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| Modern Radio
Laboratories® missing documents and literature |
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| MRL Datasheets, handbooks and
some "Radio Builder and Hobbyist" can be found on the
Internet Archive |
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In February of
2021,
the two MRL documents below were found in a binder in an
antique store by Mike Jones, KD9CNV. The binder was
filled with MRL publications and schematic diagrams. Mike scanned them and
donated them to this site. RB&H No. 34 is rare. Elmer lost
all his unsold copies in 1959 while relocating in Redwood
City, CA.
The binder once belonged to James D. Blyth, 940 Belmont Ave,
Chicago, IL. Obviously a fellow fan of MRL! |
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MRL Radio Builder No. 25 |
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RB&H No. 34 |
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| In 2019,
the MRL documents below became available after a fellow
fan of MRL named Northe Osbrink donated scans of them to this
website. |
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RB&H No. 35 |
RB&H No. 36 |
RB&H No. 38 |
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| Download, read, and enjoy these
priceless MRL publications. |
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| Note: These copies may appear "light."
There are several reasons for this. First, Elmer Osterhoudt's
lithograph printer actually produced some text that is gray
instead of black. Second, the paper he used is thin. A scan
of a page shows what is on the reverse side coming through.
The paper has also turned a beige color. Scanner settings were meticulously adjusted to produce the
best copy possible. |
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| In April of 2020, more MRL documents
(previously) lost to history surfaced, thanks to crystal set
fan Mark Everhart. Mark offered to scan these publications
and donate them to the site. His only motivation was to
share them with the rest of us. |
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RB&H No. 37 |
RB&H No. 39 |
RB&H No. 40 |
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Detail Print No. 32
No. 5 Double Crystal Set |
Detail print No. 37
Crystal Set Amplifier |
Detail print No. 42
AC Oscillator |
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Detail Print No. 51
No. 23 Combination DX Set |
Detail Print No. 55
No. 24 DX Regenerative Set |
Detail Print No. 60
Two Stage T.R.F. Amplifier |
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| In May of 2020,
our friend Sloane Freeman scanned these documents.
They were found in a binder that was labeled "1964." |
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Detail Print No. 34
No. 10 All wave Crystal Set |
Detail Print No. 38
Six Watt Class B Power Amp |
Detail Print No. 45
No. 22 DX Marvel Crystal Set |
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Detail Print No. 46
# 30 DX Crystal Set |
Detail Print No. 50
No. 21 Local Selective Crystal Set |
Detail Print No. 52
No. 13 Variable Selectivity |
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Detail print No. 53
No. 27 Variable Selectivity |
Detail Print No. 54
No. 34 Wired Wireless System |
Detail Print No. 62
No. 6 Capacity-Coupled Crystal |
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Detail Print No. 65
No. 17 Pinole Special |
Detail Print No. 66
No. 20 Variable Selectivity |
Detail print No. 67
No. 25 Selective Crystal Set |
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Detail Print No. 76
Operator's Code Chart |
Old Detail Print Index
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| More MRL documents |
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Radio Flyer No. 1
2 Pages. |
Radio Flyer No. 3
10 pages. |
Radio Flyer No. 6
8 Pages |
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Radio Flyer No. 23
11 Pages |
1972 Catalog cover page
Cover pages usually don't survive. |
Detail Print No. 43
No. 26 All Wave Set (old version) * |
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*
DP-43 describes the No. 26 Single Dial All
Wave Crystal Set. It is marked "Rev June, 1963." This older
Version of DP-43
describes the "All Wave Crystal Set" but it
employs a vacuum tube! Thanks to Sloane Freeman for the
document. |
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THE MAGIC CRYSTAL
This is a publication by one of Elmer's Competitors, Alva
F. Allen.
This dates back to the early 1950s but Alva Allen had been
selling
"Melomite Crystals" with instructions on how to build
your
own radio since at least 1932, the year MRL began.
