Updated 10-27-2005

OLD RADIO
December 2005 Column

 

 

The Radio Game and Radio Nolvities


Bob Denninson, W2HBE (SK)

While writing this column I learned that Bob Dennison, W2HBE, has become a Silent Key in late September. Bob was best known as a prolific author over several decades writing about the radios he built in QST, the AWA Old Timers Bulletin and Electric Radio magazines. I featured Bob and his radios in my July 2005 Old Radio column. He will be missed.

December, 2005 - The first game of Radio I ever saw was at W2HBE’s home about 10 years ago. My friend Bob Dennison had a display area in his radio shack dedicated to radio collectibles. It was an old wall mounted bookshelf located behind the door. On the shelves were crystal detectors of every type, unusual small radio parts, “Radio” brand perfume bottles, “Radio” shaped banks, and other odd and ends with the name “Radio” emblazoned on them. I was amazed at all the products with the name “Radio” on them that had nothing to do with radio. One really unusual item was a Hot water bottle with, you guessed it, the name “Radio” on it.

Stacked on the lower shelf were several Radio Games in cardboard boxes of various sizes. One stood out from all the rest, it had a beautiful picture of a ham radio operator sitting at his station talking into an early microphone; probably to the ships shown sitting in the harbor, in the distance. This was by far the best radio game of his collection. It actually had a radio theme to the game. He had other “Radio” games there, but most where really “Bingo” games, where the word “Radio” had been substituted for the word “Bingo,” and the rules were very much like Bingo.

Here are links to a number of different Radio Games and Novelties. You can click on the photos for larger views. You can also click at the top of each page to visit the actual web site where these items may still be for sale? (It's an old site.)  Click here for Page 1.   Click here for Page 2.

 

The photos below are actually larger than shown. Click on the photo for a larger version.


This is the top of the game box.
  


This is the QSL card after I made the letters K - 2 - T - Q - N
  


This is the actual Game and Spinner.
  

Rules of the Game

Here are the rules of the game if you want to play.

May be played by 2 players.

Each player selects 5 counters of one color, which represents messages.

The players place them on the black spots marked R-A-D-I-O in front of the antennae.

The first player then uses the Detector as a spinner. He then moves any one of his messages the number of spaces indicated on the spinner.

Messages are always moved on black spots diagonally and away from the player, as in Checkers, never straight.

A message may be moved to a side space and then diagonally out. Thus, a message may be jumped though it is on a side space.

If you can jump an opponent’s message, his message is put back to any one of his starting points he may chose.

If either player can land his message on the same spot as one of his opponent’s messages by an exact count, this causes a Radio disturbance, the opponent’s message is out of the game and is removed from the board. Messages can only be moved to the opponent’s antennae by an even count.

The player getting the greatest number of messages through to the opposite antennae first wins the game.

John Dilks, K2TQN    125 Warf Road, Egg Harbor Township, NJ 08234-8501   e-mail: K2TQN@arrl.net