Hello Miken:

I found my 1981 ARRL Handbook. They have a "marker" generator, which uses
an LF-353, a 4001 and a 4013 - all integrated circuits. There is also a
simple 2 transistor 100 kHz oscillator.

The marker generator puts out 100, 50 and 25 kHz.

When I read the request for a circuit to supplement a glowbug, I thought a
tube crystal calibrator would be what was wanted, and thought perhaps the
later 1981 edition might have abandoned a tube version. So, I pulled out a
1972 ARRL Handbook and even then all they had was solid state.

If you are going to use integrated circuits in a glowbug receiver, you need
to hide them, since it is unbecoming and might cause others to ridicule the
otherwise heroic effort to recreate a glorious radio. A simple tube can do
a wonderful job of putting out 100 kHz signals, and if you want 50 kHz, you
can use a neon bulb divider.

Many of the simple receivers I built would have been lost with a 100 kHz
marker. A 1 MHz marker would have been more useful, and even then I was
guessing at the which MHz it was. The best marker was simply a crystal in
the ham band and a known point. Something like 3550 kHz, which could also
be used to spot at 7100 kHz. Even odd marked frequencies are useful - then
a properly hand calibrated graph laminated on the front panel (ala HRO) will
give a feeling that none of the wonderful new rigs can touch.

73, Colin K7FM