A Trip Down Memory Lane (I Hope)

[Magoo]

When I was a kid, my dad gave me a little booklet titled
something like "How to Build 6 Basic Electrical Devices".

First of all, has anyone ever heard of the book? It was a thin, soft
covered booklet -- more like a pamphlet than a book. I think he got it
at Sears, actually.

Second question... I remember the book called for a certain type of
battery. I thought it was just called a dry cell. But I see that that's
a generic term for the common batteries we use today. The thing was
about 6 inches high and about 2.5 inches in diameter. It looked like a
giant C cell. I know we also had them all over in the science lab at
school. Does anybody know what that battery is rightly called and
where I can get one?

I'm trying to help a writer friend with a novel she's working on. The
hero is a nerd (my word, not her's) and she is interested in my
adventures with basic electricity when I was a kid.


--
Magoo

 

[Peter Bennett]

On Wed, 15 Oct 2003 20:44:51 +0000 (UTC), Magoo
<johnheim@nospam.tds.net> wrote:

When I was a kid, my dad gave me a little booklet titled
something like "How to Build 6 Basic Electrical Devices".

First of all, has anyone ever heard of the book? It was a thin, soft
covered booklet -- more like a pamphlet than a book. I think he got it
at Sears, actually.

Second question... I remember the book called for a certain type of
battery. I thought it was just called a dry cell. But I see that that's
a generic term for the common batteries we use today. The thing was
about 6 inches high and about 2.5 inches in diameter. It looked like a
giant C cell. I know we also had them all over in the science lab at
school. Does anybody know what that battery is rightly called and
where I can get one?

Number 6 Dry Cell - don't know if anyone still makes them....









--
Peter Bennett VE7CEI
GPS and NMEA info and programs: http://vancouver-webpages.com/peter/index.html
Newsgroup new user info: http://vancouver-webpages.com/nnq

 

[John Fields]

On Wed, 15 Oct 2003 20:44:51 +0000 (UTC), Magoo
<johnheim@nospam.tds.net> wrote:

When I was a kid, my dad gave me a little booklet titled
something like "How to Build 6 Basic Electrical Devices".

First of all, has anyone ever heard of the book? It was a thin, soft
covered booklet -- more like a pamphlet than a book. I think he got it
at Sears, actually.

Second question... I remember the book called for a certain type of
battery. I thought it was just called a dry cell. But I see that that's
a generic term for the common batteries we use today. The thing was
about 6 inches high and about 2.5 inches in diameter. It looked like a
giant C cell. I know we also had them all over in the science lab at
school. Does anybody know what that battery is rightly called and
where I can get one?

---
Ahhh, yessss...

That's either the Eveready EA6 (ANSI/NEDA 906) or the Eveready IS6
(ANSI/NEDA 905) or the Eveready HS6 (ANSI/NEDA 905).

I have no clue where you can buy one. :-(


--
John Fields

 

[Michael Black]

Peter Bennett (peterbb@interchange.ubc.ca) writes:

On Wed, 15 Oct 2003 20:44:51 +0000 (UTC), Magoo
johnheim@nospam.tds.net> wrote:

When I was a kid, my dad gave me a little booklet titled
something like "How to Build 6 Basic Electrical Devices".

First of all, has anyone ever heard of the book? It was a thin, soft
covered booklet -- more like a pamphlet than a book. I think he got it
at Sears, actually.

Second question... I remember the book called for a certain type of
battery. I thought it was just called a dry cell. But I see that that's
a generic term for the common batteries we use today. The thing was
about 6 inches high and about 2.5 inches in diameter. It looked like a
giant C cell. I know we also had them all over in the science lab at
school. Does anybody know what that battery is rightly called and
where I can get one?

Number 6 Dry Cell - don't know if anyone still makes them....

Of course, the didn't really look like C cells. They had to two

terminals on the top, with knurled nuts to fasten the wire.

Michael

 

[Baphomet]

"Magoo" <johnheim@nospam.tds.net> wrote in message
news:bmkbk3$1at$1@news.doit.wisc.edu...

When I was a kid, my dad gave me a little booklet titled
something like "How to Build 6 Basic Electrical Devices".

First of all, has anyone ever heard of the book? It was a thin, soft
covered booklet -- more like a pamphlet than a book. I think he got it
at Sears, actually.

Second question... I remember the book called for a certain type of
battery. I thought it was just called a dry cell. But I see that that's
a generic term for the common batteries we use today. The thing was
about 6 inches high and about 2.5 inches in diameter. It looked like a
giant C cell. I know we also had them all over in the science lab at
school. Does anybody know what that battery is rightly called and
where I can get one?

