1987: CABLE TV: WHERE IT ALL BEGAN

CABLE TV HAS SEEN REMARKABLE TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES OVER THE PAST DECADES. AS I RECALL, MY FIRST ENCOUNTER WAS IN AN ARTICLE TELLING OF NEW BRITAIN CONNECTICUT PLANNING A TEST PROJECT LABLED AS "PAY TV." THE ARTICLE SAID IT WOULD BRING UP TO DATE THEATER MOVIES TO THE TELEVISION SCREEN. WHAT AN EXCITING CONCEPT THAT WAS WAY BACK THERE IN THE 60'S WHEN I THINK IF FIRST HEARD ABOUT IT.

OTR: WE HAD TO USE OUR IMAGINATION

THOSE OF US WHO COLLECT OLD TIME RADIO PROGRAMS ARE INVOLVED IN A FASCINATING COLLECTOR'S PASTIME KNOWN AS "OTR;" OLD TIME RADIO. I COULD NEVER BEGIN TO LIST ALL THE GREAT RADIO PROGRAMS THAT I LISTENED TO AS A YOUNG BOY, AND THEN INTO ADULTHOOD. THE DAILY EPISODES OF TERRY AND THE PIRATES, HOP HARRIGAN, TOM MIX, AND LATER, THE LUX RADIO THEATER, MR. DISTRICT ATTORNEY, GANG BUSTERS, THE GREAT GILDERSLEEVE, AMOS AND ANDY, LUM AND ABNER.....I COULD GO ON AND ON. THANKFULLY, THOUSANDS OF THOSE OLD RADIO SHOWS ARE AVAILABLE IN MP3 FORMAT. I AM BUILDING A COLLECTION AND LULL MYSELF TO SLEEP EVERY NIGHT LISTENING TO JEAN SHEPARD, SPEED GIBSON, HOP HARRIGAN, DICK TRACY, OR COUNTLESS OTHER RADIO SHOWS I HAVE IN MY NUMEROUS MP3 PLAYERS.

FOR THOSE VISITORS TO THIS WEBSITE WHO ARE NOT FAMILIAR BUT INTERESTED IN OLD TIME RADIO ("OTR"), CHECK INTO EBAY AND SEARCH FOR "OTR," OR "OLD TIME RADIO." YOU WILL NOT BELIEVE HOW MANY HOURS YOU CAN GET ON A CD AT SUCH AN INCREDIBLY LOW COST, AND HOW EASY IT IS TO DOWNLOAD THE PROGRAMS INTO YOUR MINI MP3 PLAYER. WHO NEEDS AUDIO BOOKS WHEN YOU CAN LISTEN TO EVERYTHING FROM WWII WAR NEWS TO THE OLD "SUSPENSE" OR "INNER SANCTUM" RADIO DRAMATIZATIONS?

1943: ED RASER: ANOTHER LOCAL DVRA PIONEER

W3ZI: I'M SORRY TO SAY THAT I DIDN'T HAVE THE PRIVILEGE OF MEETING ED RASER. HOWEVER HIS PLACE IN LOCAL RADIO HISTORY IS WELL DOCUMENTED.

1941: LES ALLEN W2CCO

MANY OF US HAD THE PRIVILEGE OF KNOWING AND "WORKING" LES ALLEN. HE WAS A GENTLEMAN FROM THE OLD SCHOOL AND ONE OF THE MOVERS AND SHAKERS WHO FOUNDED THE DELAWARE VALLEY RADIO CLUB. LES LIVED ON QUINTON AVENUE IN TRENTON AND HAD A RADIO BUSINESS BACK IN THE 30'S AND 40'S. IN HIS LATER YEARS HE RESIDED IN NORMANDY BEACH.

1941: A DVRA HAMFEST

WITH THE ARRIVAL OF THE COMPUTER AND EBAY AND YAHOO AUCTIONS, ONE OF MY FAVORITE PASTIMES, THE HAM FLEAMARKET HAS BEEN RENDERED MORE OR LESS IRRELEVANT. WHEN I ENTERED THE HAM FRATERNITY MANY YEARS AGO, THE FLEA MARKETS WERE CROWDED WITH HAMS AND OTHER RADIO DEVOTEES LOOKING FOR BARGAINS. I REMEMBER A NUMBER OF DVRA HAMFESTS WHERE THE "ARM AND A LEG STORE" HAD A HUGE DISPLAY OF THEIR AMATEUR GEAR, ALONG WITH MANY OTHER COMMERCIAL ENTITIES, AND OF COURSE THE MANY HAMS WHO HAD TABLES OFFERING EVERYTHING FROM PARTS TO USED RIGS, TO TV PARTS, ETC. THEY WERE WONDERFUL YEARS AND I MISS THEM.

