VOLUME 26               FEBRUARY 2009                NUMBER  2

EDITOR'S COMMENTS

From Antique Radio Classified for February 2009
(Copyright 1996-2009 by John V. Terrey - For personal use only.)

Calling all writers! The requests keep coming in for articles on a whole range of topics -- from radio repair and restoration, audio, history, TV -- you name it, and A.R.C. relies on you to fill those requests. Some of you may not realize that all our articles are contributed by your fellow collectors. The work of several longtime contributors like Daniel Schoo, Ray Chase, Dave Crocker, Ray Bintliff, Richard Arnold and many others may have become familiar to you. In more recent years, we've welcomed Phil MacArthur, Andrew Hayden, Paul Turney, and others on board. But the welcome mat is out there for all of you.

To begin with, do not think that you have to be a master writer. We have an editorial staff to help shape the article, guidelines to send you, and if necessary, we can tackle your grammar and spelling. Write about what you know -- just be sure of your facts, as we rely on you for accuracy. The fun lies in giving a topic your own personal twist, not just directly from a book, but a different outlook that will appeal to a general audience.

Second, do not think that any subject has been exhausted. There is always a new perspective, even on an Atwater Kent breadboard, a Philco 90, or whatever you have acquired and find interesting. If you happen upon an obscure auction, there may be something there worth writing about. If you acquire a new radio and research it carefully, or if you do a repair or restoration and record the process with photos, you have an article. The possibilities are limitless.

One note of caution -- please do not attempt to "lay out" your article with the photos embedded in the text as if ready for placement in the magazine. Always submit the text and photos separately. Leave the rest to us.

I must emphasize that good photos are essential to enhancing an article. If you are not a photographer, enlist the help of a friend with a high resolution camera to achieve photos of one megapixel or better. He or she might like to see those photos published. Both the article and the photos can be submitted by e-mail, but you may also send the text, prints and negatives via U.S. mail.

Photos could, in fact, be the inspiration for an article. Our lead article on Britain's Lizard Wireless Station by a new writer -- A.R.C. staff member Bobby Lyman -- is a good example. Like Bobby, you might be on vacation and come across something that is radio-related or a place that is steeped in radio history. A few photos, a few brochures, a little research, and you have an article.

Of course, there are simpler ways to be a contributor. One is to send photos of your latest find or an intriguing mystery set to Photo Review. Another is to respond to an article or to seek information through Radio Miscellanea.

We can always rely on Phil MacArthur for good photos, as shown in his latest article on hand-wired table sets. Phil's surprise discovery when he opened the seemingly commonplace set reminded me of my own collector maxims -- always look beyond the panel, and if you see a closed box in an antique shop, always open it.

As mentioned earlier, Phil is among our relatively new bank of writers. Adding Bobby Lyman and Dale Boyce to the "new" list, we have a variety of contributing writers this month. Dale's report on the Dick Bury estate auction Part 1 by Estes Auctions is an excellent presentation. Because this was, in Dale's words, "a battery set collector's dream auction," A battery set collector myself, I naturally had to attend, and I did contribute to the report. However, the major work is Dale's. He tabulated the results which totaled over $200,000.

The quality of Dale's auction report is a reminder of the value of auction reports in general. They are more than just set values at a given time. In particular, they are vehicles for presenting photos of unusual sets that show up at such events. Examples at the Bury auction are the RPM Atwater Kent breadboard type units, a Zenith ZEV portable set, and an early Fleming valve. Again, photos are a way for us to serve you better.

At the risk of repeating myself, I urge you to contribute to A.R.C. in the form of an article so that others in the radio collecting community can share in your considerable knowledge. In short, you are this magazine.

A.R.C. Benefits. Be sure to take advantage of A.R.C. benefits: a toll-free number (866) 371-0512; Discover, MasterCard, American Express, Visa accepted; the Web, www.antiqueradio.com; books shipped free in the U. S. by USPS media mail; and for current subscribers, a 10 percent discount on all book orders.

Coming Radio Events. It's turning out to be a long cold winter for many parts of the country, so you may well need cheering up. Listed this month are 7 meets, 26 meetings, and 4 auctions. Getting to at least one will give you a boost toward spring.

Happy Collecting!

John V. Terrey, Editor

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ON THE COVER

Our cover photo gives just a taste of the more than a dozen Atwater Kent breadboards offered at Part 1 of the Estes auction of the Bury estate. Six of them sold for over $1,000 each, and total breadboard sales were over $16,000. This may have been an unprecedented offering of so many breadboards at one auction in recent history.