The time period after WWII could well be described as "the age of recording". From crude wire recorders and transcription disc cutters that were limited to professional users, the ability to record sound and play it back at will has evolved to the point where it is taken for granted in modern life. It took about 50 years for technology to get to the point where mass production of recording equipment was possible - and affordable for the average person, and while the methods changed, the basic desire to record the human voice and other sounds for posterity has remained the same. In this video, audio recording expert and historian Jack Mullin takes us on a journey from the very earliest days of Edison to the development of magnetic recording technology, including the contributions of his former boss, Bing Crosby and the formation of the Ampex Corporation. And he plays the very first Crosby radio program ever recorded - on the very machine it was recorded on that still works! |
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If you're like most homebrewers, often times you just want to build a one-time-only circuit and end up with a haphazard layout or one you have to tear apart and start over on to get everything to fit. DIY Layout Creator is designed for just this purpose! Not only do you get a layout that will work but a document that shows what you did so when you come back to it 3 weeks la... READ MORE
- Robert Nickels (W9RAN)
Posted: 05/05/2023
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Everyone probably remembers building - or at least thinking about building - a small simple transmitter or receiver from an article in one of the radio magazines. They may not have used the term "minimalist" back then but the idea was the same - no frills, just a simple rig that could be easily assembled and was capable of being used on the air. Nowadays, QRP operati... READ MORE
- Robert Nickels (W9RAN)
Posted: 04/15/2023
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Everyone who listens to shortwave is familiar with WBCQ, Monticello Maine USA aka "the Planet" and it's owner Allan Weiner who has been a legit broadcaster for many years after a youthful flirtation with pirate radio. But if you think WBCQ is a rag-tag collection of old SW transmitters held together by baling wire attached by Timtron - you are WAY out of calibration! &... READ MORE
- Robert Nickels (W9RAN)
Posted: 04/01/2023
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Long-time particpants in the Midwest Classic Radio Net will remember Kelley W8GFG, who was always looking for "anything Harvey Wells". We lost Kelley too young in 2011 but his persistent quest from St. John IN is an abiding memory. I remember meeting him at a Chicago area hamfest and asking if he had any spare Harvey Wells speakers. He said no, they were very ra... READ MORE
- Robert Nickels (W9RAN)
Posted: 03/30/2023
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ROSSVILLE, GEORGIA, ON the border with Tennessee, doesn’t look like a tech town. It’s 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.But in the view of entrepreneur C... READ MORE
- Robert Nickels (W9RAN)
Posted: 03/28/2023
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