A NOTE FROM TOM

1) CLICK THE IMAGE TO ENLARGE IT.

2) IF YOU WANT TO SAVE A SPECIFIC POST, RIGHT CLICK YOUR MOUSE, CHOOSE "SAVE IMAGE AS" OR "SAVE PAGE AS" AND SAVE IT TO A FOLDER ON YOUR COMPUTER.

3) AS THE SITE GROWS, SO GROWS THE NUMBER OF POSTS AND THE "SEARCH" FUNCTION WILL BE MORE CONVENIENT. IN THE UPPER LEFT OF THE SCREEN, GO TO THE WHITE "SEARCH BLOG" SPACE AND FILL IN A KEY WORD.

I SUGGEST VIEWING MY SITES IN
"FULL SCREEN"MODE.
(GO TO "VIEW" CLICK "FULL SCREEN")

ENJOY!

1927: WOAX, TRENTON

IF MEMORY SERVES ME, WOAX WAS LOCATED ON INGHAM AVENUE NEAR THE TRENTON-EWING BORDER. THERE ARE A NUMBER OF ARTICLES IN MY FILES WITH PROS AND CONS OF THE STATION. SOME WERE WRITING LETTERS TO THE NEWSPAPERS BEMOANING THE BORING CONTENT THE STATIONS WAS AIRING. COVERSELY, THERE WAS AN EQUAL NUMBER OF LISTENERS WHO WERE HAPPY WITH THE PROGRAMMING.

1928: IS THIS THE GENESIS OF THE FAX?

"PHOTOTELEGRAPHY:" IT SOUNDS TO ME THAT THE TERM IS BEING APPLIED TO THE SCANNING OF A PHOTOGRAPH AND TRANSMITTING IT VIA ONE OF THOSE OLD FASHIONED FACSIMILE MACHINES.....YOU REMEMBER THEM......A ROUND ROTATING DRUM THAT SENT PHOTOS ALL OVER THE WORLD FROM VARIOUS NEWSPAPERS AND OTHER ORGANIZATIONS. TELEVISION WAS IN IT EMBRYONIC STAGES WITH CUMBERSOME WIRES AND EQUIPMENT.

1935: BEFORE THERE WERE SCANNERS

I REMEMBER MONITORING A COUPLE POLICE FREQUENCIES ON THE VERY TOP OF THE BROADCAST BAND ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF THE 1600 KC FREQUENCY. THIS WAS IN THE LATE 50'S AND THE TRANSMISSIONS WERE IN A.M. (AMPLITUDE MODULATION). ADDAITIONALLY, OUR BIG MOTOROLA CONSOLE RADIO HAD SHORTWAVE CAPABILITIES. MANY AM POLICE RADIO STATIONS WERE ON MY SWL LOG. I VIVIDLY RECALL THE THRILL OF HEARING AMATEURS AND BROADCAST STATIONS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD WITH OUR VERY PRIMITIVE "LONG WIRE" ROOF ANTENNA.

1943: TRENTON'S NEW RADIO SQUAD CARS

GREEN AND WHITE POLICE CARS! COOL! I AM HAVING A TOUGH TIME IDENTIFYING THE MAKE. IS IT A PONTIAC?

1925: HARRY KIDDER WORKING ON HIS "WAS" AWARD

1906: GUGLIELMO MARCONI BRINGS "WIRELESS" TO TRENTON!

I CAN ONLY IMAGINE THE THRILL THOSE AREA RESIDENTS EXPERIENCED WHEN THEY ATTENDED THAT PROGRAM ON WIRELESS RADIO. IT WAS THE DAWN OF A NEW CENTURY, AND THE AMATEUR RADIO GUYS WERE ALREADY EXPERIMENTING IN THEIR "HOME-BREW" RIGS.

1925: WWV, 1920'S STYLE

I COULD NEVER COUNT THE NUMBER OF TIMES I ACCESSED WWV, THE NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS TIME KEEPERS. WHEN I WAS AT MY INTERCEPT STATION MANY YEARS AGO, IT WAS MY CUSTOM AT THE BEGINNING OF MY "TRICK" TO DIAL UP WWV FOR THE EXACT TIME. I CAN STILL HEAR THOSE "CLICK CLICK CLICK" SOUNDS AND THE LITTLE "DING" AS THE TIME WAS AUDIBLY TRANSMITTED ALL OVER THE WORLD ON VARIOUS FREQUENCIES.
I DON'T KNOW IF THE ARTICLE ACCOMPANYING THIS POST IS THE PREDECESSOR TO WWV AND WWVH, BUT I SUSPECT IT IS. PERHAPS SOMEONE MORE
KNOWLEDGEABLE THAN I CAN FILL IN THE DETAILS.

