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Three Generations of Rambling and Gambling
John Gambling was getting up at 2:00 AM to make his 6:00 AM start time for his morning radio show on 710 WOR-AM for decades. But it wasn't just his show, it was his father show and his grandfathers...
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Classic Sources of Radio Theater
There have been tens of thousands of radio theater programs. What's striking to me is how much of it is just adapted from the prose of prior decades. While Arch Oboler was writing whole seasons of...
View ArticleA One Transistor Transmitter
I really liked this little video. He makes board soldering look simple and elegant, almost like a cooking show except for the jarring sound of tools being dropped to the table. This model operates on a...
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Transcription Mystery Disc #213
This is a 6.5 Inch, paper-core Wilcox-Gay Recordio. It spins at 78 rpm and has an outer edge start. One side is labeled "Frankie + Johnny." That side is an recording of a woman singing that very song...
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I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue
Humphrey Lyttelton was one of those golden people who seemed to strike lucky in everything he did. He was a cartoonist for the Daily Mail Newspaper in 1949. He was a trumpet player active in the...
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Explore the Susceptor
This is a part of the first law of thermodynamics, aka the law of conservation of energy. It states that the total energy of an isolated system cannot be changed. Energy cannot be created nor destroyed...
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CW vs. DW
Let's break out the acronyms today: CW and DW. Unless you are a ham or a radio engineer, these two short acronyms are meaningless. They don't stand for Creative Writing and Data Window. These are...
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The MiniDisc
On June 30th, 1994 the first promotional MiniDiscs were given away with an copy of Rolling Stone Magazine. It was issue RS 685. I can't say it went down in infamy because for the most part no one...
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Transcription Mystery Disc #214
This is a red Wilcox Gay Recordio. It's 8-inches in diameter, spins at 78 rpm and has a metal core. There is some damage to the outermost grooves but the audio cleans up in about 30 seconds. The disc...
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Decca Navigator System
The Decca Navigator System actually was connected to the Decca record label. It was a WWII-era Allied hyperbolic radio navigation system. That's the other definition of hyperbole that we use so...
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When and When not to EAS
In March of last year Millennium Films released the movie Olympus Has Fallen. the ads were pretty good but the movie was not great. Rotten Tomatoes charitably gave it a 48%. rating. But back to those...
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Transcription Mystery Disc #215
This week I ripped the other side of the one from last week since it was so damn interesting. The B-side is unexpected to say the least. It's an old gospel song "What A Friend We Have In Mother."...
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Angst and Cooking at WPAM-AM
This cookbook is titled, "WPAM's Book on Great Radio Cookery," and was compiled by the staff of 1450 WPAM-AM located in Pottsville, PA right in the coal country of Pennsylvania. It was a family affair...
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The A&P Gypsies
Harry Horlick's salon orchestra "The A&P Gypsies" were sponsored by the A&P grocery chain. Harry had a very unfortunate surname but he didn't let it hold him back. But first a bit about another...
View ArticleRadioshack gets useful
It's really relevant to see Radio Shack catching on to the modern DIY ethic. Dozens of sides like make.com, instructables.com, diy.org, diynetwork.com. They've been headed toward obsolescence for a...
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London Calling
Joe strummer is dead. He passed in 2002. His musical resume is without peer: he was the guitarist for the Clash, the Pogues, and the Mescaleros among others. The Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame wasted no...
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Transcription Mystery Disc #216
This is a 10-Inch Silvertone transcription disc. It spins at 78 rpm, has an outer edge start and has a metal core. It's very heavy gauge which makes sense with the date inscribed on each side 11-19-40....
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This and That and Art and Kirkham
Art Kirkham was a local Portland boy, born in 1905. He served in WWI and upon his return attended Oregon Agricultural College, in Corvallis. there he sang in glee club which is how he later made his...
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ISWC Standard
There are a number of successful music and other audio content monitoring companies active globally today. They succeed an even greater number that were not successful but let's not dwell on that....
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