------------------------------
The Old-Time Radio Digest!
Volume 01 : Issue 64
A Part of the [removed]!
ISSN: 1533-9289
Today's Topics:
1929 RCA console (W/phonograph) play [Abxbox@[removed] ]
Soda pop radio commercial ["Philip Chavin" <philchav@[removed]]
EARLY REMOTE BROADCASTS ["Owens Pomeroy" <opomeroy@[removed]; ]
tubes and stuff ["Mark Kinsler" <kinsler33@[removed]]
Interview Records ["George Tirebiter" <tirebiter2@hotm]
[removed] Sounds Like an Old Ra [Michael DeMeo <mdemeo@[removed]]
Quiz--answers ["Welsa" <welsa@[removed]; ]
Re: Magic Eye [Fred Berney <berney@[removed]; ]
Re: Lost Shows [Fred Berney <berney@[removed]; ]
Does anyone remember this Superman s ["Henry R. Moreno" <henry@[removed];]
"All American Five" radios ["A. Joseph Ross" <lawyer@[removed].]
Tube Testers and stuff ["Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@]
Transcription disks [Paulurbahn@[removed] ]
More on Decoder Rings ["Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@]
WAR OF THE WORLDS TV ["stephen jansen" <stephenjansen@ema]
Categorically ["Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@]
Re: Disc Types [Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed]]
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 25 Feb 2001 23:28:26 -0500
From: Abxbox@[removed]
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: 1929 RCA console (W/phonograph) played every
day!
The recent postings about restoration of vintage radios brought back
distant an vague memories of a radio set I remember seeing in my
grandmother's home many, many years ago. So, during a recent visit to my
parents' home, now occupied by my brother, I asked about the radio set which
my grandmother had purchased in 1929. Big brother removed a dust cover and
there stood an RCA console (oak cabinet) with a built-in phonograph,
including several packs of unopened needles! The model number is given as VE
7-26X, and has a serial number of 19198. Here's the best part. My brother
plays this radio on a daily basis! [removed] has never been repaired or
modified since the day it was purchased! Seeing how dumbstruck I was my
brother said, "They don't make 'em like they used to." He was serious!
Would those out there with knowledge about preservation of vintage
radios please drop me a line. (I don't want to take up space in the OTR
forum on a topic which isn't the main gist of the OTR forum) I'd like to
keep this vintage beauty running for another 79 years!
Joseph M. Cierniak (Joe)
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 25 Feb 2001 23:28:32 -0500
From: "Philip Chavin" <philchav@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Soda pop radio commercial
A popular 1940s radio advertising jingle was "Dad's Old Fashioned Root
Beer, Dad's Old Fashioned Root Beer,...", sung to a Latin conga dance beat
(one two three la con-GA).
Does anyone remember or know any more details about that commercial? Such
as: Did it include any spoken words or any more lyrics? Was there any
musical accompaniment? Was it broadcast only during station breaks?
But most importantly: Does anyone know if a recording of the original
commercial exists?
Thanks.
-- Phil Chavin philchav@[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 25 Feb 2001 23:28:40 -0500
From: "Owens Pomeroy" <opomeroy@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: EARLY REMOTE BROADCASTS
We are familiar with remote broadcasts today. But back in the
pioneering years of radio, it was quite a novelty. My city of Baltimoe had
one of the earliest remote systems ever used in radio. It consisted of a
very heavy portable back pack, which the broadcaster strapped on his back if
he wanted to wander in the crowd to broadcast. Stuart Kennard, one of the
first engineers to work at WFBR in baltimore (1922), was probably
responsible for the popularity of the on-the spot remote as we know it
today.
There is a story connected with him in the WFBR archives that may be
true or not. One day the station was 15 minutes short of air time, so Stu
strapped on the portable unit, and went on the street in front of the studio
and stopped people with a "Question Of The Day." the question was "Do you
sir (or madam) own a radio set, and if not, why not?" The show ws so popular
that it became a regular part of the program day, and they gave out free
coupons of their sponsor's product.