1991: Electronics: New today, Obsolete Tomorrow

WHEN I RECALL MY LENGTHY JOURNEY INTO THE WORLD OF COMPUTING, I AM CONSTANTLY AMAZED AT HOW A STATE OF THE ART ELECTRONIC DEVICE I PURCHASED MANY YEARS AGO BROUGHT ME INTO THE COMPUTER WORLD.

1941: REMEMBER TOM DURAND?

HE WAS A LOCAL BROADCAST LEGEND ON WTTM FOR YEARS TOM AND BILLIE DURAND WERE FAVORITE RADIO PERSONALITIES WHEN WTTM WAS IN THEIR GLORY YEARS.

1915: MARTIN PILLSBURY; A LOCAL AMATEUR PIONEER

THE WASHINGTON MARKET REFERRED TO IN HIS ARTICLE WAS ONCE LOCATED IN CENTER CITY TRENTON. IT HAD FRUIT AND VEGETABLE STANDS, NUMEROUS BUTCHERS AND OTHER MERCHANTS.

THIS SITE IS BEST VIEWED IN 800 X 600 RESOLUTION

DEPENDING ON THE RESOLUTION OF YOUR (DISPLAY) MONITOR, SOME OF THE TEXT ON THE DVRA NEWSLETTERS MAY BE TOO SMALL TO READ. IF YOU CHANGE YOUR SCREEN RESOLUTION TO 800 X 600, YOU WILL FIND THAT THE PRINT IS LARGER.
GO TO"START." CLICK ON "CONTROL PANEL." LOOK FOR THE "DISPLAY" ICON. CLICK ON IT. CLICK ON "SETTINGS." SLIDE THE RESOLUTION SWITCH ALL THE WAY TO THE LEFT. THE RESOLUTION WILL ENLARGE FROM 1024 TO 800 X 600. CLICK ON "APPLY." YOUR SCREEN WILL BLACK OUT FOR A SECOND AND THE NEW RESOLUTION WILL COME BACK WITH THE NEW AND LARGER SCREEN RESOLUTION.
800 X 600 IS MORE EFFECTIVE THAN THE SMALLER 1024 X 768. IT IS A SIMPLE MATTER TO REVERT BACK TO 1024 X 768 BY REVERSING THE ABOVE PROCESS.

FYI

THIS IS MY FOURTH WEBSITE DEDICATED TO LOCAL HISTORICAL , NOSTALGIC, AND WHIMSICAL SUBJECTS. YOU MAY ALSO BE INTERESTED IN MY OTHER SITES. COPY AND PASTE ANY OF THE FOLLOWING SITES:

WWW.GLOVER320.BLOGSPOT.COM

WWW.HHS51.BLOGSPOT.COM

WWW.KUSER-SCHOOL.BLOGSPOT.COM

A TIP FROM TOM

ATTENTION NEWCOMERS:

1) CLICK THE IMAGE TO ENLARGE IT.

2) IF YOU WANT TO SAVE A SPECIFIC POST, RIGHT CLICK YOUR MOUSE, CHOOSE "SAVE IMAGE AS" AND SAVE IT TO A FOLDER ON YOUR COMPUTER.

3) AS THE SITE GROWS, SO GROWS THE NUMBER OF POSTS AND THE "SEARCH" FUNCTION WILL BE MORE CONVENIENT. IN THE UPPER LEFT OF THE SCREEN, GO TO THE WHITE "SEARCH BLOG" SPACE AND FILL IN A KEY WORD.
(THE SEARCH FUNCTION IS NOT NECESSARY AT THE PRESENT TIME, DUE TO THE FACT THAT THERE HAVE BEEN FEW "HITS." MY OTHER SITE IS FAST APPROACHING 40,000 "HITS" AND IT IS EASIER TO FIND A SPECIFIC SUBJECT.)

I SUGGEST VIEWING MY SITES IN "FULL SCREEN"MODE.
(GO TO "VIEW" CLICK "FULL SCREEN"

ENJOY!

