VOLUME 12                DECEMBER 1995                NUMBER 12

EDITOR'S COMMENTS

From Antique Radio Classified for December 1995
(Copyright 1995 by John V. Terrey - For personal use only.)

For all of us here at A.R.C. it's been easy to enter into the holiday spirit, even though we produce the December issue before Thanksgiving. First, we had on hand the seasonal contributions of cover artist Geoffrey Brittingham and writers Fred Geer, Geoff Shearer, and Ellsworth Johnson to set the mood - a mix of humor and sentiment.

Then, of course, our bubblewrapped UPS deliveries from the Henry Ford Museum Auction are mindful of the best of Christmas mornings for a collector. Those of us who were fortunate enough to purchase a few treasures at that amazing event know for sure that Santa came early this year.

And finally, our present to subscribers is this - our first issue to include full color within the magazine. Besides the cover, we decided that Fred Geer's story about Rudolph and his red nose called for a color photo of the 1951 Airline set, which no doubt was inspired by the hit song of 1949.

A full report on the historic Ford Museum Auction, an exciting climax to 1995, also prompted color photos of many of the rare pieces. In addition to the descriptions and prices, we include commentaries on the event by Larry Babcock and your editor. Next month, we will continue with the vacuum tube price listing and more commentaries. It will be interesting to see what lasting effect this event will have on radio collecting.

The extensive coverage of the Ford Museum Auction makes this issue eight pages longer than usual and caused the elimination of Radio Miscellanea for this month only. But, we still have Photo Review with items from the early 1920s to the late 1940s.

Articles this month cover several unusual subjects. One is Norm Braithwaite's shop-built superhet, which has the quality of a manufactured unit but no manufacturer's name. The second article by Ray Bintliff covers two unusual cone speakers found by Ed Paski. Since neither of the "cones" on these speakers is shaped like a cone, we were intrigued by just how they operate.

Jim Crews has contributed a short follow-up article to the transformer testing article in the February 1995 A.R.C. We're always pleased when one article inspires another.

Alan Douglas continues his series on vintage tube testers with commercial Hickok models. This month, Alan explains the meaning of the unusual term "English" found on many tube testers.

Not all auctions are like the Ford. John Dilks reports on one of the many radio shop auctions which occur from time to time around the country. Thousands of items, from tubes, parts and test equipment to radios themselves, are usually in abundance. After reading John's report, you'll want to watch for a radio shop auction near you.

And, finally, we have the answers to Dave Crocker's Radio Quiz in our July 1995 issue. The second installment will follow soon.

A.R.C. on the Web! As announced last month, A.R.C. now has a "site" on the World Wide Web, and in Web jargon, our URL is http://www.antiqueradio.com/. Please take a look and leave a message so that we can see how much interest there is in this new way of presenting old radio information. At present, we are making available radio event and club information, the Photo Review, selections from our printed version, links to other "sites," book reviews, and our marketplace of books and videos for sale.

Renew Now & Save. As announced last month, A.R.C.'s rates will be increased on January 1, 1996. This year, we have held the subscription rate increase to $2.00 for U.S. subscribers. You can still extend your subscription at this year's rates. Send in the coupon in the center of this issue today, or call us at 508-371-0512. New advertising rates will be announced in the January 1996 issue. As with subscription renewals, display advertising for 1996 can be purchased before year-end at 1995 rates. Call A.R.C. for details.

Coming Radio Events. Our Coming Radio Events section lists 33 December events, and to aid in your planning next year, we have begun listing events for 1996. Also this month, we have included our complete listing of antique radio collector organizations, now totaling 75 in the U. S. and 22 outside the U. S. One of the best ways to learn about collecting old radios is to become associated with one or more of these organizations.

Holiday Greetings. With the first dusting of snow this morning, the winter holiday season is certainly evident here in Carlisle. From all of us at A.R.C. - John, Scott, Lisa, Cindie, Dorothy, Chris, Ray, Dave, Dick, Bobby and Jean - a happy holiday and a prosperous new year.

Happy Collecting.
John V. Terrey, Editor

ON THE COVER

The Santa on our cover originally appeared on Geoffrey Brittingham's 1994 Christmas card, which inspired Fred Geer's Rudolph story in this issue. Geoffrey redesigned the card in color for us. A professional freelance illustrator, Geoffrey also accumulates old things, including old radios, which he likes to picture in his work. He is a member of S.P.E.R.D.V.A.C., an old-time radio show library, and has 2,000-plus shows on tape. His work first appeared in A.R.C. on the cover of the April 1994 issue, as well as in Fred Geer's article on radio entertainment. This collaboration of writer and artist is a definite plus for A.R.C. Geoffrey's address is: 1603 N. Observatory, Nashville, TN 37215.