WFBR was also the first station in the nation to do two Network
on-the-spot remotes. They have photos from their archives labeled: "FIRST
NETWORK REMOTE BROADCAST IN THE [removed]: HARDING IGNAURATION, JANUARY 6THE.",
1922 and "FIRST REMOTE BROADCAST OF SIR ANTHONY EDEN IN THE UNITED STATES,
ANNAPOLIS, MD., JUNE, 1937." It was
around 1937 or 1938 that WFBR purchased one of the first portable trailers
in the US solely for a remote broadcast, and broadcast for the first time,
the Maryland Kennel Club Show.
It really is an honor to have been associated with this station that
was one of the pioneering "giants" of radio.
- 30 -
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 25 Feb 2001 23:28:45 -0500
From: "Mark Kinsler" <kinsler33@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: tubes and stuff
There would be two characteristics: the warmup period and the cheery glow
>from the tube filaments. The easiest of these would be the warmup delay.
A timing circuit could be incorporated in the circuitry that would add a
delay before applying power to the audio output. Naturally, the delay
would be set to 30 seconds or so. But what about the glow?
I'd just suggest a good cabinet, a combined radio and cassette machine
(always the most difficult part when you're fighting for shelf space at the
Wal-mart) and a glow lamp of some sort. Any set with a built-in warmup
period would be deemed defective by the first sales clerk who plugged it in
to check it.
Tube sets generally didn't take as long as 30 seconds to warm up. The wait,
depending on the particular design, was more like 15 sec. Many tubes were
designed to be "fast warm-up" types, and the warm-up period was considerably
decreased when rectifier tubes were replaced by solid-state selenium or
silicon rectifiers.
I recall a colleague criticizing the TV mini-series "North and South" for
(among other things) showing drinking utensils made by a cut-glass process
not then invented, and I myself laughed at the perma-bound edition of
"Uncle Tom's Cabin" shown in one scene.
The big deal he made about "North and South," if I'm thinking of the correct
show, was probably due to the enormous hype about the authenticity of
everything in that production. There were endless articles about how the
shoes were made by special shoemakers to specifications set by the
Confederate Army, and that the cloth for the uniforms was made by some other
authentic process known only to God only knows who, etc, etc. So we're all
watching for this great authenticity, and they show the troop trains with
modern couplers and air brakes, circa 1930.
I used to drive my father nuts by criticising the provenance of the firearms
shown on TV westerns.
M Kinsler
the Colt Single-Action Army wasn't issued until 1873. Live with it.
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 25 Feb 2001 23:29:04 -0500
From: "George Tirebiter" <tirebiter2@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Interview Records
Hello All,
Sean Dougherty writes:
The practice of giving local stations canned interviews with celebrities to
be read by local anchors as if they were live interviews continues to this
day. It's a standard practice when sending video news release tapes to
local
stations to provide versions with and without sound so the station can cut
in
local narration
This reminds me of a hilarious gaffe I saw on a local TV station a few years
ago. It was announced that the sports guy would have an interview with Mike
Tyson. It was strongly implied (though not explictly stated) that the
interview was "live". The local guy proudly read off a question. Then you
saw Tyson sitting on a stool while another voice off camera read the
question the local guy had just read. Tyson answered. The local guy read off
question #2. The same off camera voice read off the question and Tyson
answered. By now the local guy was getting flustered, but he gamely got
through 4 or 5 questions in the same manner. Obviously a tape of Tyson
answereing the questions had been made available to local stations but this
particular station had not previewed the tape or edited out the reading of
the questions by Tyson's PR guy. By the time it was over with both the
sports guy who had done the interview and the local anchorman looked ready
to explode!