1944: DVRA ANNUAL OPEN HOUSE

HERE IS AN INTERESTING PHOTO OF THE PIONEERS OF THE FABLED DVRA. ED RASER, LES ALLEN, BILL BURROUGHS, AND OTHER OLD TIMERS LEFT AN IDELIBLE IMPRINT ON THE HISTORY OF THE ASSOCIATION.

1956-1958: THE R-390: AN INTERCEPT OPERATOR'S DREAM MACHINE

I LITERALLY LIVED WITH THIS GEM OF A RECEIVER WHEN I WAS AN "O58" IN GERMANY AND LATER IN ITALY. I HAPPENED TO BE IN EUROPE DURING THE SUN SPOT BONANZA OF 1956, AND HAVE VIVID MEMORIES OF THE THRILL OF RECEIVING AM "GROUND WAVE" BROADCAST TRANSMISSION FROM THE U.S.! MANY TIMES ON THE MIDNIGHT TO 8 SHIFT, I TUNED IN TO WNEW AND EXPERIENCED A TASTE OF HOME. THIS RADIO WAS A HIGH TECH MARVEL BACK IN THE MID 50'S.

1955: THE SUPER PRO 600: A FORT DEVENS STANDARD

I LEARNED THE INS AND OUTS OF THIS RECEIVER WHEN I WAS A MORSE INTERCEPT STUDENT BACK IN 1955 AT THE FORT DEVENS SIGNAL SCHOOL. WHEN I SHIPPED OUT TO GERMANY IN 1956, THE 600 HAD A SPOT ON MY MONITORING RACK, JUST ABOVE MY FAVORITE RADIO, THE COLLINS R390.

1940: HAMS AGAIN ON THE LEADING EDGE

WE KNOW OF IT AS "THE LEADING EDGE OF TECHNOLOGY." AMATEUR RADIO AND ITS MANY VERY TALENTED FOLLOWERS HAVE A HISTORY OF BLAZING THE TRAIL FOR NEW TECHNOLOGY. THIS ARTICLE FROM A 1940 ISSUE OF THE DELAWARE VALLEY RADIO ASSOCIATION'S NEWSLETTER TELLS OF RECEIVING AND TESTING EXPERIMENTS HELD BY DVRA MEMBER BILL BURROUGHS, AND WHAT WOULD ULTIMATELY BECOME WCBS-TV. A TRULY FASCINATING AND LITTLE KNOWN AMATEUR RADIO FACTOID!

1943: SEPTEMBER DVRA NEWSLETTER COVER AND PAGE 1

1943: SEPTEMBER DVRA NEWSLETTER PAGE 2 AND 3

1943: SEPTEMBER DVRA NEWSLETTER PAGE 4 AND 5

1943: SEPTEMBER DVRA NEWSLETTER PAGE 6

W2RSP

THIS IS A PHOTO FROM THE ESTATE OF STEVE CSORGO VIA MY FRIEND KATHY CSORGO ANNACCARATO. FRANK BIJASICK (?) WAS AN OLD TIMER WHO WAS A REGULAR ON THE DAILY 4 PM NET ON THE 2 METER W2ZQ REPEATER ALONG WITH JIM SINCLAIR, EARL VAN HORN, RAY WHITLEY, AND OTHERS WHOSE NAMES AND CALLS I CAN'T SEEM TO REMEMBER.

THAT OLD COLLINS ON THE LEFT WAS IN THE CONSOLE ON MY MONITORING STATION WHEN I WAS A "1717" WITH THE ASA (ARMY SECURITY AGENCY) WAY BACK IN THE 1950'S. IT ULTIMATELY HAD A BRAND NEW R390 PLACED IN THE RACK JUST ABOVE IT AT JUST ABOUT THE SAME TIME THAT MY 1717 MOS WAS REPLACED WITH 058. (MORSE INTERCEPT OPERATOR.)

A REMINDER FROM TOM

ATTENTION NEWCOMERS:

1) CLICK THE IMAGE TO ENLARGE IT FOR LEGIBILITY.

2) IF YOU WANT TO SAVE A SPECIFIC POST, RIGHT CLICK YOUR MOUSE, CHOOSE "SAVE IMAGE AS" AND SAVE IT TO A FOLDER ON YOUR COMPUTER.

3) AS THE SITE GROWS, SO GROWS THE NUMBER OF POSTS AND THE "SEARCH" FUNCTION WILL BE MORE CONVENIENT. IN THE UPPER LEFT OF THE SCREEN, GO TO THE WHITE "SEARCH BLOG" SPACE AND FILL IN A KEY WORD.
(THE SEARCH FUNCTION IS NOT NECESSARY NOW DUE TO THE FACT THAT THERE HAVE BEEN FEW "HITS." MY OTHER SITE IS FAST APPROACHING 40,000 "HITS" AND IT IS EASIER TO FIND A SPECIFIC SUBJECT.)

