Club and also to the Signals Section, Watsonians and local amateurs who have given or lent to the Club components and equipment without Which the construction of the transmitter would not have been possible. In particular we would like to thank GM2DBX, GM3AEI, GM3BQA, G3AFL and GM2BQO for their help.
ROBERT D. PRINGLE (VA)
November 1956, p.118 – RADIO CLUB
DURING the course of the summer term the customary weekly meetings were held every Tuesday and, in addition, the daily operation of the transmitter was continued.
Among the many interesting contacts which we have made recently was one made with Captain Carlsen who was at the time crossing the Atlantic in the" Flying Enterprise II,',' and the card confirming this contact holds a prominent position on the wall of the transmitter room.
Towards the end of last term Mrs Montgomery of Tazewell, Virginia (formerly Miss Wright of the Junior School), wrote to us with a view to contacting us through a friend, Bob Harman, W4UDZ. We were unable to make this contact last term but we are still listening in the hope that we may yet be able to let Mrs Montgomery, speak to some of her friends on the Staff here.
We would like to congratulate Mr Hughes, GM3LCP, on obtaining his transmitting licence, and also to thank him and Mr Simpson for their untiring efforts on behalf of the Club. R. D. Pringle.
May 1957, p.39 – RADIO CLUB
THE Club has met regularly each Tuesday afternoon and our membership still growing. Our transmitter, GM3BCD, has been on the air each lunch hour and we have made many friends overseas, especially in the U.S.A. There must be many Watsonians who operate amateur stations and we appeal to them to send us one of their QSL cards so that we know who and where they are.
Having achieved notoriety in the local press, we gained fame in the technical press when a photograph and description of our station appeared in the Short Wave Magazine last November;
We have received a welcome gift of components from Robin Stirling; we urge other past members of the Club to follow his good example. Club members are collecting scrap metal and wool which we intend to sell. The proceeds will be used to build a beam aerial with which we hope to make the name of Watson's even more widely known.
In October a party visited the Police Radio Station on Blackford Hill. We were given a cordial welcome by Chief Inspector Bruce, a Watsonian, and spent two very instructive hours examining the various transmitters and receivers. They even put on a display of the Aurora Borealis for our entertainment!
In March we visited Portobello Power Station to find out where all those watts were made. This, too, was very worthwhile and we came away suitably awed and impressed by the thousands of-horse-power, the trainloads of coal and the complex controls which are used to cook our daily bacon.
Now then, Watsonians, what about those QSL cards? J. Kelly., J. A. R. Hughes.
November 1957, p.121 – RADIO CLUB
DURING the summer term the Radio Club continued its daily transmissions during the lunch interval and regularly held meetings in room 40. For those who are interested, the transmitter is crystal controlled on 21.189 mc/s, 21.270 mc/s and 21.366. mc/s, but it can be operated in the 14 mc/s and 28 mc/s bands.
We wish to convey our thanks to Messrs Bertrams Ltd. who supplied us with a steel mast for the two-element rotary beam aerial for the 21 mc/s band, which at the moment is under construction. We also wish to thank Dr A. Brown who has generously given us a quantity of very useful equipment. It is also interesting to note that Dr Brown was once a member of the Radio Club in 1936, when, it is understood, a transmitter was not in operation.
During the term sunspots have caused conditions to be rather erratic, but long distance communication has been possible and we have contacted stations in Australia, Malaya and South America. E. J. Kelly, C. R. Inglis.
May 1958, p.33 – RADIO CLUB
THIS year's increased membership clearly shows that the Club is "bridging a gap" widely felt at School. Such is the enthusiasm shown by the Club that a few additional members of the Staff have become interested in this fascinating subject.
This year the Club has been taking a modest part in the International Geophysical Year by contributing monthly reports on weather and radio conditions. To get data for the radio reports we have arranged a daily call on schedule with a Canadian radio station, VE3DBE, operated by" Chuck" Draper in Brantford, Ontario. At the time of writing atmospheric conditions are still preventing us from making contact, but we all thank him and look forward to better conditions.
The transmitter has been on the air almost daily in the capable hands of Mr Simpson [GM3BCD] and Mr Hughes [GM3LCP], and Dr Meek has at times "held the fort" and kept the more inquisitive members away from the high voltage power packs. Among additions and improvements to the transmitter are a V.F.O. unit and a new speech amplifier. The Club, as usual, installed and operated the public address system at both swimming galas.
Two very interesting visits were paid by the Club this season. The first was to the TV transmitter at Kirk o' Shotts and the nearby G.P.O. Relay Link Terminal. All our questions were answered fully and we were very impressed by the complexity and reliability of the equipment. Our second visit was to the Talisman Telephone Exchange in Fountainbridge, Edinburgh, and we should like to thank the B.B.C. and G.P.O. staffs for making these visits so enjoyable.
In addition, a demonstration of communication by modulated light beam - was given by Chilton Inglis, assisted by John Venters, both members of the Club. The equipment was, of course, the last word in intricate modern electronic wizardry, and employed photo-transistors. Speech communication was established across a room. It is very pleasing to note that while the younger members are still being initiated into the complexities of the "one-valver," the older members are carrying out some original experiments.
