Sunday, September 17, 2017

Hallicrafters and the Romantic Life of Private Hogarth


The world of the SolderSmoke podcast and blog are -- and will remain -- G rated.   But occassionally our discussion of ham radio technology causes us to bump up against some racy topics.  This happens VERY rarely, and that rarity probably says something about ham radio.   We have noted the alleged attractive power of Pete Juliano's French beret.  There was that April 1 story about the new SolderSmoke cologne ("chicks dig it!").  Jean Shepherd was a man of the world -- our discussions of him sometimes bring us a bit closer to the prurient boundary line.  We occassionally mention the lifestyle of the Dos Equis man.  But mostly, we stick to the circuitry.  

This morning I came across a character that I hadn't been aware of: Private (later Corporal) Hogarth.  He was the theme of a series of ads run by the Hallicrafters Company during World War II.  They were trying to sell their EC-1 broadcast receiver (essentially an All American Five).  Their advertising theme was, essentially, "chicks dig it."      



Don't blame me.  I blame Hallicrafters. 

2 comments:

  1. After many decades of marriage, I occasionally forget myself and tell my wife of my latest electronic achievement. In truth the best I can hope for is "very nice dear". If Chicks really dig this stuff then mine is missing that particular gene :-)

    72/3
    Tony G4WIF

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  2. I can't speak for the Echophone EC-1, but I can say with 100% certainty that its corporate cousin, the Hallicrafters S-41G, was NOT a chick magnate. Quite the opposite: A repellant.

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