Background
Edwin Howard Armstrong
Lee De Forest
Description
Patents
Related
Tube History
Links
Background
After
Crystal
Radios, that have no tubes and don't require any power
other than the received signal, the next level of complexity
is the one tube radio. It uses a regenerative circuit (
Wiki)
to get more gain from the single WD-11 (
Wiki) tube.
(2014) The below schematic has an error. The Volume pot
is in the filament circuit not the B+ circuit.
Edwin Howard Armstrong (Wiki)
The popular inventor of the
regenerative receiver as well as FM radio.
Lee De Forest (Wiki)
Patented the regenerative
receiver prior to Armstrong and won the court battle over
it. But De Forest was involved in a number of shady
deals where he was sued and lost so although he really did
invent the regenerative radio receiver seldom gets full
credit.
Description
The major components are:
Variometer coil with 6 taps - top center dial rotates internal
coil, lower center switch selects taps. The movable coil
controls the regeneration.
6 Position Switch - controls the tuned frequency along with the
variable cap.
Filament Rheostat - controls tube emission (early tube had wide
varations in their gain.
Marked C-H Patent Applied For
It has two concentric shafts and two knobs, a coarse and fine
knob.
Only two electrical terminals.
1672290
Potential-Control Apparatus, H.J. Wiegand (Cuttler-Hammer Mfg
Co), Jun 5 1928,
338/134 ; 338/150 -
for regulating the plate and
filament voltages on audion valves
Variable Capacitor - knob on left tuns capacitor, stations
Radiola WD tube socket - for WD-11 or equivalent tube.
1516837
Thermionic-tube Adapter, C.F Wright (Wireless Specialty
Apparatus Co), Nov 25 1924 (filed Apr 4 1923),
439/655
-
specifically for using the UV
199 to replace the WD 11.
1696406
Radio Tube Socket, F.S. Masley & A.P. Wasil, Dec 25 1928,
439/573- specifically for the WD-11.
1913766
Method and Apparatus for Testing Audion Tube Circuits and
Devices, J.H. Miller, Jun 13 1933, - Tube Tester
3 Meg Ohm resistor in a cylindrical glass holder very similar to
a glass fuse except it has points on the ends to fit into the
clip holder.
8 Terminals (2 more terminals used for internal wire
connections)
1 & 2: Phones
3 & 4: Antenna and Ground
5 & 6 Filament "A" battery (at rear)
7 & 8: Plate "B" battery (at rear)
Schematic
The terminals are arranged to
match the physical location. This is the Armstrong
regenerative circuit. The plate is connected to the
phones then the variable tickler coil.
It's not clear if the antenna and ground are reversed.
The metal on the back of the front panel is connected to the
upper terminal.
Patents
Class Numbers
Class 329 Demodulators
347 AM
367
Including regenerative
feedback in non-oscillating demodulator
Class 375 Pulse or Digital Communications
316 Receivers
338 Interrupted Carrier
Wave
339
Carrier Controlling Local Generator
Class 455 Telecommunications,
130 Receiver or Analog Modulated Signal
Frequency Converter,
334 With particular
receiver circuit,
336
Super-regenerative detector or discriminator
Patnets
803684
Instrument for converting alternating electric currents into
continuous currents,
John
Ambrose Fleming, Marconi Wireless Telegraph Co,
1905-11-07, - diode tube
841387
Device for amplifying feeble electrical currents,
Lee
De Forest, 1907-01-15, - triode & other stuff
879532 Space Telegraphy,
Lee
De Forest, Feb 18 1908,
329/368 ; 313/293;
315/355; 336/220 - Triode Vacuum Tube called an Audion at the
time.
Has elements called the
filament, grid and plate (in later patents called the wing).
1507016
Radio Signaling System, Lee De Forest, Sep 2 1924,
178/118
; 331/171 - "kick-back" & progressive amplification
mentioned (i.e. feedback)
1507017 Wireless Telegraph and
Telephone System, Lee De Forest, Sep 2 1924,
370/339 -
There was a lawsuit between De Forest and Armstrong and De
Forest won the suit (The Complete De Forest-
Litigation)
1113149 Wireless Receiving
System, Edwin H. Armstrong, Oct 6 1914,
375/339 ;
329/359; 455/321 -
Being in class 375 is
interesting
The 1923 Crosley Harko ACE is marked "Manufactured under
Armstrong U.S. patent 1113149" as is the Crosley Model 51.
1381692 Device for Receiving
Radiotelegraphic and Radiotelephonic Signals, Cesare
Bardeloni, June 14 1921 (filed April 12 1919), -
Regenerative
Oldest patent in class
455/336

