VOLUME 13               OCTOBER  1996                NUMBER 10

EDITOR'S COMMENTS

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

What a difference a decade makes! With this issue, I mark my 10th anniversary as editor of A.R.C., a milestone that makes comparisons inevitable. Looking at the thin, though brave-faced, October 1986 issue, I realize how far A.R.C. has come in these ten years.

In October, 1986, this was a 2-man operation. With editing help from founder Gary Schneider, and encouragement from 1,800 loyal subscribers, I more or less did it all -- subscriptions, correspondence, typesetting, proofreading, layout, printing, mailing, etc. The product seemed then to be a 28-page miracle. Today three full-time and seven part-time members of a hardworking staff publish a 100- to 116-page magazine, which is mailed to over 8,000 subscribers worldwide. I'm sure you'll agree that we can call this "progress."

In my first letter to subscribers in the October '86 issue, I assured them that A.R.C. was "on a positive course" and had "a solid future." That assertion bears repeating. We intend to stay the course and to continue to grow and to improve as a forum for the interchange of ideas and information about our avocation -- collecting and preserving old radios. Then as now, I thank you all for your continuing support in this endeavor.

In selecting material for this issue, we realized that the subjects of the first three articles indicate that the collectors have something in common. All are collectors who go beyond simply warehousing their treasures.

In our lead article by Bob Thomas, Jim Webb's microphone collection shows not only a different facet of radio-related collecting, but also how Jim has met the challenge of displaying his collection. In addition, he has wired up many microphones in the display so that viewers can try them out.

Ed Sage's collection of mirrored radios, legendary among aficionados of Art Deco, is also a specialty, which he wishes to share with a wide audience. With examples from Troy, Remler, Mir-Ray, Stromberg-Carlson, Cord, Jackson Bell, and Zenith, Ed proves that Sparton is not the only mirrored radio manufacturer.

And John Miller's article on a Zenith Trans-Oceanic Royal 1000 performance test shows him to be a collector who is not only curious about how well his equipment works, but also eager to share his findings. John compares his set's performance with that of a modern, digitally-tuned portable shortwave radio, and the almost 40-year old holds its own in the comparison.

Three radio collector events are covered this month. Larry Babcock and Jim Clark report on the Michigan Antique Radio Club's Extravaganza '96 in Lansing, Michigan. Nearly 1,000 collectors attended this 3-day show, which featured a display of Grebe sets and Alfred Grebe's son as speaker on Saturday night. In addition to a gigantic flea market, there was an outstanding contest display and an auction, which brought a total of over $45,000 in bids.

Lance Borden and David Moore report on the seventeenth annual Houston Vintage Radio Association convention held in May. Although registration was just over 120, the contest drew nearly 80 entries, and the auction totaled over $20,000.

Estes Auctions sold nearly $25,000 of odds and ends at its "Odds & Ends Auction" in Medina, Ohio, on May 11. A Federal 59 set brought the high bid of $1,100. Several crystal sets were sold, including a Westinghouse Aeriola Jr. and a DeForest for $200 each, a Philmore for $125, and a Howe for $95.

Photo Review this month shows an interesting, pocket-size crystal set made by the Mengel Company of New York. Also shown are Art Deco sets by Deluxe and Climax. And after looking at Hal Kravig's Davar detective wrist radio, take a look on page 15 at the Dick Tracy radios in the display at Extravaganza '96.

Radio Miscellanea reports on sources for needed restoration materials and on the connection through A.R.C. of collectors from Australia and California. Some of you may not know that the monthly transistor radio collector publication Transistor Network recently changed publishers three times. However, we are happy to report that Marty and Sue Bunis have again taken up the challenge of keeping transistor radio collectors connected.

Coming Radio Events. After the nearly 2-week flurry of meets in Elgin, Illinois, and Rochester, New York, (look for full coverage in the November A.R.C.), radio collecting continues with over 50 October events. These include multiday meets in Georgia, North Carolina, Ohio and Texas. Be sure to look up your editor at the VRPS Convention near Dallas from October 25 to 27.

Happy Collecting!

John V. Terrey, Editor

ON THE COVER

A photo of microphones in the right-hand section of the Webb microphone collection display featured in our lead article forms an unusual wraparound cover for A.R.C. this month. Neither this photo nor the one with the article inside shows the entire collection, which has grown from 250 to over 400 since the photo was taken. Among the many mikes of interest are the large cylindrical Neumann CMV-5 condenser mike (left-center of front cover, to left of floor-stand mike), and the RCA Camden SPX-1 test standard and rare SPX-2 mikes (large round mikes, lower right).

Special graphic: full cover spread of the microphone display (jpg, 47K).