I SUGGEST VIEWING MY SITES IN "FULL SCREEN"MODE.
(GO TO "VIEW" CLICK "FULL SCREEN"
ALSO: YOU MAY BE INTERESTED IN MY OTHER WEBSITES:

WWW.GLOVER320.BLOGSPOT.COM,
WWW.HHS51.BLOGSPOT.COM
WWW.KUSER-SCHOOL.BLOGSPOT.COM

ENJOY!

1943: DVRA NEWSLETTER PAGE 1 OF 5

THE ABOVE SCAN IS THE COVER AND FIRST PAGE OF A COMPLETE DVRA NEWSLETTER FROM AUGUST, 1943. PAGES 2 AND 3 ARE IN THE NEXT POST, AND 4 AND 5 IN THE NEXT PAGE. I ORIGINALLY POSTED THIS NEWSLETTER AS ONE LARGE GRAPHIC, BUT THE SIZE OF THE GRAPHIC MADE THE TEXT TOO SMALL TO READ.

OVER THE YEARS, I HAVE MANAGED TO ACQUIRE A NUMBER OF THESE DELAWARE VALLEY RADIO ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTERS. THE DVRA HAS A MAGNIFICENT HISTORICAL HERITAGE DATING BACK TO ITS FOUNDING IN 1931. DURING THE YEARS WHEN I WAS A MEMBER, IT WAS MY PRIVILEGE TO MEET MANY OF THE WONDERFUL MEN AND WOMEN WHO WERE MEMBERS OF THAT AUGUST BODY. I HOLD SPECIAL FOND MEMORIES OF THE "COMMUTER NET" THAT WAS A DAILY MORNING AND EVENING HAPPENING BACK THERE IN THE 1970'S AND EARLY 80'S. ROBBY, K3MNX, CHUCK WB2EIZ, MY SPECIAL "HEAT MERCHANT," PAUL W2AEI, SANDY W3GWZ, DICK "TIMEOUT" AMRICH, K2AAR, JACK BROWN, W3SHY, BOB SCHROEDER, WA2JZF NOW N2HX, JOE SUNDRA, W3ZLP, BOB CHERRY, WB2F, FAST EDDIE VICKNER, K2SNK, AND OTHERS WHOSE CALL SIGNS HAVE DIMMED IN MY RAPIDLY AGING MEMORY BANK. THANKS, GUYS, I MISS YOU ALL AND THINK OF YOU QUITE OFTEN. I'M SURE YOU WILL AGREE THAT WE DID HAVE VERY VIABLE AND FASCINATING QSO'S. MANY OF THEM WERE QUITE THOUGHT PROVOKING.

1943: DVRA NEWSLETTER PAGES 2 AND 3

1943: DVRA NEWSLETTER PAGES 4 AND 5

1925: HASTINGS, NEBRASKA: THE IDEAL CONTACT

HASTINGS, NEBRASKA???
ONLY BECAUSE OF ITS CENTRAL LOCATION.

1940: N.J. TRAFFIC NETS

THIS WAS BEFORE MY ENTRY INTO THE AMATEUR FRATERNITY BY 35 YEARS OR SO. I WOULD BET THERE ARE MANY "OLD TIMERS" WHO RECOGNIZE SOME OF THOSE CALLS.

THANKS,TO SID DEITZ, W2FDE FOR THIS "HAM" GEM!

REWARD OFFERED

A REWARD OF 500 MICROFARADS IS OFFERED FOR INFORMATION LEADING TO THE ARREST OF THIS DESPERATE CRIMINAL, HOP-A-LONG CAPACITY.

THIS UNRECTIFIED CRIMINAL ESCAPED FROM A WESTERN PRIMARY CELL WHERE HE HAD BEEN CLAMPED IN IONS AWAITING THE GAUSS CHAMBER. HE WAS CHARGED WITH THE INDUCTION OF AN 18 TURN COIL NAMED MILLI-HENRY WHO WAS FOUND CHOKED AND ROBBED OF VALUABLE JOULES. HE IS ARMED WITH A CARBON ROD AND IS A POTENTIAL KILLER.

