| NORTH KOREA'S ATOMIC TEST on Monday 9th
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| | will keep track of radiation in your
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| October 2006 created two sets of
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| | neighbourhood by using a cheap
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| shockwaves.
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| | Geiger-Mueller tube, 'the most reliable
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| The picture on the front cover of The
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| | source of emergency information continues
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| Times (one of Britain's national daily
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| | to be your local Civl Defense office.'
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| newspapers) the following day, shows a
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| | (Popular Electronics, 1962: 38)
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| seismograph recording with the silhouette
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| | Cuban missile crisis
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| of a hand pointing at a dense
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| | In October 1961 - a year before the Cuban
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| concentration of spikes and waves. The
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| | Missile crisis - a Popular Electronics
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| headline above: 'The moment that shook
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| | front cover trailed a piece inside: 'You
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| the world.' The pun had been biding its
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| | wouldn't want to be an electronics
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| time and newspaper subs must have been
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| | hobbyist in the U.S.S.R.'
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| delighted for an opportunity to use it.
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| | The accompanying article is a show-case
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| The North Korean atomic test has deeply
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| | for the US intelligence effort: 'It was
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| aggravated the anxiety of the US and
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| | in the pages of Radio [a Soviet
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| other states concerned about the foreign
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| | electronics magazine] that the Russians
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| policy ambitions of North Korea.
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| | revealed the first advanced details of
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| But US anxiety over some threat has never
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| | Sputnik I. So that their radio amateurs
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| been far away.
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| | would be prepared to listen for Sputnik's
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| It faded shortly after the collapse of
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| | signals, the Soviet government published
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| the Soviet Union in 1991, only to
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| | the exact frequencies, transmitting power
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| reappear with the catastrophic new era of
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| | and type of signal to be used by the
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| flamboyant global terrorism that began on
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| | satellite. All of this information
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| the US mainland shortly afterwards.
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| | appeared in the June, July and August
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| In the 1950s to sixties, electronic
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| | 1957 issues - as much as four months
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| components became widely available to
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| | before Sputnik caught the world by
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| consumers in the USA and Great Britain.
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| | surprise.' (Popular Electronics, October
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| At the time, a significant number of
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| | 1961: 43-44)
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| people were around with the theoretical
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| | USA, one, Soviet Union, nil.
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| and technical understanding to use these
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| | Less than a year later, another edition
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| components in circuits with a practical
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| | of the magazine tells readers how to
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| application.
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| | listen to transmissions from NASA
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| Some had been radar engineers during the
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| | satellites. (Popular Electronics, June
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| Second World War. Others had trained more
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| | 1962) By building a receiver to tune into
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| recently to apply their skills in
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| | the 15-metre shortwave band, advanced
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| industry. The very skilled had the
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| | constructors could listen to
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| ability to build a television set for
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| | transmissions from satellites -
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| home use out of components from disused
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| | invariably with alphanumeric names such
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| radar circuitry.
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| | as Explorer XII, Telstar I, S-51, Injun
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| An A5-sized monthly called Popular
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| | SR-3 and TIROS IV.
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| Electronics carried designs for an array
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| | IT IS HARDLY SUPRISING THAT THE
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| of circuits for the home constructor.
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| | MEASUREMENT OF DISTANT BANGS AND WHISTLES
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| Some used the latest semiconductor
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| | became a valid subject for electronics
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| components. Others used vacuum-tube
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| | magazines during the Cold War. If you had
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| circuitry.
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| | the technical knowledge to probe the
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| Amateur radio was thriving and many
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| | radio-frequency part of the
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| circuits were for listening or
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| | electromagnetic spectrum, you could feel
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| transmitting equipment. Hi-Fi was another
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| | materially connected to the project of
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| popular theme.
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| | defeating communism.
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| The magazine's pages also carried
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| | From your loft, via a simple aerial, you
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| features on electronic ignition for cars,
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| | could receive signals that were
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| how to improve a commercial tape-recorder
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| | propagated tens of thousands of miles
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| and how to build a transistorised
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| | away. This is what I call 'electronic
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| heart-monitor.
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| | metonymy': the part (your aerial)
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| The Cold War was an ideological
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| | contiguous with and connecting to the
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| construction as well as a brute fact.
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| | whole (a national and international
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| American neurosis about its enemies
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| | project.)
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| emerged in many ways, including the
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| | In the same volume of Popular Electronics
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| McCarthy witch-hunts. And even the humble
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| | that discussed Russian jamming, a circuit
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| electronics press became a propaganda
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| | was printed which showed readers how to
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| tool against America's great enemy, the
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| | detect missiles.
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| Soviet Union.
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| | The article was accompanied by an
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| For example, In April 1959, Popular
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| | oscilloscope trace showing the electronic
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| Electronics carried an article about the
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| | noise recorded during the firing of the
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| Russian jamming of Russian language
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| | lunar probe rocket 'Pioneer' on October
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| broadcasts from the United States.
