1934: AMAZING RADIO RECEPTION FROM AROUND THE WORLD!

As a licensed radio amateur, I have always been interested in radio. My army career with the super secret Army Security Agency had me using an incredible state of the art Collins "R-390" military radio receiver which back in the 1950's was state of the art. As a young boy I had an intense interest in radio, even experimenting with a very primitive "cat's whisker" receiver. Ask your grandfather to explain that antique receiving apparatus. As a teenager, I developed an addiction to what fellow radio buffs call "DX;" which is short for long distance radio or television reception. Thus this article from a 1934 TRENTON magazine telling the story of the revolutionary new radio receivers being sold by downtown Trenton department stores. I found this article completely captivating as will any of my fellow radio lovers; whether amateur such as I (WA2RVU) or just plain "DX'ers.

RADIO: AN IMPORTANT PART OF MY PERSONAL LIFE

These graphics bring back crystal clear memories of that wonderful media known as "broadcast radio" which was a very necessary part of every family back during the 20's through the 1950's. The engraving above shows a typical 1930's family gathered around the radio.
My interest in radio is with me even up to today as I have assembled a vast collection of "OTR" as in "old time radio" transcriptions which have been converted to a medium that lets me listen to those old time episodes of "Superman," "Terry and the Pirates," and countless other programs in my digital collection. At the present time I am listening to "The Ave Maria" hour which was a network program presented by the Greymoor Fathers in upstate New York It is a multi episode transcription on the life of Jesus and I listen to it every night as I am slowly slipping off to sleep.

As to the lower photos, those are the two radio receives I used during my clandestine cloak and dagger mission with the Army Security Agency back in the 1950's when I was stationed first in Germany, then down to Northern Italy where I evesdropped.

1983: WFIL-TV's LARRY FERRARI

I first met him on Philadelphia's channel 6 on Sunday mornings as PFC Larry Ferrari regaled us with his incredible talent as an organ player. Larry was a local legend to those of us who appreciate music with a lovely melody. Mom Glover and women all over the Delaware Valley put down their aprons every Sunday morning to watch Larry make his magical music on that Wurlitzer organ. As can be seen in an article I wrote way back in 1983, I had an interesting encounter with Larry as I linked him up with a fellow amateur radio operator down in Kingston, Jamaica. Larry was the second celebrity with whom I had radio contact back in the 1970's and 80's. The other was a short conversation with my favorite radio humorist at the time, Jean Shepard; also an active "ham."

2012: ATTN: KATHY ANACCARATO AND STEVE CSORGE

Many new visitors to this website discover it as they surf the web from out of the area. There are many who write and send glowing emails telling me how much they enjoy making a visit to their old home town area. Such is the case with Jay Smith, W4OFR, a fellow radio amateur from the sunshine state. As can be seen in the above email I received from Jay, Steve Csorgo's radio amateur QSL card was found in an old desk. Knowing the Kathy and Steve are visitors to my website, I am posting the email for their information. I'm sure they can fill in information for Jay.

2012: I REMEMBER RADIO - BROADCAST, AMATEUR, AND INTERCEPT

http://smilebox.com/playBlog/4d7a41334d6a51324f54633d0d0a&blogview=true

(In order to read some of the text in the above slide show graphics, use the PAUSE ("II" button.)

I spent 3 years in Uncle Sam's Army back in the 1950's in Uncle's Super Secret Cloak and Dagger outfit, the ASA, which was better known and still known today as the Army Security Agency. I was trained as a radio intercept operator, originally assigned MOS 1717, and later changed to an MOS of 058.3. (The 3 being the level of proficiency in receiving Morse Code. I finished with 32 WPM (Words per Minute) and my buddy Eric Wilkinson beat me out with 35. The regular army guys didn't like us too much. To counter their disdain for us, we would sing this song every morning on our way to the big red signal school building at Fort Devens. It is to the tune of "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean:"

"They call us the campus commandos,
Just Boy Scouts in Khaki are we,
But you ought to hear when we shudder,
Whenever they mention K P.
Boy Scouts, Boy Scouts, just boy scouts in khaki are we, are we,
Boy Scouts, Boy Scouts, just boy scouts in khaki are we."