CAPACITY IS ALSO CHARGED WITH DRIVING A DC MOTOR OVER A WHEATSTONE BRIDGE AND REFUSING TO LET THE BAND-PASS. IF ENCOUNTERED, HE MAY OFFER SERIES OF RESISTANCE. THE ELECTROMOTIVE FORCE SPENT THE NIGHT SEARCHING FOR HIM IN A MAGNETIC FIELD, WHERE HE HAD GONE TO EARTH. THEY HAD NO SUCCESS AND BELIEVED HE HAD RETURNED OHM VIA A SHORT CIRCUIT.

HE WAS LAST SEEN RIDING A KILOCYCLE WITH HIS FRIEND EDDY CURRENT WHO WAS PLAYING A HARMONIC.

--
For Those Who Understand, No Explanation Is Necessary.
For Those Who Do Not Understand, No Explanation Is Possible.

1947: I'LL BET THOSE CABINETS ARE "BAKELITE!"

I REMEMBER HOW I WONDERED HOW LONG IT WOULD BE BEFORE TECHNOLOGY DUPLICATED DICK TRACY'S "WRIST RADIO." REMEMBER THAT TECHNOLOGICAL DREAM. WELL FOLKS, WE TRUMPED IT IN SPADES! MY MP3 PLAYER IS A TINY WORK OF ART WITH UNBELIEVABLE FIDELITY, EVEN THOUGH MY PROGRAMS ARE FROM OLD RADIO TRANSCRIPTIONS FOROM THE 40'S.

1925: ONCE AGAIN, HAMS ARE THE INNOVATORS

TODAY OUR AMATEUR FRATERNITY IS BLAZING NEW TRAILS IN COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY. ONE INNOVATOR IS JIM MILLNER, WB2REM, WHOSE TECHNICAL KNOWLEDGE HAS CONTRIBUTED GREATLY TO THE SUCCESS OF AN AMATEUR RADIO TECHNICAL ADVANCE KNOWN AS "ECHO LINK." AS CAN BE SEEN BY THE ARTICLE ABOVE, HAM RADIO ENTHUSIASTS WERE ALSO ALIVE AND WELL IN THE EARLY YEARS OF RADIO.

1925: BEFORE THERE WERE HAMFESTS

THIS CLASSIFIED SECTION OF THE TIMES "RADIO" SUPPLEMENT HAS MANY, MANY FANTASTIC BUYS! HOW THE COLLECTORS OF ANTIQUE RADIOS AND PARTS WOULD LOVE TO LATCH ON TO SOME OF THOSE EARLY RADIO RECEIVERS!

1927: JUST LIKE THE RADIO OF MY YOUTH!

PLEASE TAKE NOTE OF THE "CROSSBARS" HOLDING THE LEGS OF THAT OLD CONSOLE RADIO. IT WAS A VERY SIMILAR "CROSSBAR" THAT SERVED AS A SUPPORT FOR A PILLOW AS I RESTED MY HEAD UNDER THAT OLD "MAJESTIC" RADIO IN MY "SECRET SPOT," LISTENING TO JACK ARMSTRONG, TERRY AND THE PIRATES, HOP HARRIGAN, CAPTAIN MIDNIGHT, LITTLE ORPHAN ANNIE, AND OTHER RADIO HEROES OF MY CHILDHOOD YEARS. WHAT MAGIC CAME FROM THAT "LOUNDSPEAKER!" WE USED OUR IMAGINATION TO VIEW THE ORIENT WITH TERRY LEE AND "FLIP CORKIN" OF TERRY AND THE PIRATES, WE FLEW ALONG WITH HOP HARRIGAN AND HIS SIDEKICK TANK TINKER AS THEY FOUGHT THE WORLD WAR II SKIES OF GERMANY AND JAPAN, AND WE LISTENED IN AWE AS THE LUX RADIO THEATER TOOK US TO NEW HAMPSHIRE TO VISIT "OUR TOWN."

1925: WMCA BEGINS BROADCASTING

ALONG WITH WEAF, WFIL, WCAU AND WMGM, THIS IS ONE OF THE RADIO STATIONS OF MY YOUTH. "THEY AIN'T THERE NO MORE." I REMEMBER PHIL SHERIDAN ON WFIL IN THE MORNING, AND I BELIEVE BARRY GRAY WAS ON WMCA....NOT SURE. WEAF WAS FAMOUS IN OUR CENTRAL JERSEY AREA FOR HAVING A VERY WEAK SIGNAL WITH WONDERFUL PROGRAMMING.

