VOLUME 17               MAY 2000                NUMBER  5

EDITOR'S COMMENTS

From Antique Radio Classified for May 2000
(Copyright 1996-2000 by John V. Terrey - For personal use only.)

What a difference 80 years make! Yes, it's been about that long since the pioneer who owned the wireless station pictured on our cover was experimenting with loops of wire, speakers, batteries, vacuum tubes, etc. But, in comparing the technology of then to now, the words of an old song come to mind -- "What a difference a day makes." Today, a cellphone contains the equivalent of the equipment you see in the photo, and innovations seem to appear overnight. Still, that pioneer in the photo and others like him must be credited with helping to make the modern miracle of pocket communication possible.

Our lead article grew out of this photo for which we thank Don Iverson. We're also pleased that Jim Kreuzer and Jim Chew agreed to analyze the contents of the station. And that process triggered a memory for your editor -- somewhere in his archives was a photo of yet another wireless station. The found photo led to the idea of challenging our readers to study the contents of this station and help us to develop a story about them. We look forward to hearing from you.

Many of our contributing writers are always on the trail of the unusual. Richard Arnold is certainly one of those. In his article about a Wilcox-Gay radio, Richard proves himself a real sleuth. He has found an Art Deco set, no less, from a company known more for its Recordio radio-disk recorders than for radios. (See A.R.C., February 1991, for a Recordio article.) In addition, Alton DuBois shows us another unusual item -- a variable capacitor with tapered plates.

Thomas Weigand's article on the Grundig-Majestic SO-191 reminds us that very often we wish we had an article on hand to answer queries about this or that company. Tom has provided just such an article about a German company, and his bio makes the topic even more interesting because it is rooted in his own history.

A number of newspaper articles about radio history and collecting submitted by readers prompted action by Managing Editor Dorothy Schecter. She has written an article encouraging you radiophiles to promote our avocation whenever you can in your local publications. The idea that there are hordes of us out there addicted to preserving old radios seems to be newsworthy more often than we realize.

Unusual designs highlight the Photo Review pages this month. Of interest is a Philips Model 930A with a European-style cathedral cabinet, as well as an all-wood, decorative Imperial Carving Co. speaker. Particularly striking is the Zenith 5R317 cabinet with its purely decorative design of glass rods.

If you've had trouble with cracking, warping pot metal castings, you'll find Alton DuBois' detailed article on recasting metal parts a useful reference. Alton is obviously a patient, careful craftsman, and we're glad to share his solution to a difficult problem.

Inspired by Ward Kremer's Espey article in the March 1998 A.R.C., Jon Oldenburg acquired a Model 581. To his surprise, he found a repainted area revealing the interesting history of the set. We'll say no more, except that Jon also found that the Espey Co. lives on.

Estes auctions are always big events -- well attended and offering a fine assortment of items. This one attracted 235 bidders and took in over $32,000. Among the uncommon items were a Coinomatic coin-operated radio, a Neutrowound battery set, and an Atlantic grandfather clock. And when was the last time you saw a Zenith packing crate with a logo?

Contrasting in size, but not in importance is the Ohio Buckeye Antique Radio Club spring auction reported by Kevin Grimm. Such club activities are often the beginning of serious collecting for newcomers. Spreading the word about club auctions that do much to excite interest in our field is part of A.R.C.'s mission.

Also small in size, but raring to go, is the relatively new Virginia club -- the Roanoke Antique Radio Enthusiasts or RARE. Larry Babcock reports on one of their meetings where the pleasure of face-to-face discussion surely gave the Internet competition.

The Radio Miscellanea page this month shows the broad interests of our readership. Among the topics covered are a book on the decline of the consumer electronics industry relating to radio companies, battery removal, a Stromberg-Carlson mystery, the Internet, and more. One letter reemphasizes A.R.C.'s global reach -- from Australia to the U. S.

The Internet. As those of you who visit our Web site already know, A.R.C. is changing its Web host/developer for classified ads and historical auction prices. As a result of this change, the classified ads and auction prices will be temporarily unavailable. Other proposed new features have also been put on hold. All other features of the Web site that you've grown to enjoy since 1995 will still be available, so be sure to check the calendar of events, club listings, book reviews, articles from the latest issue, as well as those archived from the past four years, and the radio photo gallery.

Coming Radio Events. The summer meet season is upon us, with 50 meets being held during the month of May. Among the multiday events are the Military Radio Collector's Group 5th annual meet in California; the Houston Vintage Radio Association's Mega Auction in Texas; and the Northland Antique Radio Club and the Pavek Museum's Radio Daze 2000 in Minnesota.

Happy Collecting!

John V. Terrey, Editor

ON THE COVER

The cover photo of an early wireless station was contributed by Don Iverson who tells us that he had it for years, lost it, found it again, and rushed off to have a negative made before he lost it again! The result is our lead article. It's our good fortune that Don thought to share with us this moment in the life of some unknown person who was obviously dedicated to early wireless communication. Whoever he was, he seems to reach across the decades to share in our passion for radio.

Here is a larger version of this month's cover!