[ I remember well the battery you are talking about. It was a 1.5 volt
carbon zinc battery used both in old radio filament supplies and to fire up
the glow plug in model airplanes. I don't remember the Ever Ready number and
I don't believe it's any longer manufactured. The closest I could find on
the internet was: http://www.hobbico.com/accys/hcap0700.html ]

I'm trying to help a writer friend with a novel she's working on. The
hero is a nerd (my word, not her's) and she is interested in my
adventures with basic electricity when I was a kid.


--
Magoo

 

[Anthony Fremont]

Michael Black wrote:

Peter Bennett (peterbb@interchange.ubc.ca) writes:

Number 6 Dry Cell - don't know if anyone still makes them....

Of course, the didn't really look like C cells. They had to two
terminals on the top, with knurled nuts to fasten the wire.

These people had a bunch of them brand new. I think they get them from
China or something. The labels look pretty plain and much like the old
ones as I recall. I almost bought one just to have it, but I figured it
would eventually start leaking.

http://www.epo-houston.com/

Yeah their site sucks, but the phone number is there. They have scads
of old relays, sockets, switches and a bunch of NOS stuff for TV and
radio repair. They sell surplus stuff and even some new computer parts
(is there anyone who doesn't). They also have cold cathode bulbs of
various colors and lengths and inverters. If you're ever in houston you
gotta see this place. ;-)

michael

 

[Baphomet]

"Baphomet" <fandaDEATH2SPAMMERS@catskill.net> wrote in message
news:vorfdfdin9r41f@corp.supernews.com...

"Magoo" <johnheim@nospam.tds.net> wrote in message
news:bmkbk3$1at$1@news.doit.wisc.edu...
When I was a kid, my dad gave me a little booklet titled
something like "How to Build 6 Basic Electrical Devices".

First of all, has anyone ever heard of the book? It was a thin, soft
covered booklet -- more like a pamphlet than a book. I think he got it
at Sears, actually.

Second question... I remember the book called for a certain type of
battery. I thought it was just called a dry cell. But I see that that's
a generic term for the common batteries we use today. The thing was
about 6 inches high and about 2.5 inches in diameter. It looked like a
giant C cell. I know we also had them all over in the science lab at
school. Does anybody know what that battery is rightly called and
where I can get one?


[ I remember well the battery you are talking about. It was a 1.5 volt
carbon zinc battery used both in old radio filament supplies and to fire
up
the glow plug in model airplanes. I don't remember the Ever Ready number
and
I don't believe it's any longer manufactured. The closest I could find on
the internet was: http://www.hobbico.com/accys/hcap0700.html ]

[ It may have been a #6
http://www.geocities.com/~stuarts1031/flashlight.html ]

I'm trying to help a writer friend with a novel she's working on. The
hero is a nerd (my word, not her's) and she is interested in my
adventures with basic electricity when I was a kid.


--
Magoo

 

[Jim Large]

Peter Bennett wrote:

Number 6 Dry Cell - don't know if anyone still makes them....

The replacement is the Energizer EN6 (Alkaline, not Carbon Zinc).

-- Jim L.


http://data.energizer.com/datasheets/library/primary/alkaline/energizer/industrial/en6.pdf

 

[Anthony Fremont]

Jim Large wrote:

Peter Bennett wrote:

Number 6 Dry Cell - don't know if anyone still makes them....

The replacement is the Energizer EN6 (Alkaline, not Carbon Zinc).


http://data.energizer.com/datasheets/library/primary/alkaline/energizer/industrial/en6.pdf

52,000 mAh man....that's alot of juice.

 

[JeffM]

The replacement is the Energizer EN6
Anthony Fremont

I knew they had to be available or what would science labs use?

They are still used in the protective loops of burglar alarms
of folks too cheap to buy rechargable systems.

 

[Watson A.Name - "Watt Sun]

In article <bmkbk3$1at$1@news.doit.wisc.edu>, johnheim@nospam.tds.net
mentioned...

When I was a kid, my dad gave me a little booklet titled
something like "How to Build 6 Basic Electrical Devices".

First of all, has anyone ever heard of the book? It was a thin, soft
covered booklet -- more like a pamphlet than a book. I think he got it
at Sears, actually.

Second question... I remember the book called for a certain type of
battery. I thought it was just called a dry cell. But I see that that's
a generic term for the common batteries we use today. The thing was
about 6 inches high and about 2.5 inches in diameter. It looked like a
giant C cell. I know we also had them all over in the science lab at
school. Does anybody know what that battery is rightly called and
where I can get one?

I'm trying to help a writer friend with a novel she's working on. The
hero is a nerd (my word, not her's) and she is interested in my
adventures with basic electricity when I was a kid.

I believe the big cells are called No. 6 Dry Cells. They are (or
were) used by the model airplane enthusiasts to start their glow plug
engines. You can probably find them at a hobby or model airplane
store or online at a similar website.