1983: EARLY TV IN CENTRAL JERSEY

RIGHT AFTER WORLD WAR II, THERE WERE 3 BASIC CHANNELS IN CENTRAL NEW JERSEY: CHANNEL 3, WPTZ, CHANNEL 6, WFIL, AND CHANNEL 10, WCAU. AS I RECALL, THERE WAS A COAXIAL LINK FROM UPPER NEW YORK STATE DOWN THE EAST COAST TO THE WASHINGTON, D.C. AREA. THE GRAPHIC IS FROM A COLUMN I WROTE BACK IN THE EARLY 1980'S, WHEN HAMILTON CABLEVISION BROUGHT CABLE TO THE LOCAL AREA.

1906: "THE GREATEST WONDER OF THE AGE"

CIRCA 1948: THE LATE GREAT WTTM

MY FRIEND, THE LATE MIKE FONDI GAVE ME THIS GLOSSY ORIGINAL PHOTO MANY YEARS AGO. MIKE WAS AN ON-AIR PERSONALITY WITH HIS ITALIAN PROGRAM. I LEAVE IT TO MY INFORMED VIEWERS TO VERIFY WHETHER THE DATE OF THE LATE 40'S IS ACCURATE.

1926:RCA A LEADER IN COMMUNICATIONS EVEN THEN

Those of us in the over 65 generation remember when today's "speaker" was termed a
"Loudspeaker." This article from the mid 1920's recalls the many marvels which the radio age ushered in as the 20th century progresses.

1925: NO WONDER THEY CALLED US APPLIANCE OPERATORS!

WHEN I ENTERED THE HAM FRATERNITY BACK IN THE EARLY 1970'S, ONE OF THE MORE COMMON THINGS THAT I HEARD FROM THOSE VETERAN HAMS FROM THE 20'S AND 30'S WAS THAT WE NEWCOMERS WERE "APPLIANCE OPERATORS" AND DON'T YOU KNOW? THEY WERE RIGHT! CAN YOU IMAGINE BEING ABLE TO JOURNEY BACK TO THE YEAR 1925 AND USHER ONE OF THOSE VETERANS INTO A SHACK WITH A TWO THOUSAND DOLLAR KENWOOD HF RIG? HE'D PROBABLY ASK "WHERE'S THE COIL?" A POCKET SIZED 2 METER HT WOULD FIT IN THE PALM OF HIS HAND.

1925: Commercial Broadcast Radio Growing

As you can see by the above 1925 news article, amateurs were a nuisance to those who wanted commercial space. Indeed, they were tolerated. HOWEVER, the government didn't want rock the boat and discourage the amateurs who were largely responsible for creating new and very necessary advances in the developing art of radio communication. Those early amateurs were more capable of managing the airwaves and innovating than were the bureaucrats in D.C.

1929: RCA MERGES WITH VICTOR - OBJECT: RCA VICTOR

THIS IS AN INTERESTING LOOK AT THE BEGINNING OF THE DYNAMITE DUO OF RADIO CORPORATION OF AMERICA COMBINING WITH THE VICTOR TALKING MACHINE COMPANY, THAT CUTE JACK RUSSEL TERRIER, "NIPPER" WAS BORN AND THE REST IS HISTORY!

THANKS TO W2FDE: A CARD CARRYING OLDTIMER

I am always fascinated when I read the memories related by fellow members of "Wrinkle City." Sid Deitz, W2FDE can be counted on to remember many of the persons, places and things in the downtown Trenton area in those years when Trenton was a safe and clean city. Sid lived in center city and if memory serves me, on Factory Street. Thanks very much for your input Sid, I do hope you and any others who visit the site will take the time to recall earlier years.


SID WROTE:

READ & ENJOYED ALL OF ARTICLES. I NEVER HAD THE PLEASURE OF MEETING Steve W2QJO, but did chat with him on the air. I met W2RIR at a DVRA flea market & learned that Rhode Island Red was a type of Chicken, as like “Leghorn” was another breed of chicken. Perhaps some of the chicks raised in the Glover yard were one of these varieties?