George
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 25 Feb 2001 23:32:48 -0500
From: Michael DeMeo <mdemeo@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: [removed] Sounds Like an Old Radio
The old radios are fascinating from a historical standpoint. It's
fascinating to see how things were done with the technologies then
available, but you're not missing anything if you listen to OTR through
solid-state electronics.
I have to disagree with almost all of this post,and Bill Harris who is a
well respected contributor to [removed]+phone answered it very well.
But the above statement got me to write. There is nothing, not even the
BOSE wave radio IMHO, that compares with the sound of a tube radio,
especially a large floor model console. A friend talked me into going to a
"swap meet" and when I walked in a seller was playing a local "golden hits"
station through a restored console. I immediately got a memory rush
hearing a sound quality I had not heard in years I then decided that rather
than buy one I would find out about restoring one myself. After doing much
research, (Bill Harris' site in particular) I purchased an old table radio
and did the restore. The price of replacement components was minuscule,
and all the tubes, which are plentiful and cheap were fine (certain tubes
ie. real old ones or amplifier tubes can be expensive). I cannot describe
the feeling when I plugged it in, powered it up, and heard it play after it
warmed up! I finally worked my way up to restoring a console and I am
listening to the great sound as we speak. Even my wife, who could care
less about antiques, will not play any other radio (AM and Shortwave only
of course!). I am, unfortunately, running out of room for additional
consoles. I have since built a small low power transmitter to listen to OTR
in the house.
Just a few words of [removed] If you plan to restore remember that tube
radios contain higher voltages that the newer ones. Read about doing
things safely and use caution. Check out Bills Web site as well as the
Phils Old Radio Site and the news group and help is readily available.
Mike DeMeo
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 25 Feb 2001 23:32:53 -0500
From: "Welsa" <welsa@[removed];
To: "OTR Digest" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Quiz--answers
So, how did you do on Friday's pop quiz? Me? I did awful. The only right
ones I got were11, 13, & 15. I had a 50/50 chance on #5, and guessed the
wrong guy.
Forthwith--the answers.
1) What well-known radio commentator renounced the country of his birth to
become an American citizen?
A: Boake Carter
2) What radio script writer, whose dramatic sketches are heard on the Rudy
Vallee hour and the CBS Workshop, was once a Cleveland druggist?
A: Milton Geiger
3) What color are Gracie Allen's eyes?
A: They are different. One is blue and one is grey.
4) What CBS conductor recently married a Goldwyn Follies dancer?
A: Victor Bay married Hanna Moore.
5) What member of a rural comedy team recently became a father?
A: Norris Goff. Abner of Lum and Abner.
6) What recently married radio couple will broadcast by shortwave from South
America?
A: Lily Pons and Andre Kostelanetz
7) What radio and movie star has one of the most famous collections of
modern art in the country?
A: Edward G. Robinson
8) What is the Edmar?
A: Major Bowes yacht. The "Ed" is for Edward Bowes; the "Mar" is for
Margaret, his deceased wife.
9) What romance between a radio singer from Florida and a movie actor from
Tahiti, culminated in marriage?
A: Frances Langford and Jon Hall
10) What well-known book reviewer heckles what well-known newspaper
columnist on a radio program?
A: Clifton Fadiman, book reviewer, and Franklin P. Adams on Information
Please.
11) What swing band leader recently recorded the Mozart Quintet?
A: Benny Goodman
12) If you were horseback riding in New York's Central Park some morning,
what orchestra leader would you probably see riding his own horse?
A: Paul Whiteman, on his horse "Walk Along."
13) What radio singer and what band leader are brothers?
A: Bing and Bob Crosby
14) What CBS music series is named for the conductor's secretary's blouse?
A: "Blue Velvet Music" which was so named because Mark Warnow's secretary
wore a velvet blouse which caught the conductor's fancy.
15) What radio singer and mistress of ceremonies, who recently turned
commentator, is now an authoress?
A: Kate Smith
16) What member of a famous radio trio now carries on alone?