--
@@F@r@o@m@@O@r@a@n@g@e@@C@o@u@n@t@y@,@@C@a@l@,@@w@h@e@r@e@@
###Got a Question about ELECTRONICS? Check HERE First:###
http://users.pandora.be/educypedia/electronics/databank.htm
My email address is whitelisted. *All* email sent to it
goes directly to the trash unless you add NOSPAM in the
Subject: line with other stuff. alondra101 <at> hotmail.com
Don't be ripped off by the big book dealers. Go to the URL
that will give you a choice and save you money(up to half).
http://www.everybookstore.com You'll be glad you did!
Just when you thought you had all this figured out, the gov't
changed it: http://physics.nist.gov/cuu/Units/binary.html
@@t@h@e@@a@f@f@l@u@e@n@t@@m@e@e@t@@t@h@e@@E@f@f@l@u@e@n@t@@

 

[Watson A.Name - "Watt Sun]

In article <0ugrov8dek51p3lo1211p8l4rilp6knm7k@4ax.com>,
peterbb@interchange.ubc.ca mentioned...

On Wed, 15 Oct 2003 20:44:51 +0000 (UTC), Magoo
johnheim@nospam.tds.net> wrote:

When I was a kid, my dad gave me a little booklet titled
something like "How to Build 6 Basic Electrical Devices".

First of all, has anyone ever heard of the book? It was a thin, soft
covered booklet -- more like a pamphlet than a book. I think he got it
at Sears, actually.

Second question... I remember the book called for a certain type of
battery. I thought it was just called a dry cell. But I see that that's
a generic term for the common batteries we use today. The thing was
about 6 inches high and about 2.5 inches in diameter. It looked like a
giant C cell. I know we also had them all over in the science lab at
school. Does anybody know what that battery is rightly called and
where I can get one?

Number 6 Dry Cell - don't know if anyone still makes them....

They used to be used for starting glow plug engines. But the one I
found looks like it's a regular lantern battery. Maybe it's four 1.5V
cells in parallel instead of one big cell.

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXL368&P=7


--
@@F@r@o@m@@O@r@a@n@g@e@@C@o@u@n@t@y@,@@C@a@l@,@@w@h@e@r@e@@
###Got a Question about ELECTRONICS? Check HERE First:###
http://users.pandora.be/educypedia/electronics/databank.htm
My email address is whitelisted. *All* email sent to it
goes directly to the trash unless you add NOSPAM in the
Subject: line with other stuff. alondra101 <at> hotmail.com
Don't be ripped off by the big book dealers. Go to the URL
that will give you a choice and save you money(up to half).
http://www.everybookstore.com You'll be glad you did!
Just when you thought you had all this figured out, the gov't
changed it: http://physics.nist.gov/cuu/Units/binary.html
@@t@h@e@@a@f@f@l@u@e@n@t@@m@e@e@t@@t@h@e@@E@f@f@l@u@e@n@t@@

 

[Watson A.Name - "Watt Sun]

In article <vorgeah7gjnq4a@corp.supernews.com>,
fandaDEATH2SPAMMERS@catskill.net mentioned...

"Baphomet" <fandaDEATH2SPAMMERS@catskill.net> wrote in message
news:vorfdfdin9r41f@corp.supernews.com...

"Magoo" <johnheim@nospam.tds.net> wrote in message
news:bmkbk3$1at$1@news.doit.wisc.edu...
When I was a kid, my dad gave me a little booklet titled
something like "How to Build 6 Basic Electrical Devices".

First of all, has anyone ever heard of the book? It was a thin, soft
covered booklet -- more like a pamphlet than a book. I think he got it
at Sears, actually.

Second question... I remember the book called for a certain type of
battery. I thought it was just called a dry cell. But I see that that's
a generic term for the common batteries we use today. The thing was
about 6 inches high and about 2.5 inches in diameter. It looked like a
giant C cell. I know we also had them all over in the science lab at
school. Does anybody know what that battery is rightly called and
where I can get one?


[ I remember well the battery you are talking about. It was a 1.5 volt
carbon zinc battery used both in old radio filament supplies and to fire
up
the glow plug in model airplanes. I don't remember the Ever Ready number
and
I don't believe it's any longer manufactured. The closest I could find on
the internet was: http://www.hobbico.com/accys/hcap0700.html ]

[ It may have been a #6
http://www.geocities.com/~stuarts1031/flashlight.html ]

First time I've seen a site like this. It's a great antique and
unique flashlight collection, AKA museum. Virtual, on-line, no less.

Most flashlights rotted out from corrosion, so they didn't last but a
few years. And they were so cheap, they ended up in the trash.

