{"id":56221,"date":"2023-04-04T06:05:38","date_gmt":"2023-04-04T10:05:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=56221"},"modified":"2023-04-04T06:05:38","modified_gmt":"2023-04-04T10:05:38","slug":"radio-waves-vacuum-tube-revival-kmj-documentary-2023-domestic-broadcasting-survey-and-radio-in-zimbabwe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2023\/04\/radio-waves-vacuum-tube-revival-kmj-documentary-2023-domestic-broadcasting-survey-and-radio-in-zimbabwe\/","title":{"rendered":"Radio Waves: Vacuum Tube Revival, KMJ Documentary, 2023 Domestic Broadcasting Survey, and Radio in Zimbabwe"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Radio Waves:\u00a0 Stories Making Waves in the World of Radio<\/h2>\n

Welcome to the\u00a0SWLing Post\u2019s<\/em> Radio Waves<\/em>, a collection of links to interesting stories making waves in the world of radio.\u00a0<\/strong>Enjoy!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Many thanks to SWLing Post<\/em> contributors Ulis Fleming, Dennis Dura, and Tracy Wood for the following tips:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

One Man\u2019s Quest to Revive the Great American Vacuum Tube (Wired)<\/a><\/h2>\n

The prized retro audio components are mostly manufactured in Russia and China. Now, a small Georgia company is rebooting US production.<\/p>\n

ROSSVILLE, GEORGIA, ON the border with Tennessee, doesn\u2019t look like a tech town. It\u2019s the kind of place where homey restaurants promising succulent fried chicken and sweet tea are tucked among shuttered businesses and prosperous liquor stores. The cost of living is moderate, crime is high, politics are red, and the population has withered to 3,980.<\/p>\n

But in the view of entrepreneur Charles Whitener, Rossville is the perfect place to stage a revival in US technology and manufacturing\u2014albeit with a device that was cutting edge when the Ford Model A ruled the roads.<\/p>\n

Whitener owns Western Electric, the last US manufacturer of vacuum tubes, those glass and metal bulbs that controlled current in electric circuits before the advent of the transistor made them largely obsolete. Tubes are still prized for high-end hi-fi equipment and by music gear companies such as Fender for their distinctive sound. But most of the world\u2019s supply comes from manufacturers in Russia and China, which after the transistor era began in earnest in the 1960s helped sunset the US vacuum tube industry by driving down prices.<\/p>\n

Whitener, a 69-year-old self-described inventor, vintage hi-fi collector, and Led Zeppelin fanatic, bought and revived AT&T\u2019s shuttered vacuum tube business in 1995. The business has ticked along in the era of cheap overseas tubes primarily by serving the small market for vacuum tubes in premium hi-fi equipment with a model called the 300B, originally designed in 1938 to enable transoceanic phone calls. [Continue reading…<\/a>]<\/p>\n

KMJ | 100 Years in the Valley (Valley PBS on YouTube)<\/a><\/h2>\n

100 years is an incredible milestone for any business or organization! In this Valley PBS Original Documentary, we take you back in time as we explore the origins of KMJ as a conservative talk radio station as well as the long-lasting legacy and impact of their century-long run on the air and in the hearts & minds of their listeners.<\/p>\n