VOLUME 17            AUGUST 2000                NUMBER  8

RADIO MISCELLANEA -- AUGUST 2000

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

"Antique Radio Classified" invites its readers to contribute letters and information for inclusion in "Radio Miscellanea" and elsewhere in the magazine. "In The Marketplace" is based on information submitted by the businesses themselves. All topics should be of general interest and sent to A.R.C., P.O. Box 2, Carlisle, MA 01741. All material submitted should be verified for accuracy and may be edited for publication, which is not guaranteed. See the masthead for more details.

Radio Book for Beginners
Dear Editor:

Collectors who have little knowledge of the innards of old radios that they collect should try to obtain the U.S. Navy training course book entitled Basic Electronics, Navters 10087, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1955. The original price was $2.25. I doubt if the government still prints it, but try old book stores or dealers.

This book contains descriptions of circuits and the math that goes with them. The math is standard high school type, no calculus or complicated formulas. It gives full explanations of how radio circuits work and why, and covers basic radio to radar theory of the era. This is an excellent addition to any library.

--Alton DuBois, Queensbury, NY

Ya'll Good!
Dear Editor:

To John, Bobby, Tammy, Dorothy -- In Texas parlance, "Ya'll have a great publication and a first class staff that is an honor to work with."

--George Potter, Lewisville, TX

This compliment is especially appreciated! George, the man behind most of the auction reports from VRPS, knows what is involved in publishing because he has been responsible for the VRPS publications for as long as I can remember. (Editor)

More on the Adrola RSP
Dear Editor:

Regarding the Adrola RSP radio pictured on page 14 of the December 1999 A.R.C., the radio looks very much like a radio I have called a "Bluebird" ( a "bird of a set"), made by the Automatic Radio Manufacturing Co. of Boston, Mass. The only variation that I can tell from the photo is that the lettering on the Bakelite panel is different. Also my Bluebird has three rheostats, not two like the radio in the photo. Maybe the two companies are subsidiaries.

--Ed Martin, Benwood, WV

Dear Editor:

I appreciate the above reply from Ed Martin regarding my Adrola RSP. The only additional information I have is from McMahon's Vintage Radio, page 235. It lists Adroit Tool Co. and the Adrola Series R5P, R5B, R5C.

The set I have resembles a Freshman Masterpiece in many ways. The coils could be Freshman coils, though I am not very familiar with Freshman products. I have no idea exactly where the Adrola was produced. At any rate, the company did not appear to prosper.

--Orval Egeter, Fonthill, Ontario, Canada

It is quite possible that these similar looking sets were manufactured by Freshman and marketed through other firms who added their name. (Editor)

Kudos from New Subscriber
Dear Editor:

What do I like about A.R.C.? Size, easy to read -- love it all right now. Your publication seems to have the best variety of "Wanted" and "For Sale" ads. The articles are helpful and educational -- and fun!

--Paul Dziedzic, Westmont, IL

Re: Internet

Subscriber-Access-Only Plan Perfect
Dear Editor:

I've been a subscriber for eight or ten years, and A.R.C. gets better and better. Your Web site is icing on the cake, and the subscriber-access-only plan will make it just about perfect, at least from my perspective.

--Richard F. Bidwell, Huddleston, VA

Ads on the Net
Dear Editor:

As to the Internet, the "For Sale" classifieds should be available to all after say a week of being available to subscribers only. A friend reports that a lot of sales on eBay are to newcomers -- "nostalgia buyers" -- instead of established collectors.

--Rick Weibezahl, Washington, NJ

We continually fine-tune our presence on the Web. And, beginning this month, as Rick suggests, and in keeping with our free distribution of old copies of the magazine to all who request one, our Web site will make the previous month's classified ads available to all. As in the past, ads from the current month are available to subscribers only on the "target date," which is the first day that issues are scheduled to be received by mail.

How About Actual Hyperlinks?
Dear Editor:

The classifieds are a nice addition to the Web site. However, it would be extremely helpful if the URLs for Web sites and e-mail addresses could be "live" -- e.g., actual hyperlinks. Thanks.

--Brett Saylor, State College, PA

The software we currently use would require us to hand-code each URL and e-mail address. For now, we suggest that the user cut the URL address and paste it into his browser/e-mail program. (Editor)

How Do I Find Your Web Site?
Dear Editor:

My only recommendation is for you to put information in your publication about how to use your Internet site. A small box every month would help many of your subscribers. I just got on the Internet, and I'm sure others need to know also.

--Bernard Payne, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Connect to the Internet, and in your browser, type in www.antiqueradio.com. Click on any one of the choices on our home page. We'll consider the box idea. (Editor)