I spent 9 months at Fort Devens, Massachusetts learning the ins and outs of the Collins R390 radio receiver and the various Hammerlund short wave receivers,at the same time learning to type as I learned the Morse code and upped my speed week by week. My typing speed had to keep up with my Morse receiving speed.....'twas a challenge, but being musically inclined, I was told by my instructor that my proficiency in reading Morse code was directly related to my musical abilities. I will be forever grateful to the U.S. Army for teaching me to type, for giving me the ability to get my amateur radio license, and for making a man out of me. GO ARMY!

2011: MY AMATEUR RADIO - BROADCAST RADIO BLOG

I have opted to import my www.gloveradio.com blog into this blog and make it an important part of local history. Few people realize that in this age of unbridled terrorism, weather-related, and other disasters, amateur radio, from its earliest years and up to the present day, has played and will always play a vital part in emergency communications when cell phones are disabled and other modes of communication are wiped out. The one ace in the hole that many but not all amateur radio operators have is their ability to send and receive morse code; an invaluable radio resource when all conventional communication systems fail.

I have also included another of my favorite subjects, broadcast radio, which played such an important part in our lives during the World War II era. Over the years I have accumulated a huge collection of old time radio programs in MP3 format. With the old amplitude modulated ("AM") radio descending into mostly sports and political "talk radio," old radio dramas have vanished from the American broadcast scene. Enter CD's and MP3 players: Now, those of us who are interested in broadcast radio from the 20's through the 50's, can own a library of classic radio broadcasts. My collection is centered around WWII newscasts (Edward R. Murrow, Frank Singizer, Gabriel Heatter, Etc.) and my boyhood radio heroes Superman, Captain Midnight, Terry and the Pirates, Hop Harrigan, and countless other 15 minute serials.
As to amateur radio on the local level, the cell phone has largely replaced the great on the air conversations we had back in the pre-cell phone years with our "2 meter " transcievers. The W2ZQ Delaware Valley Radio Association's radio repeater was alive with local amateurs from dawn to midnight with lively conversation. It is currently a mere shadow of its glory years before cell phones. However, amateurs have other reserved radio frequencies in the radio spectrum. These "high band" frequencies give amateur operators the ability to communicate all over the world with their larger and more sophisticated radio transceivers. (a transceiver is a truncated radio term: TRANsmits, and reCEIVEs) When I finally retire for good and have more leisure time for this fascinating venture, I hope to put a vertical antenna in my back yard and talk to the world with my transceiver which was a much appreciated gift from an old ham radio buddy of mine, Paul W2AEI.

REMEMBER TO RIGHT CLICK ON THE IMAGE AND CLICK ON
"OPEN LINK IN A NEW WINDOW" TO ENLARGE THE GRAPHIC.

1981: DVRA AMATEUR OPERATORS' "FIELD DAY"

