Category Archives: Nostalgia

A Panasonic RF-2200 in “The Walking Dead”

Panasonic RF-2200

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Balázs, who adds the following note to his recent radio sighting (of a Hallicrafters HT-32 Transmitter) in the series “The Walking Dead.

Balázs notes that in the season nine finale, he spotted the previously mentioned HT-32 (see image below), in addition to the iconic Panasonic RF-2200 (see image above).

Hallicrafters HT-32 Transmitter

Honestly, I think both of these radios would serve you well in a post-apocalyptic world!

Turns out, The Walking Dead is filmed in Senoia, and Fayetteville, Georgia, USA and SWLing Post contributor, Steve Yothment, lives nearby. As the then president of his radio club, he was consulted last year about radio gear to use on The Walking Dead set. He tells us to look out for an HF amplifier and field strength meter in future episodes! How cool is that?!

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

Balázs spots a Hallicrafters in “The Walking Dead”

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Balázs Kovács, who writes:

Hi Thomas,

Some radio fixing and a plan to create a radio connection between the survivor settlements in the latest (shocking) episode of The Walking Dead (S09E15):

Very cool, Balázs–thanks for sharing!

So can anyone name the model of the Hallicrafters rig on the table?  Please comment!

John spots a spark gap transmitter in Netflix series “Rebellion”

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, John Harper (AE5X), who writes:

Your readers might be interested in the spark gap transmitter depiction in Rebellion, a series currently on Netflix:

https://ae5x.blogspot.com/2019/03/spark-gap-transmitter-depicted-in.html

Many thanks for sharing, John!

Website devoted to the history of WOWO

Photo source: historyofwowo.com

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dave Snyder, who shares the following in reply to our previous post about a chunk of the WOWO fire escape in lucite:

Thomas,

Have you ever visited “www.historyofwowo.com“–?

This site was put together by Randy Meyer and has hundreds of photos from 95+ years of broadcasting. Many pictures are from me as I worked there from 1969 to 1982. The link below is to the promotional items page where there is another picture of the “World Famous WOWO Fire Escape” chunk of steel cast in lucite.

These were made in 1978 after the station moved from the Gaskins Building to the Central Building. (By the way, the Central building is no longer there.)

The Gaskins Building was a dismal place with no windows. The air and news people had to open the door to the fire escape to see if was sunny or raining. That is why the local temperature was from the World Famous Fire Escape. My piece of fire escape is in a box in the basement.

http://www.historyofwowo.com/the_rest.html

Many thanks for sharing this, Dave! WOWO is such an iconic AM station with such a deep history–I’m grateful all of these photos and history are being archived and shared online.

Click here to view HistoryofWOWO.com.

Voice of America Museum director to present history of Bethany transmitting station

(Source: Cincinnati.com)

If you’ve ever wondered why the VOA-Bethany Station needed a secured, square mile of land surrounding its 1944 art deco building in West Chester, Jack Dominic has the answer.

Dominic, the National Voice of America Museum of Broadcasting director, will speak on the “History of the VOA-Bethany Station and the VOA Museum Today” Wednesday, April 3, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the MidPointe Library in West Chester’s community room.

The free event is the second of a four-part series, “The Voice of Truth in America: Celebrating 75 Years of the VOA Bethany Station,” with the MidPointe Library System.

The VOA museum hosts other free events this year to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the VOA-Bethany Station, which now houses the Cold War-era history and broadcasting museum.

“From World War II through the Cold War, the VOA-Bethany Station played a vastly important role in transmitting real news via shortwave radio to people living in countries that lacked a free press,” said Ken Rieser, VOA museum board president. “And it all started here in Cincinnati, with two brothers who developed the technology that evolved into the commercial radio industry.”[…]

The VOA museum will host its fourth annual “75 Years of Rockin’ the Radio” fundraiser Saturday, Sept. 21, with dinner and dancing. Sponsorships are now available.

Museum hours are 1 to 4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays at 8070 Tylersville Road. Admission is $5 for adults and $1 for children.

For a complete schedule of 2019 VOA museum events, “The Voice of Truth in America,” series and WCARA events, visit www.voamuseum.org, www.midpointelibrary.org and www.wc8VOA.org.

Read the full new release at Cincinnati.com.

WWII Machine Shop Supervision film includes the Hammarlund Super Pro

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Colin Snow (KM6NTW), who notes that the following 1944 film “Maintaining Workers’ Interest” from the US Office of Education, features the Hammarlund Super Pro.

The video starts at the point in the film where the Super Pro is featured. To view the film from the beginning, click here.

https://vimeo.com/399908150

Click here to view on YouTube.