A: Connie Boswell
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 25 Feb 2001 23:32:58 -0500
From: Fred Berney <berney@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Magic Eye
The Pentron model 9T3C, my very first tape recorder used a magic eye for a
volume indicator. A machine I still have to this day and which still works.
They sure don't build them like they use to.
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 25 Feb 2001 23:43:10 -0500
From: Fred Berney <berney@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: Lost Shows
To answer Paul Grieves question about lost shows, I'm sure a good number of
the programs now available on the result of private collectors.
Between 1952 and the late 1960s, I recorded several hundred shows off the
air. When I was doing a lot of trading in the 70s, many people told me that
I had shows that other collectors did not. I'm sure the same can be said
for many of the programs I traded for.
In the introduction I did to either my History of Radio or Radio's Golden
Age of Science Fiction, I credit the hundreds of collectors for keeping
these programs alive.
Your example of the Dr. Who shows being thrown out is not alone. NBC erased
the first year of the Tonight Show. I'm told that the advertising agency
that held the Tom Mix programs in storage, threw them out.
As you have stated, I'm sure that there are tapes they are just laying
around waiting to be found.
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 25 Feb 2001 23:43:13 -0500
From: "Henry R. Moreno" <henry@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Does anyone remember this Superman serial?
Hi All,
Does anyone remember the name and broadcast dates for the Superman serial
where Superman is looking for an atomic reactor (or atomic pile) that is
hidden in a model airplane?
The model airplane is circling a specific spot on earth. Clues were given
to the audience at the end of each episode as to the location. At the end
of all the serial episodes, the clues were explained and the location
revealed. The first listener to guess the correct location won a prize.
The only clue that I recall was a lion roaring. This clue was later
explained to represent the Constellation Leo. The model airplane was found
by Superman to be circling the North Pole.
A "The Model Plane Mystery" was broadcast during the Feb/Mar 1943 period but
as I was 3 years old at the time, I don't believe that was the serial. My
best guess is that it's new serial after 1946 unless there was a rebroadcast
of the "The Model Plane Mystery" after the Second World War.
If anyone can provide more information, I would certainly appreciate it. It
has been 50 plus years since I heard it and it is the only Superman radio
serial of which I have
any recollection.
I do remember when the program was switched from the daily presentation to
the thrice-weekly format in 1949.
Thanks all,
Henry
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 26 Feb 2001 00:08:45 -0500
From: "A. Joseph Ross" <lawyer@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: "All American Five" radios
Date: Fri, 23 Feb 2001 22:47:29 -0500
From: Bill Harris <billhar@[removed];
A typical 'All American Five' AC/DC set might use a tube line up of a
12SA7, 12SK7, 12SQ7, 50L6, and 35Z5.
In the 1950s, when printed circuits and miniature tubes came along, the
tube lineup became 12BA6, 12BE6, 12AV6, 50C5, and 35W4. In the late 60s,
Radio Shack was offering a package of those five tubes as a replacement
kit.
A. Joseph Ross, [removed] [removed]
15 Court Square lawyer@[removed]
Boston, MA 02108-2503 [removed]~lawyer/
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 26 Feb 2001 00:08:48 -0500
From: "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Tube Testers and stuff
Bill Harris points out,
Step back to the 50's. A radio set built in the 1930s would only be 20
years old. The capacitors and resistors would most likely still be in
good condition so if a set failed, probably there was a 90% chance it
would be a tube. <snip> Those in-store testers were designed to sell
tubes and often skewed the test towards the red (bad) side of the dial.
Anyone who pulled the tubes out of their radio or television were bound
to find several that read at least week and of course felt the need to
buy new ones for top performance. A technician would test the tubes in a
set brought in for service and replace any that measure [removed];<
The technician would be doing preventive maintenance by replacing weak
tubes, whereas the consumer using an in-store tester would believe he or
she was effecting a full repair. And, as noted before, the type of
tester most technicians used was a more precise instrument than the
in-store variety.
