Top Band & Kidnapping

http://arrl-ohio.org/news/2023/OSJ-Sep-23.pdf

My “feature” this week is from the K9YA Telegraph and it is reprinted here with the 

permission of K9YA. This is a TRUE story that I think you will really emjoy!

Top Band to the Rescue

How an Enterprising Young Radio “Ham” Escapes His Kidnappers

By T. Turner, K8VBL

Reprinted with permission of the K9YA Telegraph. Subscribe for free at: http://www.k9ya.org

When Jerry was in his senior year in high school, he had an after-school job at Neilsen’s 

Radio & Appliance. His boss, Mr. Neilsen, was an amateur radio operator who coached several 

boys, including Jerry, to help them obtain their Class A amateur radio licenses. The group of 

young people, including Mr. Neilsen, held a roundtable in Morse code on the 160-meter 

amateur radio band at eight o’clock on Friday evenings. Some of the fellows had rather simple 

equipment, like Doerle-type regenerative receivers and ‘01A Hartley oscillator transmitters 

powered by old “B” eliminators.

One Friday evening Jerry worked late at Neilsen’s and walked along a darkened street to 

a bus stop. A green Hupmobile sedan slowly passed him, and its mechanical brakes squealed as 

it slowed for a turn. Jerry thought, “The linings are probably worn to the rivets” he recalled 

from a motorcar safety program two police officers presented to the high schoolers. But his 

mind then turned to the thought of a warm supper at home, and the Friday evening roundtable.

Suddenly, the Hup’s brakes squealed behind him. When he turned, he saw three masked 

men, two holding handguns, emerge from the car. A man popped a black bag over his head and 

put handcuffs on his wrists. The men then shoved him into the back seat and the car pulled back 

into the street. Jerry was stunned and afraid, as he remembered when the Lindbergh baby was 

kidnapped a few years back.

The car made numerous turns and then stopped after what seemed like a considerable 

distance. Jerry, with a man on each side, was taken into a building where he heard people 

talking in some Asian accent. There was a smell of food cooking, but Jerry was too frightened 

to think about eating as he was led up three narrow, creaking, flights of stairs. A door was 

unlocked and opened, and he was shoved through it.

The black bag was lifted from his head, and one of the men took his wallet, pen and 

pencil set, wristwatch, and Boy Scout pocket knife, while the other two stood by with 

handguns. The men still wore masks. Jerry blinked at the single bright bulb above his head and 

stammered, “What’s going on?” The man who frisked him replied, “Yer old man is a wealthy 

fat cat. We’re gonna hold yous for a leetle ransom. If there be any monkey business, yel’l be 

punished... Understand?” “There’s three of us, an’ two will be right outside the door at all 

times. We’ll be checking on ya periodically. There’s stuff to read and a radio, but keep it low.” 

The men removed the handcuffs and left the room. Jerry heard the lock click.

Jerry took stock of his situation. The shabby room had one light bulb that dangled from 

the ceiling, with a Y-tap and extension cord that led to a small cathedral radio he recognized as 

a Philco 80. On the table was a stack of dog-eared Reader’s Digests. The room had one window 

with small, steel-framed panes that looked out on to an air shaft. Light from windows several 

floors below dimly illuminated the shaft. Jerry noticed a corroded window lead-in strip for a 

radio aerial under the sash and a lead-in wire that went up the air shaft, probably to an aerial on 

the roof. Off to one side of the room was a “bathroom” that had its door removed. Inside were a 

grimy high tank toilet and a tiny sink with one tap. Jerry thought this was probably a typical 

cold water flat. But where is he? The car had taken so many turns and driven such a distance he 

had lost track.

Just then, the door opened slightly and a box was pushed into the room. There was no 

lettering on the box, but it contained food, a bowl of chop suey. It had the same smell he 

noticed in the stairwell. The chop suey was good, but not like the corned beef and cabbage his 

mother had planned for supper. Also in the box was a fortune cookie. Jerry cracked it open and 

read his fortune, “You will soon be liberated.” On the other side of the fortune slip was “Hop Sing Deli, 910 Seventh Street.” Jerry now knew he was in a third floor flat above a Chinese deli 

on 7th street!

Jerry snapped on the little Philco. He was familiar with the Model 80, since he worked 

on several at Mr. Neilsen’s shop where he replaced the troublesome Bakelite-cased condensers. 

The Philco’s aerial wire had been disconnected from the lead-in strip and was laying on the 

floor. He thought that perhaps the wire was grounded or had come down. In a few seconds, the 

Philco came to life and Jerry turned the dial. The typical apartment house electrical noise was 

present, but the radio seemed to pick up numerous stations. After he connected the Philco’s 

aerial wire to the lead-in strip, the volume increased and the sound became distorted. 

