THE WEIRS TIMES, Thursday, March 25, 2010

11

by Mal Fuller

Contributing Writer

I don’t often mention my

old radio hobby anymore, mostly because I haven’t regained the stamina and strength to do much wres- tling with heavy old radios in my shop.

I’ve not taken

on any significant repair work since I had my stroke a little over 3 years ago. But, Malzy and I still have the radios that we have collected and restored. For years now, I’ve been on WBCQ every Friday night. Each week, I do a seg- ment on the Alan Weiner Worldwide radio program called the Antique Radio Corner. Mr. Weiner, the station’s owner, is himself extremely knowledgeable on a wide spectrum of radio subjects. Together, with Alan in Florida or Maine depending on the season and me here in New Hampshire regardless of the season, we manage to attract a loyal audi- ence. Beginning last Decem-

ber, my WBCQ segment began to appear on US- tream. UStream is an Internet service for video, sort of a computerized television service if you will. Since I’ve gone to video, I’ve done a “Show & Tell” segment on a differ- ent antique radio from our collection each week. My video camera is a built-in feature of my MacBook laptop computer. It is at the top of the computer display’s lid. For the pre- sentation of most radios, I “simply” (how much the radio weighs determines how simply) put the radio at one end of our kitchen table and rotate and tilt the computer and its lid at the other end of the table, until the radio is nicely centered in the picture. When the featured radio is a big one, too big for the

the Clown hair, were defi- nitely made for radio and not a TV camera! In spite of these embarrassing facts, I’ve decided that it’s only fair to notify my loyal readers of this down-home TV production, so they can laugh along with regular WBCQ listeners and view- ers! These presentations sort of have a Marty Eng- strom type flair to them I suppose. You’ll probably not be

Radio collectors know that having the box a radio came in almost never happens. But here’s our 1941 Zenith “Pocket Radio” in its box. Zenith spelled Poket with one “T” on the box and with two “T”s inside the radio’s lid! Poetic license?

table, my laptop’s battery, along with the computer’s WiFi connection to the In- ternet, makes the camera portable enough to bring wherever in the house the

radio is located! I’ve kept the news about

this new video presenta- tion out of my Weirs Times articles to allow time for my presentations to be-

come more polished. Well, a review of what I’ve done so far reveals no evidence that anything has become more polished. Not only that, my face and my Bozo

surprised to learn that a technical glitch can make my presentation somewhat disconcerting. What I say during my presentation is heard both on UStream and over the air on WBCQ. However, during my pre- sentation, Alan Weiner makes relevant comments too, but his comments can only be heard by those who are listening to the WBCQ broadcast on their short- wave radio. For the most coherent presentation, you’ll have to watch on your computer while lis- tening on your shortwave radio. It is sort of akin to early radio broadcasts in stereo, where one stereo

See RAMBLING on 12

16th Annual JTG Music Memorial Extravaganza • March 28th, 2010

To Benefit The Gnerre Music Scholarship Fund

No Cover Charge! Donations at Will. Limited Reservations!

Taylor Guitar Raffle!

Model 314C • List Price $2,230.00

Raffle Tickets: $20.00 • Only 100 Tickets Sold

(Need not to be present to win)

Very Musical, Very Italian, Very Good!

Giuseppe’s

For Reservations, Call Giuseppe’s at 603-279-3313

SHOW TIME

PIZZERIA

Continuous Hours of Great

Live Music Starting At Noon!

Performers include:

• Giovannie Varano • Don Bergeron & Friends, Janet & Micah Sanguedolce • Justin Jaymes • The Crunchy Western Boys • Pocket Change • No Limitz • Many more, too numerous to mention!

Mill Falls Marketplace • Meredith, NH • www.GiuseppesNH.com Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40