It’s New Year’s Eve and as 2015 draws to a close, I wanted to take this opportunity to say a few words. You may recognize some of this from last year, but it still holds true and is worth repeating. After 40 years in existence, CHRS has come of age by establishing itself as one of the most active and progressive historical radio organizations in the country. I still have to pinch myself as I walk through Radio Central and realize that our former little parking lot swap meet group raised over $1 Million and bought this historic building… Our building, CHRS’ building, Your building that you, our membership, helped to purchase. I also realize how fortunate we are to be able to control our own destiny which was only a dream for many years. We are also very fortunate to be in a great location in the City of Alameda. The City and community have welcomed us with open arms.

LOOKING FORWARD TO 2016 – It is a time consuming effort to create Radio Central in a 115 year old building that has had all kinds of work done and modifications made over the last 115 years. Most of the work was not so good. CHRS is changing that by replacing and updating outdated systems and poor workmanship. All work done at Radio Central is now first rate thanks to some of the best volunteer craftsmen to be found anywhere.

2016 holds the promise of great progress. Right now we are starting to build our audio transfer facility. This will be our first technical area devoted to digitizing ETs for our Electrical Transcription Project, digitizing reel to reel tapes and cassettes for our Bay Area Radio Museum and digitizing 78s, LPs, 45s, wires and even 8-tracks as needed. This service will be offered to the public later this year.

Our radio repair shop project with seismic improvements should be beginning soon. It will be fabulous and spacious, with all new windows, well lit, four benches equipped with fresh test equipment donations, new resilient floor, new walls, 16 new top quality parts cabinets, racks galore, vintage test equipment display, vacuum tube locker, etc. This project will also include the beginning of our ADA bathroom.

The CHRS vacuum tube vault will be constructed in the old boiler room and will provide space for bulk tube storage and sorting and testing of all new tube donations.

Next the CHRS office will be located in the room now being used for vacuum tube storage. We hope that by Radio Day By The Bay 2016 on July 23rd, people will say, “you’ve done so much in the last year.” We try to do the best job we can with limited space, resources and manpower. And we do a great job! As we continue to prove that CHRS can build a first quality facility devoted to preserving radio and radio broadcasting.

Also in 2016, stay tuned for the CHRS eBay Store where we will sell radios and other gear. And we will have our regular local events: vintage radio collectors events at Radio Central, our March fundraiser, Radio Day By The Bay 2016 in July, Holiday Social and some other surprises. We will send a separate email with a PDF for printing the complete 2016 schedule.

CHRS is not out to solve the world’s problems. We are here to provide a forum for the preservation and presentation of this important part of our history and culture. We will strive to make Radio Central, to borrow a quote, the West Coast “place of record” for all things Radio. CHRS is unique as we encompass so many different aspects of radio, from the broadcasters and their programming to the broadcasting equipment and of course the radio receivers and their development and history.

Our membership’s overwhelming support and passion for radio and CHRS should be an inspiration to every other historical group. I cannot stress enough the appreciation we have for our volunteers and donors. You are the backbone of CHRS and the people who make CHRS second to none. Our volunteers work tirelessly at Radio Central and behind the scenes. Our donors dig deep and many have made major donations multiple times. CHRS is thriving now thanks to our donors, but as we continue into the Radio Central Era, this may not always be the case, so we will always need your help.

As 2015 closes we should think of CHRS for larger donations to support important projects which are rapidly approaching. Our shop project is one of the most important projects at Radio Central. The improvements including seismic upgrades are not cheap but well worth the expense. These improvements will allow us to make great strides in making Radio Central much more functional. Please select ‘The General Construction Fund’ to donate to the shop project. We have updated our main donation page with explanations of our available funds. We have said many times before that dues are not enough to perpetuate CHRS as one of the leading historical radio societies. Your support is vital to our mission of preservation. DONATE NOW Remember we are a 501( c )(3) educational non profit and your donations are tax deductible. Your continuing support is most appreciated!

So, Thank You… Thank You… Thank You… for making CHRS the great historical and educational society it is. As Chairman Mike Adams has said and I wholeheartedly agree, we are proud and honored to be part of this fine organization that is made up of such passionate and dedicated people.

Remember, please do not hesitate to call with any questions or comments. My cell # is: (415) 203-2747 or email me at: [email protected]

Wishing You All A Happy, Prosperous and Peaceful 2016!

Steve

Bart Lee’s Radio History

This New Year’s postcard, mailed December 6, 1913,  celebrates marine wireless, after the Titanic disaster.  It aspires to Peace shortly before the First World War started. With wireless telegraphy, however, ships at sea were a little less … ” like ships passing in the night.”  Happy 2016. Bart (de K6VK) ##

Folks,

My Sinclair MTV1 is again operational. It took two sets to get one working.
Problems: bad tuner, bad sync IC, bad HV circuit, so with a lot of analysis
and switching parts, one is now operating.  Other CRT probably good.

The set operates on US VHF/UHF and European UHF analog with various scanning rates, and the sound IF is at 4.5, 5.5 and 6.0 MHz  selected with 3 separate ceramic filters.The internal batteries, when new, can power the set for up to 4 hours. They seem to be partially good, but I have not tried charging them up fully to see how good they still are. It uses a 2 inch electrostatic deflection CRT with a filament (not a heater) so it comes up almost immediately.The HV generator supplies 2 kV.

The set first came out in 1977, nearly 40 years ago, and is a real piece of work. It’s like working on a Swiss watch. CHRS has one. I look forward to getting the CHRS TV collection back up and working.

…John

Bruno Zucconi is a 93 year old San Francisco radio pioneer. Last weekend, in the Radio Central, Maxwell Library, Bruno was interviewed by Bart Lee and was recorded and posted on the CHRS YouTube channel by Dave Billeci. Thanks to Bruno, his wife Connie, Bart and Dave. CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE ZUCCONI INTERVIEW Please check out all the videos on the CHRS YouTube Channel.

CHRS Radio World Article
by Jennifer Waits

PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE