Radio Collector Video Series

The 5-part PBS series from 1985, “Radio Collector” was nominated for a Los Angeles Area Emmy for Best Informational Series. All five parts appear below. For more information contact series producer Mike Adams. What is Radio Collector? Read the story in the Los Angeles Times

These were originally posted on Mike’s YouTube Channel. Find other old radio-related videos there including the complete PBS show “Broadcasting’s Forgotten Father, the Charles Herrold Story.”

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Technical details: Radio Collector was shot in 1985 on 3/4″ video, a marginal format that boasted 240 lines of resolution. It was edited 3/4″ to 3/4″ using a control track/insert cuts-only editor, then that 2nd generation 3/4″ was transferred to 2″ at KOCE in Southern California where the credits were added. KOCE sent it to PBS and it was available to all member stations, and it has been aired on many stations. Mike’s students in Radio-TV-Film at California State University, Fullerton, were the camera operators, musicians, etc. Twenty eight years later CHRS President Steve Kushman transferred a copy of a copy of a copy of the master which went from 2nd generation 3/4″ to 2″ to 1″ to Beta SP to his computer. The story has held up well, and of course many of those profiled here are silent keys/valves. Mike’s inspiration for this series was the original “This Old House,” thus “This Old Radio.” Enjoy