VOLUME 16            AUGUST 1999                NUMBER   8

RADIO MISCELLANEA -- AUGUST 1999

From Antique Radio Classified for August 1999
(Copyright 1996-9 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.

M.L. Leese and WMAL
Dear Editor:

Thank you so much for the interesting cover of your May 1999 issue. It really brought back a flood of memories. I lived in Washington, D.C., from the 1920s to the beginning of World War II and listened to WMAL during those years. The call sign WMAL was granted by the FCC in 1925. When I knew about the station, it was owned by the M.L. Leese Optical Co., which supplied eyeglasses for Washingtonians. I will always remember visiting the studios on the 2nd floor of that 11th St. store.

Much later the station studios were moved to the Trans Lux Theater Building on 14th and New York Ave. WMAL (then a part of the Blue Network of NBC, later ABC) was on the 2nd floor, while the 3rd floor housed WRC, a radio station for the Red Network of NBC (owned by RCA).

I worked as a page for WMAL during 1946-1947. By that time, the station was owned by the Washington Evening Star and produced many live broadcasts for the area. When TV became dominant, WMAL entered that field also.

Thank you for producing an outstanding magazine. Keep up the good work.

--Mitch Beard, Corvallis, OR

More on RCA in the 1920s
Dear Editor:

In the painstaking and very revealing article (June 1999) about RCA in the 1920s propounding the reason for the company's failure to release the 1923-24 series of radios, the authors report that 60 percent of RCA's product was manufactured by General Electric and 40 percent by Westinghouse. The reason for this was that RCA was jointly owned by GE and Westinghouse at the 1919 request of the U.S. government. It is also said that United Fruit had a small interest in RCA because it wanted RCA to manufacture transmitters and receivers that would link its plantations worldwide.

That same government decided a decade later that GE and Westinghouse would have to dispose of their respective interests in RCA because the two owners were competitors and thus could not be joint owners of another entity. Then RCA came looking for manufacturing and distribution facilities of its own. It found them in the Victor Talking Machine Co., which, in addition to its manufacturing expertise and nationwide/international distribution, also had the world's most famous trademark, "His Master's Voice," making the 1929 acquisition not just appropriate and ideal for RCA but irresistible.

--Oliver Berliner, Beverly Hills, CA

Kudos from a Radio Non-Owner
Dear Editor:

I love reading the technical part of your magazine even though I don't own a radio!

--George M. Jindela, Parsippany, NJ

RCA 94X2 Repair Tips
Dear Editor:

I have an RCA 94X2 and, to the best of my knowledge, the chassis removal is straightforward. I refer you to Rider, Vol. IX, Page 9-100 RCA to confirm. See the paragraph entitled "Removing chassis from cabinet" which says remove the volume control knob, push-buttons and the 25L6 tube. Remove the four chassis screws on the bottom of the cabinet, lift the chassis and slide it out. As somewhat of a purist, I strongly dislike seeing old radios compromised. Therefore, I would not change the tube lineup either. I would prefer one of the following solutions: 1) An external step-down transformer. 2) An external ballast tube. 3) A series resistor as such, light bulb or resistance cord.

--Russell A. Johnson, North Berwick, ME

Geoff Shearer also sent the information on removing the chassis and called our attention to his RCA 94X2 which appeared in the May 1996 Photo Review. (Editor)

Ads by E-Mail
Dear Editor:

Sending ads by e-mail is a lot easier for me. I just pull up last month's ad, enter new items, delete the last month's sold items and hit "Send." The address stays the same. It must be easier for you too. I guess you simply paste it onto your format. Keep up the good work!

Among the best applications of new technology are those to protect the treasures of the past.

--Sam Timberlake, Dadeville, AL

In the Marketplace
Sony Book. The Magic of Sony by Enrico Tedeschi is now available in a 4A (81/2" x 111/2") spiral-bound format. It has 150 pages and over 500 pictures of all Sony collectible products, including transistor radios. To order, contact Enrico Tedeschi, 54 Easthill Dr., Portsdale, Brighton BN41 2FD, UK. The e-mail address is enrico@Brighton-UK.com, and the tel/fax number is 01273 701650. The U.S.A. price is $37, including air mail delivery. In the UK, the price is #18 plus #2 post and packing in Europe. Enrico is now also accepting the Euro. His Web site is www.ndirect.co.uk/~e.tedeschi

Vacuum Tube Publication. A.R.C. readers with a special interest in vacuum tubes will want to know about Vacuum Tube Valley, a quarterly publication, which contains articles with an emphasis on tube audio, as well as on radio history. The most recent issue, for example, contains articles by A.R.C. contributors, Norman Braithwaite and Charles Kittleson. Subscriptions are as follows: U.S. $36/per year (4 issues); Canada, $43; Europe, $53; Asia, $66. For more information: Vacuum Tube Valley, P.O. Box 691, Belmont, CA 94002. Tel:(650) 631-6550; Fax: (650) 654-2065. Website: www.vacuumtube.com