Today, restorers do not have that luxury and never throw out a tube
just because it may read weak on a tester. The current inventory of tubes
is limited, there are no more being made except
for a few tube types currently being manufactured for the audiophile
crowd. <<
Actually, that might not be the case. I believe I mentioned in passing
that I once worked for a small company that manufactures tube bases for
current products. It turns out that there's a high demand for radio
tubes in Russia. Not just for vacuum tubes, but apparently, a
significant number of tubes specifically for installation in radios. All
the larger sizes, of course, since the "miniature" tubes don't need
bases. I don't know which radio tubes are being manufactured, but I do
know that a sizable number of tubes and sockets were shipped each month.
Stephen A. Kallis, Jr.
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 26 Feb 2001 00:08:51 -0500
From: Paulurbahn@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Transcription disks
Dick wrote:
<< I also saw one recently that had a 30 minute show #xxx on side one of
disc one and on side one of disc 2 and another episode of the same show #yyy
on side 2 of disc one and side two of disc >>
I don't know about old time radio but in the 60s when I started in radio
shows were issued that way when no commerical was intended in the middle.
Radio stations normally had two or more turntables (Record players) and you
simply had a cue sheet with the last few lines of dialoge on disk one when it
was spoken you started disk two.
This saved from taking the time and having dead air (no sound on the
[removed] dead) of turning the disk over and recueing part two. IF there was
a local commerical announcement to be made half way through then the show was
normally packaged on one disk both sides.
I have a few AFRS DJ shows (Wolfman Jack, Roger Carroll, etc) from the 70s
and they were still done in the manner you discribe.
Paul Urbahns
paulurbahn@[removed]
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 26 Feb 2001 00:08:53 -0500
From: "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: More on Decoder Rings
The other day, I received an e-mail from a young lady, who asked,
For a class, extra credit: Captain Midnight decoder rings were given
way in what product? <<
Well, I've probably pointed out to the point of boredom that there never
was such a gadget, but what's also interesting here is that the teacher
who'd proposed the question assumed that the premium was "in" the
product.
Two points here. First, this is one of those "everyone knows" things.
Actually, after the OTR era, there were a few "decoder rings" included in
packages of cereal, all light and plastic. Two that come to mind
immediately are the Chex Decoder Ring (Chex, of course) and the Toucan
Sam Decoder Ring (Fruit Loops). The point being is that the teacher
_might_ have run into such items in her or his youth, or may have heard
his or her parent(s) talking about such items, and made the leap that
radio premiums came with the product rather than being sent away for. The
problem is that the more the "everybody knows" stuff creeps in, the more
adulterated the knowledge base becomes. Here is an area where nit-picking
is recommended. In fact, encouraged.
The second is that the student and I exchanged several cordial e-mails,
and finally decided to have some fun. I sent her images of every Captain
Midnight Code-O-Graph so that she could bring to her teacher the full
gamut of the program's crypto premiums. The images show clearly that none
was a ring. Now if the student would have received credit for merely
saying "Ovaltine," imagine the credit she'll get for what would have to
be an in-depth response, given the context. In a nonhostile manner, the
teacher would learn something, too.
Stephen A. Kallis, Jr.
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 26 Feb 2001 00:08:55 -0500
From: "stephen jansen" <stephenjansen@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: WAR OF THE WORLDS TV
If anyone out there happens to tape the Sci-Fi Channel's "The Night That
Panicked America" - the story of the WOTW broadcast, made-for-TV in 1975, I
would be VERY interested in getting a copy. I saw it in 1975, and it has
remained lodged in my memory ever since. I have found a few references to
it on the web, but no luck finding a copy. Please email me if you can help.