"Old Friends are the Best Friends." Above is a photo of two of my friends from the "DVRA;" (Delaware Valley Radio Association) during my 15 or so years as a member of that organization. An unfortunate and UN-deserved personal email attack some years ago effectively severed my relationship with the group for which I still hold great respect. I fondly recall the wonderful "Hamfests" we had over in the Lawrence National Guard Armory where I was the official sign-maker and general "helper outer." During those pre-cell phone years, I was part of the W2ZQ "commuters' net" which met each morning on the way to work, and each evening on the way home. We came from all points of the compass: Hopewell, Ewing, Hamilton Bucks County, Bordentown and other Burlington County areas. "K2AAR," "AB2F," "K2ZSY," "K2ITX" "W2SVV," "WB2EIZ," "WA2BOO," "W2AEI, K3MNX," "W3ZLP," "WA2JZF," "KA2BJC," "KA2DHA," and I could go on and on. All were a part of a very wonderful era in my life. How time has flown! I was in my 40's when I became a licensed amateur back in the mid 1970's. Today happens to be my 78th birthday, and the memories of the wonderful years I spent communicating with all those wonderful "hams" are indelibly imprinted in my memory. I fully intend to keep my WA2RU amateur license and at some point, I hope to pop up a vertical antenna in my back yard and go international. (Thanks to my dear friend W2AEI who gave me a Kenwood TS820 "work horse," I hope to one day get back on the "DX" trail as I become less and less physically active.)
As a personal observation, amateur radio will still prove to be the saving grace for any terror attacks or other disaster that could come at any time,any place. There will always be those of us who know the Morse code, and those dedicated hams who practice emergency message handling on a daily basis in the event of a national disaster. We seldom hear of them in the local press now that the cell phone has become fashionable. However, during any real emergency, cell phone phones become virtually useless as lines become overloaded. Fortunately there will always be the ham radio fraternity standing by to fill the communications void. We have all heard of the the lack of communication during 911 when the New York Police Department and the New York Fire Department had communication problems. Such would not be the case with amateur radio should a national disaster occur. These dedicated hams are quietly standing by, ready to spring into INSTANT action!

That's what the above field day illustrated above is all about!

JoeZ said...

A VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOM WITH MANY MORE TO COME. STOLAT

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Ralph Lucarella said...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOM....BIRTHDAYS ARE OCCURING RAPIDLY FOR BOTH OF US. LET'S HOPE WE'RE STILL AROUND WHEN THINGS IN THIS WORLD AND IN THE TRENTON AREA GET BETTER FOR EVERYONE. BEST WISHES

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Anonymous said...

Tom - Have a happy and very blessed birthday! Hoping the next year is all you want it to be!
Lakeside Girl

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Steve Csorgo Jr said...

Happy Birthday Tom - sorry I'm a little late but busy day on Thursday! Love reading your blog! On vacation next week and hope to stop by the library to give you some more stuff I found. Take care and have a Great Weekend.
Steve Jr

Friday, September 30, 2011

1983: TOM GLOVER, MEET CHANNEL 6's 'S LARRY FERRARI

As holder of FCC amateur radio license WA2RVU, I have spent many hours contacting fellow amateurs all over the U.S.A., and many countries of the world. My fellow "ham" and friend Gerry Jurrens (N2GJ) has compiled a comprehensive list of celebrity amateurs on his web site. (http://users.tellurian.com/gjurrens/famous_hams.html). As for me, the only celebrities I have had conversations with beside the above Larry Ferrari, was back in the 1970's when I spent a few minutes talking to my favorite radio satirist, Jean Shepherd. I hope to once again get back on the air with a future purchase of a vertical antenna in limited size of my property, which will give me at least a bit of coverage of the amateur bands. I have more or less given up on what we hams know as the 2 meter band, due to the lack of activity with the advent of the cell phone.

1925: AMATEUR RADIO WAS A NECESSARY EVIL

As a licensed amateur radio operator, I immediately thought of a fellow amateur and friend of mine, Mr. Bob Schroeder who carries the amateur call N2HX. Bob would have been right at home with those early radio pioneers in blazing new trails in the field of radio communications. This article appeared back in the very early years of broadcast radio when the average home owner sat for hours at his commercial radio, listening for radio stations that were far, far from his living room. It was called "DX;" short for "DISTANCE." I'm sure Bob and many of his other more technically able amateurs would have been in the forefront of experimenting with the incredibly interesting radio broadcasting spectrum. The article above reveals that amateurs ("Hams") were somewhat of a paradox. On the one hand, they were a bit intrusive in out of bounds transmitting, but on the other hand, they had to be treated with kid gloves due to their superior knowledge of the of radio theory.

1970: ED RASER, LOCAL RADIO PIONEER

By the time I entered the amateur radio fraternity back in the 1970's, Ed Raser was no longer active nor did he attend our monthly Delaware Valley Radio Association (DVRA) meetings in West Trenton. However, tales of this legendary local radio man could easily fill a book. Perhaps a current member of the amateur fraternity who visits this blog can add a bit of color to the re-telling of the exemplary life if this noted Trentonian.