Obviously, the outside aerial was a good one, and had been erected for an old, less sensitive, 

TRF radio. It was probably disconnected from the Philco superhet because of overloading.

The station he tuned in announced the time as 7 p.m. The 160-meter net would be on in 

an hour. Jerry considered he could possibly build a transmitter from parts in the Philco, and 

send a distress message. The Philco had a transformer power supply that put out 200 volts, and 

a 42 output tube that would make a dandy Hartley oscillator. He remembered from reading the 

Radio Amateur’s Handbook that the resonant frequency of a tuned circuit was inversely 

proportional to the number of turns in its coil. If he set the Philco’s tuning condenser to 900 kc 

and removed half the turns from the antenna coil, it would resonate in a Hartley circuit at 1800 

kc in the 160-meter band when it was connected to the aerial... Maybe! But if the kidnappers 

caught him disassembling the radio, he would surely be punished as promised.

Then a better plan crossed Jerry’s mind. He remembered Mr. Neilsen’s disgust with the 

interference caused by oscillator harmonics from these cheap superhet broadcast sets. Jerry 

knew the Philco 80’s intermediate frequency was 450 kc, so if he tuned the radio to 1350 kc, its 

oscillator would be at the 160-meter net frequency of 1800 kc. He could then use the radio as a 

transmitter without modification! He broke off a small piece of aerial wire and connected the 

remaining length of wire to the lead-in strip and the cathode pin of the Philco’s converter tube. 

He used the small piece of wire as a telegraph key to short the tuning condenser oscillator stator 

plates to ground to stop and start the oscillator signal.

The idea appeared to be working. Police radio bands were next to the 160-meter 

amateur band at both ends. If his signal was out of band, high or low, this could be a good 

thing. When the station announced 8 p.m., Jerry tuned the Philco to WADC in Akron at 1350 

kc and began to transmit in Morse code by alternately grounding the oscillator tuning 

condenser. SOS SOS I AM KIDNAPPED ES IN 3 FLOOR FLAT ABOVE HOP SING ON 7 

ST JERRY. He continued transmitting the message over and over for about 30 minutes until he 

heard a key click in the door lock. He quickly took his hand out of the back of the radio and 

turned facing out. Two masked kidnapers peered in to check on him, and then locked the door.

About 10 p.m., Jerry awoke from a fitful sleep to the sound of scuffling in the hallway. 

There was a gunshot, and then a loud voice, “Police, Are you in there Jerry?” When Jerry 

answered, the doorframe splintered and two burly policemen burst into the flat. Jerry 

recognized the officers as Sgt. O’Rourke and his partner Skalski, who had presented a safety 

program. Tears began to flow, and the kindly old Sgt. O’Rourke put his hand on Jerry’s 

shoulder. “You’re a very brave and resourceful young man. Are you okay?” After Jerry 

affirmed he was, he was led to a waiting police car.

As they drove, O’Rourke explained that one perp had pulled a gun and was shot dead, 

and another was taken into custody. “Were there others?” Jerry replied there were three men, 

two of whom displayed handguns, and the third may have escaped in a green Hupmobile with 

squeaky brakes. Officer O’Rourke then grabbed the police radio mike and announced “Unit 5 to 

Kop - Be on the lookout for armed kidnapping suspect in green Hup with squeaky brakes.” A 

few minutes later, a call came in over the radio “Apprehended suspect in green Hup—Ransom 

note found on front seat.”

Officer Skalski then explained the workings of the police radio system. The cruisers 

called the station on a 9-meter wavelength via a small 7-foot aerial on the rear of the car. The 

station called the cruisers on a 180-meter wave that could be received on the car’s regular 

broadcast set that had been retuned by police radiomen. Sgt. O’Rourke remarked that the new 

85-horsepower Ford V8 cruisers were about the fastest cars on the road, especially since they 

had been “hopped up” a bit with dual exhausts and Stromberg carburetors.

When the police cruiser arrived at Jerry’s home, he noticed Mr. Neilsen’s new Auburn 

coupe parked in front. As he got out of the cruiser, Jerry’s parents and Mr. and Mrs. Neilsen 

and their daughter, Ingrid, came running out the front door and embraced him. Mr. Neilsen 

explained that Jerry’s wavery-sounding distress signal was picked up by the amateur radio net, 

and he had telephoned the police.

Jerry’s parents called Mr. Neilsen when he had not come home to supper, to determine 

if he was still working. When they heard he had left the shop, they called the police to report 

him missing. Sgt. O’Rourke remarked that the police received a long-distance phone call from a 

“ham” in Ashtabula who picked up Jerry’s distress message. After thanking the two officers, 

the two families, much relieved, enjoyed a late-night supper of corned beef and cabbage.

Thanks to retired police officer Harry, N9CQX, for info on early police radio.