IARCHS Meeting Minutes 1/13/18

A regular meeting of the Iowa Antique Radio Club convened at 10:15 at the home of Rob Tracy in Des Moines.   Those attending included Rob, Al Bailey, Bob Elbert, Dwight Baker Keith Lowe and, thanks to Keith, some new, younger members Joe Arling, Thomas Logan, Brodie Miron, Preston Peddicord and Stone Widder.

The minutes of the last meeting as posted on the website were briefly discussed and accepted as is.
There was no treasurer’s report available, however, as there had been no significant club activities since the last meeting the likelihood is that the current account balance is about the same as reported last time plus a little earned interest.

Under new business, the status of the upcoming auction was the major topic.  It is important for members to note that the web site is now up to date and ready to accept pictures of consigned items .   Please get all pictures of items you will be offering for sale to Craig Huseboe at cmhusebo@marshallnet.com.  You will also need to request a lot number for your items, so please also get that from Craig.

In a related note, Craig has said that this will be his last year acting as the auction coordinator as he & his wife plan to become snow birds beginning next winter.  (…. and given how THIS winter has been so far, who can blame him !).  I asked if anyone present would consider taking on the job, Dwight Baker said he was willing to continue assembling the item spread sheet but did not want to expand beyond that role and no one else stepped forward.  So please give it some thought and contact me if you’re willing to help your club out.  It would be a very good idea to get involved sooner rather than later so whoever takes over can benefit from what Craig has learned doing it for the last several years.

Craig has been in contact with Brent Wears and it’s been agreed that all of the fees will be the same again as last year.  The auction is set, again this year, for the last Saturday in April, as stated on the club calendar.  However due to some feedback from attendees we will probably be moving it back to the 1st Saturdayin May.

In other business we discussed the need for everyone to make better / more use of the club’s online resources, especially the website as a place to seek and ask for assistance and parts for a restoration project.

One of the most frequently requested services directed at the website is from someone seeking repair services.  While we do have some contacts for repairs in central and eastern Iowa, there is a need for someone closer to Nebraska, so if any member knows of a person or if YOU are willing to provide restoration services in western Iowa or in Nebraska, please contact me with the information.

I’ve also noticed that our Facebook page gets relatively little traffic – please keep in mind that, that’s also available as a place to share information and, perhaps, request help with a specific problem.

Finally, we need a volunteer to host our next meeting.  As this will be the last one before the auction earlier would be better than later.  Around March 24thwould be a good day, but a week either side would probably serve too.  As this meeting was in Des Moines, for the benefit of our members in Cedar Rapids, Iowa City , Dubuque, etc,  it would be good to meet somewhere east of Des Moines this time.

With that, the meeting was called to a close and we rolled into a repair / training session.  In relatively short order we were able to identify the source of noise in a set brought by one of the new members and point another to the cause of a dead spot in the tuning range of a radio he’d been working on.

As there is always a desire to learn & develop repair skills, Rob set up a good assortment of test equipment to demonstrate how to use a signal injector, a signal tracer and an oscilloscope. He also provided a carefully ‘broken’ radio to use as a teaching challenge for any and all that wanted to do some troubleshooting thereby demonstrating in a very practical way how to approach it for the newer, less experienced members.

It was a good, productive training/ repair session and we wrapped up around 3 PM.
Be on the lookout for a notice of the location, date and time of our next meeting and, again:

Please contact me to host it and take on the job of auction coordinator in 2019 – your club needs you !

Editor’s Note: I have posted Dave Perkin’s minutes, basically unedited, and added Bob Elbert’s photos without captions as I was unable to attend.  Doug Spyrison

Frank Prince additional items

For more info call Frank Prince 262-639-9307.
FOR SALE: Grandfather clock radio, serviced and working great. Radio can be viewed on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/Y1RTGBiCl-s  If interested, make an offer.  Call Frank Prince 262-639-9307.
FOR SALE: Orola wind-up phonograph. Located in Mount Pleasant, WI. The phonograph was made by General Mfg. Corp in Milwaukee, WI in the 1920s. Has nameplate that says “With a tone as rich as gold.” Looking for best offer. If you’re interested in the item, call Ben at 262-412-9112 or Mike Piering at (262)344-3302.
FOR SALE: 1938 Zenith 9-S-262 Shutterdial console radio. The radio has been recapped and restored electrically. The chassis is clean. The cabinet has been partially refinished and has all of its original knobs. $700 invested, asking $725. Located in Mount Pleasant, WI. For more information, contact Ben at (262)412-9112 or Mike Piering at (262)344-3302.
FOR SALE: Zenith Walton 7-S-232
– Replaced all electrolytic and paper capacitors.
– Replaced about 1/4 of the resistors, including the 1Meg in the eye tube socket.
– Replace the speaker wires.
– Cleaned and greased the shutter mechanism. Replaces the felt pads in the mechanism as well.
– Replaced the rubber around the edge of the dial glass.
– Replaced the rubber chassis mounts
– Replaced wrong grille cloth with reproduction.
-Case was restored by Guaranteed Furniture Repair in Berkley, MI. Polyurethane finish was stripped. Toning was restored around the grille. It was coated with satin finish nitrocellulose lacquer.
– Painted the interior with black nitrocellulose lacquer.
– $3200.  Call Frank at 262-639-9307.  For video Click Here
FOR SALE: 1937 Philco 37-116X console radio.  Restored, asking $275.  For video Click Here
For more info call Frank Prince 262-639-9307
WANTED: RCA 110K or 111K console radio, also interested in 1970’s LED watches.  Call Frank Prince 262-639-9307

Frank Prince

Email address: fprince@wi.rr.com

FOR SALE: Full set of Rider’s manuals for sale. Accepting offers.
For more info call Frank Prince 262-639-9307.
FOR SALE: Grandfather clock radio, serviced and working great. Radio can be viewed on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/Y1RTGBiCl-s If interested, make an offer. Call Frank Prince 262-639-9307.
FOR SALE: Orola wind-up phonograph. Located in Mount Pleasant, WI. The phonograph was made by General Mfg. Corp in Milwaukee, WI

IARCHS Club Meeting Jan 13 2018

Happy New Year everyone, I hope you’re all warm and comfortable in you winter workshops surrounded by projects (glowing tubes make nice little space heaters you know).

I want to remind you all of the club meeting / repair session we have coming up.

Here are the details:

When:  Saturday Jan 13th from 10 AM until whenever .

lunch will be provided   Please RSVP Rob at robsradioactive@gmail.com so we know how many plan on attending.

NOTE: The snow date, if needed, will be the following Saturday

Where: At the home of Rob Tracy  5100 Welker Ave. Des Moines

What: A brief business meeting followed by a hands-on repair session for those wishing to work on / learn radio restoration skills or wanting another set of eyes to look at a tricky restoration project.

Bring your projects and plan to share some time with fellow antique radio enthusiasts.  I hope to see you all there .

Dave Perkins, Club President