I used to admire the baby chicks (I think called “Peeps”) in the farm store on North Warren Street – the name of the store was Satterthwaite’s & it was approximately across the street from the Stacy Movie Theater – so on the east side of North Warren Street. There was a small alley, that led to a “Comfort Station” with Men’s & Women’s lavatories. W2ZQ in 1946 was located on North Warren Street (#126 or 130) kind of across the street from “Photo Art” shop who developed & printed photo film of various sizes such as 35mm, 127, 130, 120 & 620 were the same size film, but used different spools with different ends of the spools that mated wit the film winding knob to change to the next exposure, etc. Remember the Kodak “Brownie” as well as bellows cameras that kind of preceded the “box Camera” type. 73’s for now – Sid. W2FDE

1903: THE MARCONIGRAM

THIS IS THE STUFF HISTORIANS BOTH LOCAL AND NATIONAL LOVE TO UNCOVER. IMAGINE THE EXCITEMENT BACK THERE AS THE 20TH CENTURY BEGAN TO BRING FORTH UNHEARD OF MARVELS OF TECHNOLOGY! WHO COULD HAVE KNOWN BACK THEN THAT BY THE END OF THE CENTURY WE WOULD HAVE BROUGHT COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY TO SUCH UNBELIEVABL HEIGHTS.

1912: RADIO AND THE TITANIC DISASTER

MY PERSONAL COLLECTION OF TRENTON NEWSPAPERS ARE NOW HOUSED IN THE HAMILTON TOWNSHIP PUBLIC LIBRARY. BEGINNING IN THE LATE 1860'S AND UP TO THE EARLY 1940'S THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF PAGES WHICH RELATE INTERESTING HISTORICAL ARTICLES RELATING TO THE HAMILTON-TRENTON-EWING-LAWRENCE AND MERCER COUNTY AREA. THIS ARTICLE IS ONE OF NUMEROUS ARTICLES INVOLVING AMATEUR RADIO DURING THE EARLY PART OF THE 20TH CENTURY. THE TITANIC DISASTER IS ONE OF THOSE STORIES WHICH INVOLVE VARIOUS RADIO RELATED STORIES. AS I UNCOVER THEM, THEY WILL BE POSTED. BY THE WAY:
NON RADIO LOCAL HISTORIC AND WHIMSICAL MATERIAL CAN BE FOUND ON MY LOCAL HISTORY SITE. CUT AND PASTE WWW.GLOVER320.BLOGSPOT.COM.

1909: HEY, SOMEBODY BETTER START REGULATING THIS THING THEY CALL "WIRELESS!"

THOSE DRATTED AMATEURS ARE MESSING UP THE ETHER! LET'S GET SOME ORGANIZING GOING HERE. HOW ABOUT AN AMATEUR RADIO ORGANIZATION TO SET SOME OPERATING RULES?

1924: A PORTABLE RADIO

"COME ON, SWEETHEART, YOU BRING THE GOODIES AND I'LL BRING MY PORTABLE RADIO. WE CAN LISTEN TO SOME DREAMY MUSIC WHILE WE ENJOY A ROMANTIC MUSIC-FILLED AFTERNOON AT CADWALADER PARK."

1947: THE WORLD'S SMALLEST SUPERHET!

HEY! THIS SITE ISN'T CONFINING ITSELF EXCLUSIVELY TO AMATEUR RADIO. I HAVE AN EQUALLY GREATER LOVE OF BROADCAST RADIO. DO YOU REMEMBER THOSE "PEANUT TUBES" THAT STOOD ALL OF US ON OUR COLLECTIVE REARS WHEN THEY WERE INCORPORATED INTO THOSE TINY PORTABLE AC/DC RADIOS RIGHT AFTER WWII? MINE WAS A SILVERTONE AS MANUFACTURED BY OR FOR SEARS. IT WAS A QUALITY RADIO EXCEPT THAT THE CABINET WAS SOME KIND OF CLOTH WHICH CAME APART AT THE SEAMS. I HAD THAT RADIO RIGHT UP TO THE LATE 40'S WHEN I GOT AN ADMIRAL PORTABLE WITH THE BAKELITE CABINET. AHH....THE MEMORIES!

"RHODE ISLAND RED:" A LOCAL LEGEND

I REMEMBER HAVING NUMEROUS ON AIR 2 METER CONTACTS WITH W2RIR. I BET THAT MANY LOCALS DID ALSO. THANKS AGAIN KATHY FOR THESE GREAT BITS OF MEMORABILIA FROM YOUR DAD STEVE CSORGO!

BOAT ANCHOR FIELD DAY CIRCA 1950

HOW I WANTED ONE OF THOSE HAMMERLUND OR NATIONAL, OR COLLINS RECEIVERS! I REMEMBER STANDING AT THE WINDOW AT ALMO RADIO ON SOUTH WARREN STREET IN DOWNTOWN TRENTON ADMIRING AN HQ180 THAT WAS PRICED AT $150; VERY FAR BEYOND MY FINANCIAL CAPABILITY.