2009 TRIBUTE TO A SILENT KEY, K2DQR

As an amateur radio operator for more than 25 years, I am sure I "worked" Joe Lewandowski at some time during the past. I am not a collector of QSL cards, so I really can't verify the contact. However, I did converse on many occasions with Benny Civiletti and a number of other Chambersburg Hams, and I would bet that Joe was one of them. Thanks to the Lewandowski family for the tribute to still another "silent key." R.I.P. and 73's, Joe.

1921: THE PRINCETON "WIRELESS CLUB"

As a licensed amateur radio operator, I am always searching for material on local activities of amateur radio interest. The above is an interesting article on the early years of the "wireless" hobby from Princeton. Today, there is an active Princeton amateur radio club which has been active in the Central Jersey area for a number of years.

1989: WZBN: IN THE BEGINNING

I remember the earliest attempts by Hamiltonian Lou Zanoni to get his very popular local Mercer County television station on the air. As an amateur radio operator, I am fully aware of the many problems we amateurs have in installing a transmitting tower above 30 feet, let alone a commercial tower. Zanoni had a huge obstacle to overcome when he needed to utilize a high tower which would allow for RF transmissions above existing power lines. The neighbors in the Route 33-Shady Lane Avenue weren't about to allow a high tower. Un-deterred, Lou set about finding another location. He found a perfect spot on East State Street near Klockner, in a building that once housed a ball and roller bearing distributor. No sooner did he succeed in overcoming the antenna tower obstacle when along came another very difficult obstacle. TKR cable company refused to allow his programming to be included in their channel lineup. Unless the cable company would relent, the WZBN signal would only be available to those citizens who had an outdoor antenna which could be oriented to the direction of the WZBN transmitter on East State Street. With the low power output of the local channel, there would be only a very limited number of viewers to the new station. At the time, I was hosting "In Focus," a public access program on TKR. I recall one evening when I was doing a program shoot, one of the camera guys observed that TKR was getting negative reactions from many in the public for not including ZBN in their list of cable channels. As we all know, WZBN did indeed receive their rightful place in the channel listings of TKR and their successor, Cablevision. Today, ZBN is a refreshing stop for me every evening at 7:30 as I watch their evening local newscast.

1979: DELAWARE VALLEY RADIO ASSOCIATION CHRISTMAS MESSAGES

Can it be that nearly 30 years have gone by since we DVRA members trudged over to Quaker Bridge Mall and set up the annual amateur radio station? Mall walkers from all over the area stopped by to send a message to that relative, whether in nearby Princeton, or on the other side of the world in Australia. This photo brings back fond memories of the late Leon "Robby" Robinson (K3MNX), and the late Ernie Forte, whose call sign I can't seem to recall even after all those daily conversations we had on the W2ZQ repeater of the Delaware Valley Radio Association. Thankfully, Bob Schroeder is still with us. He has changed call signs from that old familair WA2JZF to today's N2HX. Mark "Markie" Holcombe (Wa2DWY) is also alive and well, even though he has moved out of the area. Those years I spent as an active member of the DVRA are full of very pleasant memories with amateur colleagues who were absolutely the very best. I will keep and treasure those memories until I become what we hams call a "silent key."

2008: A TRIBUTE TO THE LATE Doug Mertz K2ITX

This was posted on my www.gloveradio.blogspot.com website, but for the benefit of those amateur radio operators who are not familiar with my radio website, I opted to post it here on the local history site. Doug Mertz had many Mercer County area friends who may not have read about his untimely passing.