I'm trying to help a writer friend with a novel she's working on. The
hero is a nerd (my word, not her's) and she is interested in my
adventures with basic electricity when I was a kid.

--
Magoo

--
@@F@r@o@m@@O@r@a@n@g@e@@C@o@u@n@t@y@,@@C@a@l@,@@w@h@e@r@e@@
###Got a Question about ELECTRONICS? Check HERE First:###
http://users.pandora.be/educypedia/electronics/databank.htm
My email address is whitelisted. *All* email sent to it
goes directly to the trash unless you add NOSPAM in the
Subject: line with other stuff. alondra101 <at> hotmail.com
Don't be ripped off by the big book dealers. Go to the URL
that will give you a choice and save you money(up to half).
http://www.everybookstore.com You'll be glad you did!
Just when you thought you had all this figured out, the gov't
changed it: http://physics.nist.gov/cuu/Units/binary.html
@@t@h@e@@a@f@f@l@u@e@n@t@@m@e@e@t@@t@h@e@@E@f@f@l@u@e@n@t@@

 

[Terry]

Second question... I remember the book called for a certain type of
battery. I thought it was just called a dry cell. But I see that that's
a generic term for the common batteries we use today. The thing was
about 6 inches high and about 2.5 inches in diameter. It looked like a
giant C cell. I know we also had them all over in the science lab at
school. Does anybody know what that battery is rightly called and
where I can get one?

Number 6 Dry Cell - don't know if anyone still makes them....

Magneto telephones used two large 1.5 volt cells to provide 3
volts DC to power their carbon microphones.
A handle sticking out the side of the telephone operated an AC
generator used for signalling other people on the same line or
the 'Central' switchboard.
The cells we used were round, about three inches in diameter and
about seven inches high.
IIRC the designation was 'S' cell; they were made by Mallory
(Red/white/black), Eveready (Red/blue) and maybe other
manufacturers.
Most had two brass screw terminals on top of each cell. A few had
a sort of spring connection (which I believe was/is called a
'Fahenstock' clip?).
I estimate, judging by the current price of batteries, such an
'S' cell would, today, cost around $25-30?
Back then (1950s) the monthly fee for party line magneto phone
service was $1.67; no sales tax either. Lines with four, six or
more families on the one one line were common. I recall one with
fourteen.

 

[Rich Grise]

Boy, talk about nostalgia lane! I have a cousin who's a farmer in
Lake Crystal, Minnesota (near Mankato - by that elbow in the
Minnesota river where it floods every spring), and they've still
got everything they've ever had since they built the house over
50 years ago. They have one of those crank-type phones, just for
display, of course, and one of the original phone books - and
most of the phone numbers were 2 digits! (and I'm pretty sure
you had to call a live operator to get connected, like with one
of those plugboards like Ernestine used.)

Cheers!
Rich

Terry wrote:

Second question... I remember the book called for a certain type of
battery. I thought it was just called a dry cell. But I see that that's
a generic term for the common batteries we use today. The thing was
about 6 inches high and about 2.5 inches in diameter. It looked like a
giant C cell. I know we also had them all over in the science lab at
school. Does anybody know what that battery is rightly called and
where I can get one?

Number 6 Dry Cell - don't know if anyone still makes them....


Magneto telephones used two large 1.5 volt cells to provide 3
volts DC to power their carbon microphones.
A handle sticking out the side of the telephone operated an AC
generator used for signalling other people on the same line or
the 'Central' switchboard.
The cells we used were round, about three inches in diameter and
about seven inches high.
IIRC the designation was 'S' cell; they were made by Mallory
(Red/white/black), Eveready (Red/blue) and maybe other
manufacturers.
Most had two brass screw terminals on top of each cell. A few had
a sort of spring connection (which I believe was/is called a
'Fahenstock' clip?).
I estimate, judging by the current price of batteries, such an
'S' cell would, today, cost around $25-30?
Back then (1950s) the monthly fee for party line magneto phone
service was $1.67; no sales tax either. Lines with four, six or
more families on the one one line were common. I recall one with
fourteen.

 

[Dave Turner]

Jim Large <moc.liam@egral.mij> wrote:

Peter Bennett wrote:
Number 6 Dry Cell - don't know if anyone still makes them....

The replacement is the Energizer EN6 (Alkaline, not Carbon Zinc).
-- Jim L.
http://data.energizer.com/datasheets/library/primary/alkaline/energizer/industrial/en6.pdf

Radio Shack (shudder) sells them for $16.99 (RS 960-0376).
See:

http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=CTLG&category%5Fname=CTLG%5F009%5F014%5F007%5F000&product%5Fid=960%2D0376

The 2002 paper catalog also listed a carbon-zinc No. 6 cell (EV6)
(RS 960-0477) for $13.69 but it isn't on their website.

Regards,

Dave