VOLUME 19               OCTOBER 2002                NUMBER  10

EDITOR'S COMMENTS

From Antique Radio Classified for October 2002
(Copyright 1996-2002 by John V. Terrey - For personal use only.)

Be warned all ye who run your own businesses -- don't take a long weekend and leave your staff to engage in a nefarious plot. Remember the old adage, "When the cat's away, the mice will play"? Well, the A.R.C. "mice" had a grand old party while this "cat" was away; for an explanation, please first read "On the Cover" below.

Yes, before I left for a long weekend -- in this case, for my son's wedding -- my October cover choice had already been mounted on that universally recognized display space -- the refrigerator. However, on my return, I found that I had been overruled -- "ganged up on" might be a more accurate description. The radio community now knows that I practised what I had preached in the September Radio Miscellanea regarding relationships with women and radios: "Be sure that they 'like' you and 'tolerate' old radios."

Well, my fiancée, Sarah Ford, passed that first test last February at Radio XXXIII, and the wedding is still on. Perhaps she will join the ranks of that group we've written about from time to time -- the perfect radio wife. I'll be sure to keep you posted.

To get back to serious radio subjects, the theme of home brews runs through this month's articles. Home brews often engender nostalgia, and, of course, they also have the appeal of always being bargain-priced.

William Corkutt submitted a comprehensive article about home brews using different kinds of grid-leak detectors. He also included a helpful list of references on early vacuum tube radios, and we have added a sidebar on grid leaks as defined by Gernsback in his 1927 Encyclopedia. We don't just spread gossip as our cover implies, we also do our best to disseminate facts.

On the other hand, we also recognize that home brews can be steeped in nostalgia. In recent years, John Shultz got around to restoring his family home brew that had followed him from his pre-World War II farm days in Texas. John's writing has a definite local flavor that we called "Texas Style" -- all very appropriate, you see, since Sarah and I are both Texas natives. Unfortunately, we are publishing John's article posthumously, but his family is happy to have this article as a reminder of him and the old radio so lovingly restored.

Doug Fox describes his restoration of an old home-brew piece of test equipment -- an oscilloscope that he has added to his test bench. If you have the necessary technical knowledge to begin such a restoration project, Doug's encouragement may be all you need.

At the risk of reinvigorating the permeability topic of several years ago which generated scores of responses, we've included Alton DuBois' brief description of a complex dial cord used in a Silvertone radio. Anyone who has restrung a dial cord will pray that he doesn't meet a radio with this kind of nightmare arrangement.

Richard Arnold writes about a Philco 89B that has a fairly commonplace chassis housed in an unusual cabinet. The tiger stripes are eye-catching and may be something you want to keep on the lookout for.

Photo Review once again has something for everyone. Battery set collectors' eyes will go to the 1-tube wireless receivers by Kodel and Pennsylvania Wireless, while collectors of later sets will note the Gulbransen and Stromberg-Carlson models. Even the military are represented by a Bendix low-frequency loop.

The Mid-Atlantic Antique Radio Club's annual RadioActivity is a well organized event in every respect. Eric Stenberg's report reveals a serious intent on the planners' part to meet the interests and needs of participants. The flea market flourished pretty much throughout the event; informative seminars were offered; three auctions were featured, with one auction totalling $8,000; the old equipment contest had several highlights; and the Friday night banquet was a sellout. A "walk-around" auction added liveliness to the flea market.

Ray Bintliff succumbed to the temptation of crossing the pond again this year. I myself visited Gerry Wells' museum in Dulwich, England, several years ago, but I had forgotten my camera! Fortunately, Ray's daughter made up for that loss, and has contributed a kind of photo review of the British Vintage Wireless Society's "garden party" at the Wells Museum and the later swap meet at Harpendon.

The Radio Row articles in our September issue inspired many subscribers to write in Radio Miscellanea about the their own youthful trips to that historic, now tragic scene. There they found knowledgeable salesmen ready to teach them what they needed to know. How unlike today's marketplace where mentors are in hard supply. We hope that A.R.C. often fills that gap.

A.R.C. Benefits. Subscribe and buy -- to make these activities easier for you, we offer the following: a toll-free number, (866) 371-0512; Discover, Visa, American Express, and MasterCard accepted; books shipped free in the U. S. by book rate, and for current subscribers, a ten percent discount on all book orders. Please let us know you are a subscriber when ordering.

Coming Radio Events. Three auctions are among the 48 events listed for October. Several swap meets are also on the agenda, so all of you will have the opportunity to get out there and talk firsthand with your fellow collectors.

Happy Collecting!

John V. Terrey, Editor

ON THE COVER

Spread the good word! A.R.C's editor John Terrey is getting married at the end of October. His fiancée, Sarah Ford, was introduced to her first radio meet last February at Radio XXXIII where she made her first radio purchase -- the postcard on our cover. The card was then used as a prenuptial announcement to family and friends. Welcome to radio collecting, Sarah, and best wishes to John and Sarah from the A.R.C. staff.