Category Archives: Nostalgia

Steve spots a Capehart International Radio and mag loop antenna in “Young Sheldon”

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Steve Yothment, who writes:

Check out the attached picture. It is from a preview of tonight’s episode of “Young Sheldon.” In it, Sheldon and Dr. Stergis are listening to an antique shortwave radio. I think it is a Capehart International Radio Model 88P66NL.

Also in the preview is an active loop receiving antenna. The show is supposed to be about Sheldon when he was young, back in about 1985. I don’t think active loop antennas were very popular at that time! Maybe they got the timeframe wrong on the use of the antenna. What do you think?

What a catch! I love the flip-up cover on the Capehart although I’m sure in daily use it might have been a bit unhandy. 🙂

Regarding active magnetic loop antennas, like you, I don’t remember them being around much in the mid 80s, although I know the technology was available. I imagine they were used in speciality commercial and military applications. Like you, I’m guessing we didn’t have as many noisy switching power supplies which make them such a necessity these days. I remember happily DXing with my Zenith Transoceanic in the middle of my house in the mid 80s. Those were certainly the days!

Post Readers: Do you know of any active magnetic loop antennas that were used in homes in the mid 1980s and before? If so, please comment!

I’ll add this post to our ever growing archive of radios in film!

Hara Area damaged by tornado

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Note that Hara Arena is the former home of the Dayton Hamvention. Lots of memories in that old building!

(Source: WHIO via Eric McFadden)

[…]Hara Arena suffered extensive damage when tornadoes and severe storms moved through Monday night.

Drone footage shows the roof and side of the structure blown off in several places.

Click here to view drone footage of the damage to Hara Arena.

From the Post Archives: Honoring Memorial Day with Dame Vera Lynn

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The following Memorial Day post was originally published on May 25th, 2015:

Dame Vera Lynn

Today is Memorial Day, and I’m feeling humbly grateful to all of those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for their country. Since I’ve been reading a lot of WWII history lately, I’ve also been playing a lot of WWII-era music here in my sanctuary to all things radio.

Few songs sum up the yearning sentiment of World War II better than Vera Lynn’s 1942 rendition of “The White Cliffs of Dover.” It’s an iconic song, one that helped British soldiers see beyond the war while mourning its painful toll. It was written in 1941 when England was taking heavy casualties, just before American allies joined the effort.

This morning, seeking something with a little authenticity, I played “The White Cliffs of Dover” though my SStran AM transmitter, and listened to it through “Scottie,” my WWII-era Scott Marine radio (above). I made this recording by placing my Zoom H2N recorder directly in front of the Scott’s built-in monitor speaker.

So here you go: a little radio tribute to all of those who fell–on both sides–of that infamous second world war.

And thanks to all who serve and have served in the name of “peace ever after.”

Click here to download the recording as an MP3, or simply listen below:

The Audimeter: A 1939 solution for measuring radio audiences

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Photo showing off the inside of an Audimeter, a device for measuring what people were listening to on radio (Photo: February 1945 issue of Radio-Craft via Gizmodo)

(Source: Gizmodo)

[…]The February 1945 issue of Radio-Craft magazine included an article titled “Radio Audience Meter” which looked at the machine that was revolutionizing audience measurement. First installed in homes on a trial basis in 1939, the Audimeter was placed next to a family’s existing radio.

The article included photo cutaways that showed how the Audimeter worked. Back in those days, radios had dials. Fitted with a series of gears, the Audimeter was a standalone device connected to a radio. It had an arm that moved whenever the radio dial was turned. So whenever the radio station was changed, the Audimeter’s arm would swivel along a long tape that was slowly rolling inside this gadget. The tape inside was about 100 feet long and three inches wide and reportedly lasted for about a month of recording.

The market researchers would collect the tapes by visiting each house monthly and shipping the tapes to a plant in Chicago. Once there, the tapes were processed by dozens of laborers feeding the tapes into tabulation machines.

“The Audimeter made it more scientific,” Buzzard noted about the measuring device. “They got automatic readings.”

And words like “scientific” and “automatic” were all the rage for gadgets of the 1940s, even if by today’s standards there was quite a bit of legwork involved.[…]

Click here to read the full story.

RSGB Archives Film: Field Day 1947

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Kris Partridge, who shares the following film from the archives of the Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB):

Click here to view on YouTube.

Wow! Thanks so much for sharing this film, Kris. What an amazing number of classic rigs. Hams back then needed some serious muscle to take their gear to the field!

VOA Museum to host 75th anniversary commemoration of D-Day on June 6

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(Source: Southgate ARC)

The National Voice of America Museum of Broadcasting in West Chester will host a 75th anniversary commemoration of the D-Day landing on Thursday, June 6 at 9 a.m. on the museum’s front lawn.

The event sponsored by Kehoe Financial Advisors of Cincinnati will honor the memory of WW II soldiers who participated in D-Day and the Battle of Normandy, as well as veterans of all wars.

After a color guard presentation by Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 7696 and a brief ceremony, veterans and other attendees will be invited inside the museum for free coffee, donuts and museum tours until noon.
The public is invited.

Coffee will be donated by CAVU of West Chester, with donuts provided by Kroger stores in Sharonville and on Tylervsille Road in West Chester.

“D-Day was the largest seaborne invasion in the history of the world and put Allied troops on the trajectory to win World War II,” said Ken Rieser, VOA Museum board president. “The sacrifice in human life that day alone is sobering—about 4,500 Allied soldiers and from 3,000 to 9,000 Nazi troops.”

During Operation Overlord, which occurred from the June 6, 1944 D-Day landing through August 30, 1944, when German troops retreated east across the Seine River, more than 425,000 Allied and German troops died, according to Barrett Tillman’s D-Day Encyclopedia (2014, Regnery Publishing), on www.HistoryontheNet.com. About 209,000 were estimated to be Allied troops.

“Although many of the soldiers who participated in D-Day are no longer with us, we want to commemorate their sacrifice—as well as the sacrifices of all veterans in all wars since then,” said Tom Keller of Kehoe Financial Advisors. “D-Day is a solemn day, but also an uplifting reminder of what our country can accomplish when we band together for a just cause.”

RSVPs are requested by noon on Wednesday, June 5 for the D-Day commemoration at [email protected] to ensure adequate food and beverages.

2019 Hamvention photos: Friday Flea Market

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This morning, we’re about to head out to the Greene County Fairgrounds for the final day of the 2019 Hamvention. The past two days have been amazing and, as always, it’s been a pleasure to meet so many SWLing Post readers and contributors–thank you for stopping by!

Below, I’ve posted photos I took at the Hamvention Flea Market Friday morning. Note that most of these photos were taken prior to the flea market opening. Once again, I was most impressed with the number of vintage radios on display. Although it had rained early in the morning, it completely subsided by 7:00 AM so the grounds were in great shape by the 9:00 AM opening time.

2019 Hamvention Flea Market Photos

Click on the thumbnail images below to expand each photo. I’ve tried to include price tags when available. I plan to post inside exhibit photos tomorrow.