1342885 Method of Receiving
High-Frequency Oscillations, E. H. Armstrong, June 8 1920,
455/315
; 330/165; 455/331
1415845 Selectively Opposing
Impedance to Received Electrical Oscillations, M.I. Pupin
& E. H. Armstrong, May 9 1922,
455/282 -
1416061 Radoreceiving System
having High Selectivity, M.I. Pupin & E. H. Armstrong, May
16 1922,
375/338 ; 307/105 -
1424065 Signaling System, E. H.
Armstrong, July 25 1922 (filed June 27 1921),
455/336
; 329/359; 329/368; 329/370 -
Called Regenerative in
this patent, but super regenerative in patent 1539821.
Second oldest patent in class
455/336

1472092 Receiver for Wireless
Telegraphy, RCA, Oct 30 1923,
455/286 ; 455/290;
455/312;
455/315
1539821 Wave Signaling System, E.
H. Armstrong (Westinghouse Elec), June 2 1925,
455/336
- two tube adjustable Super Regenerative
1611848 Wireless Receiving system
for Continuous Waves, E. H. Armstrong (Westinghouse Elec), Dec
21 1926,
375/338 -
1502875 Tone Producing
Radioreceiver, M.I. Pupin & E. H. Armstrong (Westinghouse
Elec), July 29 1924,
375/339 -
1472583 Method of Maintaining
Electyric Currents of Constant Frequency, W.G. Cady (RCA), Oct
30 1923,
331/163 ; 330/112; 331/158; 331/159; 331/164
RE17247
Method of Maintaining Electyric Currents of Constant
Frequency, W.G. Cady (RCA), May 26 1929,
331/164 ;
310/318; 333/188 -
Fig 1 is the Armstrong circuit.
RCA 1922 Radiola Senior one tube
radio patent dates:

Nov 7, 1905
Jan 15, 1907
Feb 18, 1908
Oct 6, 1914
May 10, 1921
Given the list of patent dates above the following may be
the corresponding patents:
803569 Induction-Transformer
for Wireless-Telegraphy Receiving-stations, Eugene Ducretet,
Nov 7 1905,
455/292 - uses coherer and battery (not
tube) -although not a regenerative radio, it's very close to
the circuit,
804190 Instrument for Making
Electrical Measurements, J.A. Fleming (Marconi), Nov 7 1905,
- not the circuit, but interesting
841386 Wireless Telegraphy,
Lee De Forest, Jan 15, 1907,
315/94 ; 313/147;
313/152; 313/157; 313/161; 313/581; 315/348; 315/349;
315/357; 329/322 - one tube
879532 Space Telegraphy, Lee De
Forest, Feb 18 1908, -
329/368 ; 313/293; 315/355;
336/220 one tube radio without feedback
1113149 Oct 6, 1914 (
see 1113149
Armstrong patent above)
1377405 Audion Circuit, Lee De
Forest (De Forest Radio Telephone & Telegraph), May 10
1921,
330/103 ; 330/109; 330/185 - dual triode with
feedback
Related
Tube History
This comes from the paper:A
History of U.S. Navy Periscope Detection Radar: Sensor
Design and Development, Shannon & Moser, 2014.
Also see Periscope.

|
307031
Electrical Indicator, Thomas A.
Edison, Oct 21, 1884
Adds another electrode to an electric lamp and notices
how it works.
First patent for an electronic device.
|

|
803684
Instrument for converting alternating electric
currents into continuous currents, John Ambrose
Fleming, Marconi
Wireless Telegraph Company Of America,
Filed: Pub: Nov 7, 1905 - this patent
is for a radio telegraph receiving device.
Fleming Valve (rectifier)
|

|
879532
Space telegraphy, Lee
De Forest, Forest
Radio Telephone Co, Feb 18,
1908
De Forest adds a grid to the tube and calls it the
Audion. His two prior patents 824637
& 836070
used Fleming valves (i.e. no grid).
|

|
924560
Wireless signaling
system, Guglielmo
Marconi, Marconi
Wireless Telegraph Company Of America,
Jun 8,
1909
|

|
1608313
Method of and means for
producing alternating currents, Hull
Albert W, Gen
Electric, Nov 23, 1926
two-pole magnetron (15 kW @ 20 kHz)
Gets around prior patents by using magnetic filed to
control tube current.
|

|
2542966
High-frequency-electrical
oscillator, Howard
Boot Henry Albert, Turton
Randall John, English
Electric Valve Co Ltd, Priority: Aug
22, 1940, Pub: Feb 20, 1951 water cooled
magnetron
5 designs shown, 4 of which have power outputs of
(kW):
Wavelength
(cm)
|
9.1
|
7.9
|
5.18
|
2.63
|
1.9
|
Pwr Out (kW)
|
150 |
5-10 |
5-10 |
10-15 |
na
|
Output at X-band (1.9 cm) is very low.
|
|
|
Links
NBS Circular 120: article about Construction and Operation of a
Simple
Homemade Radio Receiving Outfit (
pdf)
- Circular 120 (
pdf)
RCA Radiola III
and III-A By Doug Criner - includes info on WD-11 tube
substitutions
Dialcover by Bill Turner
- parts and manuals
1922 Radiola
Senior -
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