VOLUME 14            JULY 1997                NUMBER  7

RADIO MISCELLANEA -- July 1997

From Antique Radio Classified for July 1997
(Copyright 1996-7 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.

Meet Seminars Better in Evening
Dear Editor:

On some evenings at the various club conventions, everything closes down. Attendees must then fill in the empty time, and there is absolutely nothing to do.

I make a point of being at Lansing, Elgin, and Rochester -- the big meets. Conventions such as these are the place for presentations, discussion, tutorials, and the like. These sessions are always held during the day when the flea market is going on, and people don't want to be away from it. At the same time, the guy making the presentation must lose time outside.

Is there any reason why the presentations couldn't be after the dinner hour, say 7:30 to 9:00? This would offer the best evening entertainment possible. Little groups already have isolated bull sessions here and there. Why not have organized brainstorming sessions? A bit of skillful thinking would make the convention a more well-rounded affair. It would sure beat retreating to the motel room and doing little until time to hit the sack.

--Doug Houston, Ortonville, MI

The Antique Radio Club of Illinois must have ESP. Note that this year, their presentations during Radiofest XVI are late in the day and in the evening. (Editor)

AK Advertising Frames
Dear Editor:

In the May 1997, Photo Review, Eileen Ancmen asks what kind of ads were used in Atwater Kent advertising frames. I found an October 1926 issue of Radio Retailing magazine, p. 105, containing "New Dealer Help Material, Aids to Greater Profits Provided by Radio Manufacturers." The following quote mentions the intended use of the picture frames: "The Atwater Kent Manufacturing Company, Philadelphia, is in a position to make shipment, direct to dealers, or to retailers via distributors, of the mahogany picture frames designed to display reprints of the company's magazine advertising which will be released shortly."

--Wallace Geary, Mt. Pleasant, IA

Get Dated Bids on Paper
Dear Editor:

Don Bisbee's advice in the June issue of A.R.C., page 22, is good. Mail is preferable to phone, not so much with a large company, but with individuals. I would add that if you do get an offer by phone, you must also get it on paper, including name, address, phone number, amount of offer, and date. The date makes it legal, according to an old Army buddy of mine, and his advice has paid off for me a number of times. An example is my experience with someone who called and said he would pay $25 over any other offer. I said OK, but I must have it on paper. I never got an answer from him.

(Color is good in A.R.C. Let's have more.)

--Herb Eltz, Juniata, NE

Trans-Oceanic a TV Star
Dear Editor:
I was just wondering if anyone else does what I do. When I spot an old radio on a TV show or ad, I have to stop everything and identify it.

The best yet of any ad showing a well placed radio is the new Jurassic Park Watch/Burger King TV spot. After endless tries with the pause button on the VCR, I've concluded the radio is a Royal 1000 Trans-Oceanic.

Just why it is tuned to the 31 meter shortwave band for local news is a mistake the average TV viewer would not notice. Isn't stuff like this great?

--Robert Goins, Lynchburg, VA

Australian Radio Wife Sends Kudos
Dear Editor:
My husband has really enjoyed your magazine for the past 12 months, and he has made several purchases. Sellers seem quite surprised by getting an inquiry from Australia! Thanks for a great magazine.

--Jean I. Smith, North Bayswater, Australia

Overseas Mailing Inquiry
Dear Editor:

I have recently received several inquiries by fax or mail from collectors in Japan and Hong Kong concerning some relatively inexpensive items in one of my A.R.C. ads. The trouble is I have no idea how to ship packages to these countries economically, especially if the item may be worth only $100 or less. UPS recently quoted a price of $150-175 to Japan for a 20-pound package of parts valued at $35, depending on actual weight and dimensions! I hate to ignore these inquiries -- it doesn't seem the honorable thing to do. But neither do I want to ring up huge expenses. Are there any readers out there with experience in shipping overseas?

--C.J. Poulos, Columbia, CT

Glowing Tube Substitutes Work
Dear Editor:

In the February 1996 A.R.C., page 20, Gary Strelow describes a substitute for 01-A tubes, using a FET and a photocell controlled by a pilot light.

I built one as a test, using a #47 lamp and a photocell and FET, all from the Radio Shack. I couldn't find a .004 capacitor, so I used a .0047, which is not critical. I tried it in my 1-tube reproduction Echophone Model J built from drawings supplied to me by Tom Millward, as described in his February 1995 A.R.C. article. The substitute works fine. It regenerates nicely on a simple short but outside antenna.

I'm going to make six more tube substitutes to use in my Radiola 20 or one of my Atwater Kents. This is as much fun as collecting!

Alton A. DuBois, Jr., Queensbury, NY

A.R.C. back issues are full of such fun! (Editor)