K2ITX, W2AEI, W2FDE, N2HX (Formerly WA2JZF), K2AAR, W3SHY, W3GWZ, WB2EIZ, N2GJ, K2ZE (Formerly K2SNK), K2ZSY, W2SVV, W2CCO, -----oh my gosh, I could go on and on! We have just lost one of the finest gentleman it was my privilege to call a friend. Along with the aforementioned call signs, and many more whose call signs elude me at this particular moment, Doug Mertz was one of our regulars on the morning and evening "Commuter Net" which was a very popular morning QSO center back in the mid 1970's. One of the real treasures to be found in the hobby of amateur radio is the acquisition of life long friends. The memories of our DVRA "Commuter Net" will be with me until we hams all join Doug, K2ITX, in that eternal DX-pedition which will come when we receive the final "CQ" from above. RIP, DOUG!

YOU CAN SIGN DOUG'S TRENTON TIMES GUESTBOOK.
CLICK ON THE FOLLOWING URL:

http://obits.nj.com/trenton/GB/GuestbookEntry.aspx?&PersonID=120246757

1927: AMATEUR RADIO AT THE READY

AS USUAL, THE AMATEUR RADIO FRATERNITY WAS AT THE BECK AND CALL OF UNCLE SAM SHOULD THERE BE ANOTHER WAR. WITH THE ARRIVAL OF THE CELL PHONE AND COMPUTERS, AMATEUR RADIO HAS LOST SOME FUNCTIONS WHICH IT DID SO SPLENDIDLY FOR OVER 100 YEARS. HOWEVER, IF THERE IS EVER A 9-11 TYPE DISASTER, THE AMATEURS CAN BE DEPENDED UPON TO SUPPLY EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS WHEN THE CELL PHONES ARE SWAMPED. EVEN TODAY, OUR LOCAL GUARDIANS OF THE RADIO SPECTRUM HOLD REGULAR ON THE AIR EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS PRACTICES, ASSISTING POLICE AND FIRE, AND PASSING MESSAGES TO VICTIMS' FAMILIES. IT'S COMFORTING TO KNOW THAT THESE DEDICATED FOLKS ARE LIKE OUR VOLUNTEER FIREMEN, READY AT THE FIRST SIGNS OF A DISASTER.

1944: KATHY CSORGO, JUST LOOK AT THAT SMILE!

KATHY: THIS HAS TO BE A RELATIVE. JOE CSORGO WAS ONE OF MY "ALL STARS" WHEN I WAS PRESIDENT OF THE ST. ANTHONY HOLY NAME SOCIETY. KATHY IS THE DAUGHTER OF STEVE CSORGO, W2QJO, A PROMINENT AMATEUR RADIO OPERATOR.

2007: ATTENTION FELLOW RADIO AMATEURS

ABOVE IS AN EXTRACT FROM NJ S1099, A RECENTLY PASSED N.J. LAW WHICH EXEMPTS AMATEUR RADIO OPERATORS FROM THE NEWLY PASSED LAW WHICH PROHIBITS "HANDS ON" COMMUNICATION AND TEXT MESSAGING.

1982: HERB HOBLER, WHERE ARE YOU NOW THAT WE NEED YOU!

DO YOU REMEMBER WHWH? DO YOU REMEMBER THE ADULT PROGRAMMING WHICH WAS BROADCAST BY THAT WONDERFUL RADIO STATION? I ESPECIALLY LIKE THE MANY RE-BROADCASTS OF OLD TIME RADIO THAT WAS ONCE THE HALLMARK OF THE STATION. WHWH WAS TRULY TARGETING THE MATURE, EDUCATED LISTENER.

JOHN MORRIS IS ANOTHER MEDIA GIANT IN THE MERCER AREA. EVEN TODAY HIS 1300 AM GOSPEL STATION IS VERY POPULAR WITH HIS TARGET AUDIENCE. JOHN WORKS IN CONJUCNTION WITH LOU AND GREG ZANONI'S TELEVISION STATION, DOING INTERESTING LOCAL INTEREST SIMULCASTS.

1937: Trenton's New Radio System

WHEN THE TRENTON P.D. INSTALLED THEIR NEW RADIO DISPATCHING SYSTEM, THEY HAD NO IDEA THAT THERE WOULD BE AN INCREDIBLE INCREASE IN RESPONSE FREQUENCY.