Click on the newspaper to read read it. |
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| Another MRL Mystery! This ad is from the
October 1936 issue of Modern Mechanix. It states you get a
year's subscription to "Setbuilders Data." Was "Setbuilders
Data" a publication? Was it actually "Radio
Builder?" |
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CAN YOU HELP? |
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| We are actively searching for high
quality scans of the "missing" MRL documents. Also desired
are photographs of MRL kits and items sold by MRL. Please
send email to
mike@mikesyard.com <cut>mike@mikesyard.com<paste> |
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| A list of the "known" missing literature
follows. Some of it is over 90 years
old. This list keeps getting shorter and shorter!! |
MRL Oscillator
MRL Blue prints
MRL Radio Flyer
2, 4, 5 and 7 to 22 (if they exist.)
MRL Radio Builder
Issues 1 to 33.
MRL Catalogs prior to 1972
MRL Detail Prints. The following are missing. The
ones with no description may not even exist.
DP-3 MRL No. 38 Crystal Booster
DP-5 No Description Available
DP-7 MRL No. 40 Crystal Set
DP-8 MRL No. 41 Crystal Set
DP-9 MRL No. 42 Crystal Set
DP-10 MRL No. 43 Crystal Set
DP-15 No Description Available
DP-17 No Description Available
DP-20 No Description Available
DP-40 No Description Available
DP-68 No Description Available
DP-70 No Description Available
DP-71 No Description Available
DP-72 No Description Available
A photo of an MRL plug-in coil with the colored band
on the top painted on.
A scan of Page 4 of HB-4 "MRL
1-TUBE D.C. ALL WAVE RECEIVER," with the tube type missing.
A scan of Page 4 of HB-4 "MRL
1-TUBE D.C. ALL WAVE RECEIVER," with the tube type stamped
on the page.
Do you have any of these, and would you like to share
them with the rest of us "old timers" and crystal
set fans? Please email
mike@mikesyard.com
Thank you. |
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I would like to extend a sincere "thank you" to Don Knotts of Hillsboro,
Oregon for sending the coils,
documents and unassembled kits that were passed down to him
from his father.
| Thanks also to tack, Peter
Bertini, Number 6, mrx, wazz, Bugman, and radiohenry
of the |
Antique Radio Forum, |
especially Number 6 (whose real name is
Ernest Allen), who supplied the photo
of Mabel, the date the Osterhoudt's were married, the photo
of the Osterhoudt's grave marker, and other
info.
Thanks to Sloane Freeman who supplied valuable
information about EO not found in his publications, as
well as 14 "missing" Detail Prints, and photos of his No. 2,
No. 18 and No. 26 MRL sets.
Thanks to Tom Philo for the picture of Elmer from the 1918
Compton HS yearbook. He obtained it at my request from
the City of Compton Collection, Gerth Archives and Special
Collections, California State University, Dominguez Hills.
The entire yearbook page is
here.
| Also, thanks to Gary Schneider
(RIP 03/12/20) who somehow, some way, still had MRL coils
available on his |
website. |
Thanks to Northe Osbrink for supplying the 1973 MRL catalog
and Radio Builder and Hobbyist 35, 36 and 38
Thanks to Mark Everhart for supplying RB&H 37, 39
and 40, as well as half a dozen Detail Prints.
Thanks to Michael Jay Jones for supplying Radio
Builder No. 25 and No. 34.
Thanks to Doug Wilson for various pictures,
including the MRL Antenna Eliminator and MRL 1 Tube
and #2 XTAL sets.
Thanks to Lois E. Ray of the Scotts Mills Historical
Society.
Thanks to Laverne Osterhoudt.
Thanks to Don Holdaway for a snapshot of his MRL No.
26
Thanks to Pete Steinmeyer for contributing over a
dozen MRL handbooks and other publications. |
| Oh yeah, thanks to Scott of
"Scotts Crystal Radios," who doesn't know I stole
his picture of the MRL No. 2 |
| Crystal Set. He's where you get
your headphones for your crystal radios. His website is
here. |
Thank you also to our Australian friend
Graeme Zimmer, who provided the list of MRL publications shown on Page 6
and the photos of the MRL Carborundum crystal.
Thanks to Paul Nelson for keeping MRL
alive into the 21st Century.
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