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| | 11, 1958 at 3.42 a.m. EST. The circuit
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| Will Bohrs describes a concerted effort
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| | printed is essentially a radio capable of
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| to block transmissions of the Voice of
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| | tuning-in to very low frequency
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| America (VOA) with 2,500 jamming stations
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| | electro-magnetic radiation. 'The output
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| and satellites ranged against the 85
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| | of the unit may be plugged into... a
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| transmitters of VOA. (Popular
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| | normal high-fidelity amplifier for
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| Electronics, 1959:42) In his conclusion,
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| | further amplification to display,
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| Bohr notes:
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| | recording or listening levels.' (Popular
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| 'Careful screening of refugees pouring
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| | Electronics, April 1959: 105)
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| into Berlin from the east confirms the
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| | It's quite an image: a whole family of
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| value of every dollar spent in the
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| | good American citizens tuned in to Dad's
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| electronic war. Clandestine listening
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| | circuit for listening to missile
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| posts behind the Iron Curtain listen to
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| | launches.
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| the voices of freedom and report
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| | But the circuit doubles as a means of
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| reception. Also letters smuggled out of
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| | listening to nuclear tests, too, as the
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| the Soviet zones of influence attest to
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| | author, Charles H. Welch explains: 'In
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| the impact these broadcasts have upon
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| | the case of an atomic explosion, the
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| their audience. It is therefore well
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| | radio waves produced are similarly due to
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| known the [Voice of America]
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| | the violent motion of particles in the
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| broadcasts... are successful in combating
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| | actual blast, an to the column of ionised
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| the efforts to prevent the flow of
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| | gases which rises afterward. [These
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| information and truth from reaching the
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| | signals] travel great distances with
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| citizens of the Soviet Union.' (Popular
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| | little attenuation...' (Popular
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| Electronics, April 1959:44)
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| | Electronics, April 1959: 102-103)
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| Popular Electronics during the mid Cold
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| | HOWEVER THE COMMERCIAL PRODUCTION OF
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| War showed readers how to gather evidence
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| | MISSILE-LAUNCH DETECTION KITS was never a
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| about national vigilance and
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| | realistic proposition. Welch's article
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| competitiveness in the space race
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| | explains that it takes effort and skill
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| (satellite activity and domestic rocket
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| | to discriminate background noise from the
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| launches.) It also prepared them for the
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| | noises produced by columns of ionised
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| most dreaded possibility - nuclear
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| | gases. It's also handy to have access to
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| attack.
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| | an oscilloscope - an item not found in
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| In July, 1962, the the first page of a
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| | many households, ever.
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| four-page feature bears the headline:
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| | Electronics magazines have virtually
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| RADIATION FALLOUT MONITOR in white
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| | faded away now, but those of the cold war
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| letters dramatically standing out against
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| | period are highly revealing about the
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| a dark background of solid grey.
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| | national psyche of America.
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| Superimposed are downward-pointing
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| | It's a shame that electronics is no
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| inverted triangles that stand for
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| | longer widely practised: now we just
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| radioactive fallout.
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| | don't know how to build the little black
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| Below the headline, the conventional
| |
| | boxes that tell us about missile
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| radiation symbol appears, but with a red
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| | launches.
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| centre and three red segments instead of
| |
| | But perhaps a handful of practitioners
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| yellow.
| |
| | still know how to light-up their
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| Underneath the radiation symbol, the
| |
| | oscilloscope screens with the spikes and
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| author, R.L Winklepleck , repeats a
| |
| | squiggles that follow rocket launches or
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| Federal Civil Defense Administration
| |
| | atomic blasts. The rest of us can just
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| warning:
| |
| | switch on our televisions.
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| 'Most of us in this country...live within
| |
| | © Alistair Siddons, 2006
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| fallout range of some target which it
| |
| | References
|
| might be important for the enemy to
| |
| | The Times, Tuesday 10 October 2006: 1
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| destroy.' (Popular Electronics, 1962: 37)
| |
| | Welch, Charles H, 1959, 'VLF Radio Can
|
| Winklepleck goes on to explain that
| |
| | Detect Nuclear and Rocket Tests,' Popular
|
| fallout consists of 'particles of
| |
| | Electronics, April 1959: 105
|
| radioactive debris which have been
| |
| | Hannah, Theodore M, 1961, 'Electronics
|
| carried into the upper air by the force
| |
| | Enthusiasts in the U.S.S.R,' Popular
|
| of the blast.' (Popular Electronics,
| |
| | Electronics, April 1959:102-103
|
| 1962: 37)
| |
| | Lamb, Tom, 1962, 'The Nasa-136,' Popular
|
| Winklepleck concludes his introduction by
| |
| | Electronics, October 1961:43-44
|
| saying that although his circuit design
| |
| | Winklepleck, R.L.
|
