The Mississippi Historical Radio and Broadcasting Society

Vol 5 #1 April 9, 1996 // November 4, 1996

News Letter

It's been a spell between issues; for that I appologize. However, as I noted at our last annual meeting - I knew that I was going to be busy over the late spring and summer months - or at least I thought I knew. All of us involved in the Medical Records Card project have been busy beyond belief. So to all of you - thank you for your patience and continued support. I will be cranking out many newsletters over the next several months -- until we get caught up.
So--- On with business!
First - the spring '95 show was judged a good show all-in-all - VERY few of the general public showed (ok - 22 to be exact!!) however - the collector community turned out in record numbers! And for a change we had just about the right mix of buyers and sellers. We have received better than a dozen calls and letters (and 5 new members) thanking us for the show and complimenting everyone involved in a nice show. The auction was a big success - that incredible Zenith shutter dial console was a welcome treat! We hope it's new owners are enjoying it! The only surprise and minor dissappointment out of the auction was that the set of SAMS Photofacts didn't sell--- However that set has been transported to Hattiesburg - and are available for use there - contact Bill Gerk for access.
Sales in the flea market were brisk and many bargains were found. The mini-museum was also a big hit - thanks to all who helped put it together. We'd like to place a special thanks to some who went above and beyond on the BC-654 project:

And also a special thanks to Mr. Fisher for bringing his collection of working ARC/5 Aircraft receivers and transmitters for display and demonstrations.

Fred and his Radio at Meridian
Fred and his Radio
Speaking of the BC-654 project - it was very popular at our show - making quite an interesting display. We were invited to bring Fred and his radio to Birmingham for the big show over there. Fred was a huge success! It was fascinating watching from the mezzanine overlooking the crowded sales floor. You could watch people spot Fred from 150 - 200 feet away and make a bee-line towards him! (as most of you know who have stood next to him - he IS an imposing 6Ft+)! Several older gentlemen came up and looked the display over very carefully. Most would carefully just - touch - a part of the display as if paying some sort of respect to things longs forgotten - we knew then we had succeeded in our goal. One gentleman studied over the display for a very long time. I approached him and started a conversation. He noted that we had "done real good..." "You must have someone in your club who used one of these during the war..." I told him no - that we had just done a lot of research on it--- why??? He said "I carried one into Germany in 1945 just like this. And this uniform - the stripes - insignias, is just like mine." He did note that we were missing Fred's knife - often used to make stakes and trim branches to hang antennas - and he also noted the Korea vintage boots - "just a bit different than what we had in the big war...."
Fred and his Radio at Birmingham
Fred surrounded at Birmingham Hamfest
He paused a while, turned some of the controls on the transmitter - patted the radio's top - and turned towards me once again. He had tears in his eyes. He paused a moment more over the radio - turned back and said - "We were about 15 miles inside Germany - we set up to sight artillery. We had just started tuning up when Nick was hit. He was cranking the generator when he caught a sniper's bullet. Several of our boys opened up and got the sniper - but Nick didn't make it." He smiled and moved on to look at the other radios in the display. Several hundred people visited Fred and his radio that Saturday. Many shared what they knew about the BC-654 - some older HAMs are familiar with it as it was a very popular surplus set on 80 Meters in the 50's and 60's. Some youngsters got a look at history - Some oldsters got a trip down memory lane - Some of us got more than we bargained for.

Speaking of Fred - Fred is a standing manikin - which makes it harder to display with the radio. Sammy in his We have acquired another manikin - Sammy - and this one is seated. We have a problem though - Sammy is BIGGER than Fred (can you believe that?!). The shirt sleeves fall six inches short - which looks a little funky. We're trying to locate a genuine shirt of the appropriate size (the pants are tight - but are usable). With both Sammy & Fred - the display is VERY impressive (Sammy seated at the radio - & Fred standing guard...). If you hear of any source for an appropriate size shirt - (LARGE!) let us know!

The Business meeting:
Several points of business were covered during the annual business meeting. Briefly:
1) Election of Officers for 1995-1996:
President: Randy Guttery
Vice President: Bill Gerk
Secretary Treasurer: Sherry Guttery
2) Motion was made to change the Monthly Meeting day/time/something... a long discussion resulted. No concensus was reached on a "day" to hold the meeting. It was also noted that attendance at monthly meetings was light to non-existant at times. A motion was made to temporarily suspend the monthly meetings in favor of meetings held in conjunction with several planned Ham-fests. There were meetings planned every month or so around the area-- Birmingham in May, Jackson a couple of months later, Biloxi in the fall, with a couple in Louisiana in between. It was decided that we would hold a meeting at each of these outside "meets". However - if anyone cared to attend one of the regularly scheduled meetings (i.e. 3PM Second Sunday of each month) - they were certainly welcome. Since the meetings would still be available on that schedule - it was decided to continue the announcement for that in the ARC - and get the word out on the area meets by word of mouth - and this newsletter when posible.
3) The financial report was read by the treasurer and approved by the membership. With our finances in reasonable shape and after a brief discussion -- including the fact that Newsletter issues would likely be few and far between - it was decided to leave the Membership Dues at $10.00

The Flea Market
As noted above - excellent turnout both in buyers and sellers - We don't have a "dollar" figure of course - but over 200 radios changed hands in 3 hours!
The Auction
With the brisk sales in the Flea Market - we were a bit concerned that there wouldn't be much left for the auction. With all of the "stuff" from Mr. Hard's store - we knew we had lots of parts, tubes, the SAMs etc. - but we were wondering about radios. Fortunately several really nice sets showed up specifically for the auction - including a super Zenith shutter dial in very good condition: looked like an oil-down was all the cabinet needed - and the chassis was very clean and complete. The Shutter-dail mechanism was quiet and smooth. We were almost tempted to plug it in and try it - but caution was the correct choice! Everyone seemed pleased with the Auction - as prices were just about average - though the bidding on the Shutter-dial did go above Bunis!

© 1996 The Mississippi Historical Radio and Broadcasting Society.

[Editor's note: Though this newsletter was written when dated - it didn't get printed and mailed until November 1996]

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