Lastly, we feel sure that there must be several Watsonians who are licensed radio amateurs and we would ask them to identify themselves by sending us their Q.S.L. cards. G. W. A. Czekalowski.
November 1958, p.98 - RADIO CLUB
AT last the Radio Club has realised its ambition—the erection of a Cubical Quad Beam Antenna. This now graces Watson's rooftops and the first results obtained with it have been most promising and encouraging; Our contacts have been as far away as VK (Australia), VS (Malaya), VU (India) and we are often told "Yours are the only signals on the band! " The purchase and erection of the beam was made possible by an anonymous donation of over forty pounds and we thank our unknown benefactor most sincerely for his generosity. We also thank Dr Forrester for his in appreciated gift of Practical Wireless and Mr Richard Telfer for Wireless World.
During the summer term activity has inevitably slackened off, but our lunchtime transmitting sessions are invariably well attended. A set-building competition was held this term, the winner of the Junior Section being A. Masson for his very neat miniature crystal receiver. The Senior Section. was won by Chilton Inglis for his push-pull 6V6 amplifier, which he built and designed himself.
Members of the Club paid short visits to the service departments of Messrs. Scott in Morrison Street and Maitland Radio in Gayfield Place. We take this opportunity of thanking the service managers for the friendly reception they gave us and our questions. By the kind courtesy of Mullard Ltd. and the Scottish Radio Retailers' Association many of us attended the Mullard Film Show on "Transistors" in the North British Hotel.
Our thanks are due to Mr Simpson (GM3BCD), and Mr Hughes. (GM3LCP), for so ably running the Club and to Dr Meek for helping to look after us. G. W. A. Czekalowski.
May 1959, pp. 25-26 – RADIO CLUB
The I G Y has come to an end and with it the Club's I G Y programme. While all the data is being processed we wonder just how useful it will prove
No really exceptional contacts have been established since the last report because the transmitter has had a major rebuild, and in consequence has been off the air for most of the time.
A magazine circulating library has been established, and is he1ping older members to keep abreast of new ideas.
The Club paid a very interesting visit to the I T A transmitter at Blackhill and we wish to thank the staff there for their patience in showing us round We gratefully acknowledge the very generous donation by J. Frazer 'Shepherd, GM3EGW, and the continued help and cooperation. of Inspector Bruce of the City Police, both Watsonians and good friends to the Club.
Many useful additions to the "junk box " (which is, in fact, radio treasure-trove) were received from Mr J. B. Allan, Chilton Inglis, and Mr Walker, and gifts of books were made by Mr Walton and Dr A. Brown, We are very grateful to them all. We welcome Mr Jardine to our Radio Club and are indebted to him for his help in obtaining equipment.
G.W.A.Czekalowski.
November 1959, pp. 97-98 – RADIO CLUB
SINCE the last report, the Club has achieved three ambitions. Its outstandingly successful exhibition was held on Saturday, 23rd May, aiming at showing parents the merits of electronics as a career, and members' own exhibits showed clearly the popularity of electronics as a hobby. Many amplifiers, powerpacks, receivers and gramophones, most of exquisite neatness in construction, were on display, together with model-boat control gear, on loan from Dr Brown. A spectacular" Sound reproduction through the Ages" exhibit by Mr Jardine featured gramophones, radios, and tape and disc recorders. Also on show was a colour-organ, which translates music into colour, built by the Club's secretary, an improved version of which he has presented to the School.
The Club's transmitter was on show, operated by guest amateurs under a special exhibition call-sign of GB3GWC. Many interesting contacts were made and confirmed by a special Q.S.L. card. Many firms and outside bodies co-operated in staging the exhibition, including the B.B.C., with a complete outside broadcast unit and a closed-circuit television system which proved most popular, the G.P.O. with a model telephone exchange and V.H.F. inter-island telephones, the City Police, with walkie-talkies, Jeffrey's, with stereo recording and playback, and Messrs Mullard, Ferranti, Coastal Radio, and James Scott & Co. The Club is indebted to them for their co-operation, and must thank Mr Weston for handling the ticket sales during Mr Hughes' illness.
The active support of the Headmaster and the financial success of the exhibition has enabled us to replace our ageing CR 100 receiver with an Eddystone 750. Much smaller, quieter, and far more sensitive, this fine set now matches the much-improved range given to the transmitter by the rebuild mentioned in the last report, and by the cubical quad beam antenna. This beam system has at last been completed by adding a rotating motor and direction indication so that the beam can be focussed in any chosen direction at the flick of a switch, not by hazarding life and limb climbing across the School roof and turning it by hand. The transmitter was inspected by a G.P.O. official and given their blessing and a clean bill of health. We look forward to outstanding results next session.
The public address and recording systems at many School functions this year, including the Burns supper, School dances, Corps band competition, the General Inspection and the swimming galas were installed and operated by Mr Jardine and senior members of the Club.
We wish to acknowledge generous donations by Mr Barclay M. Phillips and Mr Gardner.
The Club wishes better health to Mr Hughes, who has been ill lately, and thank him, Mr Simpson, Mr Jardine and Dr Meek for the interest they have shown in the Club and the work they have done on its behalf throughout the session. G. W. A. Czekalowski.
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