Thank you in advance! Stephen Jansen
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 26 Feb 2001 00:08:46 -0500
From: "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Categorically
Len Freedman, speaking of tube-type radios, notes,
One receiver had a fat, satisfied-looking cat curled up on it, fast
asleep. The receiver was on, but not playing The owner of the shop said
"That one's not for sale. The tube units are getting scarce these days.
We keep this one just for the cat."<<
Now, there's an enlightened shop owner! Some of my cats, particularly
the first Siamese in my household, did that with the tube-based TV sets
in the house, as well. She tried a tube radio I had, but it was too
small for her to arrange herself in what a cat thinks is a comfortable
position.
But see? I'd not thought of that for years, but it's another reason to
have at least one tube radio in the house. That is, in homes with cats.
Stephen A. Kallis, Jr.
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 26 Feb 2001 00:13:13 -0500
From: Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: Re: Disc Types
Richard Fisher wrote:
Some are on aluminum and are heavy, some are quite flexible and light
weight,
The aluminum discs are "instantaneous" recordings -- cut into the lacquer
coating off the air or off the line as the program was broadcast. They
are called "instantaneous" because the recording could be played back
immediately with no need for further processing. (Anyone who wants to see
an authentic 1930s transcription recorder should see the current Coen
Brothers film "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou." When the "Soggy Bottom Boys"
make their audition record at a backwater Mississippi radio station, you
get a clear shot of a studio-type Presto disc recorder in action. The
shot is very brief, and it went by so quickly that I couldn't see if the
disc being recorded was actually throwing a thread as it was cut -- but
the equipment itself appeared authentic.)
The flexible discs are pressings, just like ordinary phonograph records
-- made by processing the master to create stampers, used to press the
finished product. Pressings can be made from heavy, rigid shellac -- like
common 78rpm records -- or from flexible plastic compounds, of which
vinyl is the most common. Pressings were used for syndicated and AFRS
programs, where a large number of copies were needed.
>This also begs the
question - did they ever do a recording this way [removed] two discs and then
copy the second disc on to the flip side of disc one so that the entire
show would be on one disc.
"Copy Discs" are very common -- sometimes one side is first-generation
and the other is a dub, and sometimes both sides are dubbed. There is
usually a noticeable difference in audio quality between genuine first
generation discs and copy discs. Most companies had some way of
distinguishing original from copies -- NBC used a large purple "COPY"
stamp on the label.
There apparently were hundreds of companies producing these discs at one
time. I don't think any two I have have the same manufacture except of
course AFRS.
To get an excellent overview of the variety of companies in the
transcription business, check out the First Generation Radio Archives
website at [removed], and select the ET Labels link. By the
1940s, practically every good-sized city in the US had at least one
commercial recording studio equipped for instantaneous recording, and the
radio centers, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and Hollywood, had many.
I would like to know why so many different ways of putting a program on
a disc and why the different materials - I understand there are glass
base and aluminum base and have no idea how many others there were.
To provide a usable recording surface, the coating would have to be
applied to a material that was perfectly smooth and flat. Bare uncoated
aluminum had been used as a recording medium before the invention of the
coated disc, and it made sense to continue to use it as a substrate for
for coated discs. When aluminum became a critical war material in early
1941, glass provided a practical substitute. There were also steel-based
discs, "composition" discs, which used a sort of pressed-board
Masonite-like material as the substrate, flexible cardboard-based discs,
and even bond-paper discs.
I have searched [removed] for new books on this subject and ABE and a
couple of others for any used books but have found nothing. Possibly
this information is contained in a book(s) that do not have
transcription discs in their title or more likely this is a "who cares"
topic that wouldn't sell a single copy if someone wrote about it!!
The definitive work on the subject is by our own Mike Biel -- his 1977
doctoral dissertation, "The Making and Use of Recordings In Broadcasting
Before 1936," available from UMI Dissertation Services and Nauck's
Vintage Records ([removed]). It's not inexpensive, but it provides
*the* history of broadcast recording media. Highly recommended!
Elizabeth
--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V01 Issue #64
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