RCA Heritage Program Museum @ Rowan University
Club Field Trips
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Club Field Trip : November 11, 2023
Radio History at the RCA Museum at Rowan University
By Jon Pearce, WB2MNF
The RCA Heritage Program Museum at Rowan University houses a fascinating collection of radio artifacts from the Radio Corporation of America, Victor Records, and others of the predecessor organizations that were a huge force in all areas of radio and electronics for almost 50 years. On Saturday, November 11, 2023 and for the second time GCARC members were invited over to view this museum, and for a special presentation on the recreation of the radios that were used by the Apollo astronauts on the moon. GCARC member Anthony Cerami N2OAC set up this session along with other members of the Rowan Museum team, and about two dozen GCARC members and guests were treated to a fascinating tour of radio history - and even pre-radio history with the Victor gramophone that relied on nothing more than needle-in-record vibration to create sound. Interestingly, many GCARC members are also former RCA employees - I found John O’Connell K2QA in the library searching for pictures of himself during his RCA days and finding a picture of Anthony in the RCA employee archives. Tony Starr K3TS also pointed out the radio test set that he had personally worked on during his early days at RCA.
After the museum tour we moved downstairs to a meeting room in which former RCA employee Steve DiMedio presented a fascinating session on the radios that he had recreated from the Apollo era. While walking on the moon in their space suits the astronauts used radios that transferred both voice and telemetry data back to the lunar rover and also to the command module orbiting above the moon. Steve showed how he had rebuilt one of these radios after first carefully inspecting an original copy and creating the schematic diagrams. In most cases he was able to use original components although some were unavailable and had to be replaced by modern parts. This radio actually worked for both voice and telemetry, and he was able to transmit his voice over the radio and receive it on a SDR receiver. He was also able to put a heart rate transducer on his chest and show how the EKG would be transferred from the radio and ultimately back to earth.
As someone who's always searching for interesting educational and project opportunities for Club members I took particular note of several areas of this project that he described as great learning opportunities. The first was his need to be able to create printed circuit boards, for which he had to learn the KiCAD PC board software. The second was far more complex - he needed to learn how to use the GNU radio modeling software to design certain parts of the receiving station, including decoding the telemetry. After the session several GCARC members expressed interest in both areas, although GNU radio is quite complex, but we may have a chance to create educational opportunities around some of his presentation.
Thanks once again to the RCA museum staff for creating this terrific opportunity for GCARC and its members.
By Jon Pearce, WB2MNF
The RCA Heritage Program Museum at Rowan University houses a fascinating collection of radio artifacts from the Radio Corporation of America, Victor Records, and others of the predecessor organizations that were a huge force in all areas of radio and electronics for almost 50 years. On Saturday, November 11, 2023 and for the second time GCARC members were invited over to view this museum, and for a special presentation on the recreation of the radios that were used by the Apollo astronauts on the moon. GCARC member Anthony Cerami N2OAC set up this session along with other members of the Rowan Museum team, and about two dozen GCARC members and guests were treated to a fascinating tour of radio history - and even pre-radio history with the Victor gramophone that relied on nothing more than needle-in-record vibration to create sound. Interestingly, many GCARC members are also former RCA employees - I found John O’Connell K2QA in the library searching for pictures of himself during his RCA days and finding a picture of Anthony in the RCA employee archives. Tony Starr K3TS also pointed out the radio test set that he had personally worked on during his early days at RCA.
After the museum tour we moved downstairs to a meeting room in which former RCA employee Steve DiMedio presented a fascinating session on the radios that he had recreated from the Apollo era. While walking on the moon in their space suits the astronauts used radios that transferred both voice and telemetry data back to the lunar rover and also to the command module orbiting above the moon. Steve showed how he had rebuilt one of these radios after first carefully inspecting an original copy and creating the schematic diagrams. In most cases he was able to use original components although some were unavailable and had to be replaced by modern parts. This radio actually worked for both voice and telemetry, and he was able to transmit his voice over the radio and receive it on a SDR receiver. He was also able to put a heart rate transducer on his chest and show how the EKG would be transferred from the radio and ultimately back to earth.
As someone who's always searching for interesting educational and project opportunities for Club members I took particular note of several areas of this project that he described as great learning opportunities. The first was his need to be able to create printed circuit boards, for which he had to learn the KiCAD PC board software. The second was far more complex - he needed to learn how to use the GNU radio modeling software to design certain parts of the receiving station, including decoding the telemetry. After the session several GCARC members expressed interest in both areas, although GNU radio is quite complex, but we may have a chance to create educational opportunities around some of his presentation.
Thanks once again to the RCA museum staff for creating this terrific opportunity for GCARC and its members.
Recreating the Apollo EVCS AM Transmitter
Saturday, November 11, 2023 @ 1000 Hours
The team at the RCA Heritage Program Museum at Rowan University have once again come up with a fascinating presentation for our Club.
Steve DiMedio from that group has put together a presentation on the radios that were used by the Apollo astronauts as they walked on the moon! They were designed by Jack Yanosov, originally at RCA. Steve recreated working models of them which he will demonstrate after the presentation about their design and use.
There will be a tour of the museum. The last visit by the GCARC to the RCA Museum was well-attended and participants had high praise for the event.
Saturday, November 11, 2023 @ 1000 Hours
The team at the RCA Heritage Program Museum at Rowan University have once again come up with a fascinating presentation for our Club.
Steve DiMedio from that group has put together a presentation on the radios that were used by the Apollo astronauts as they walked on the moon! They were designed by Jack Yanosov, originally at RCA. Steve recreated working models of them which he will demonstrate after the presentation about their design and use.
There will be a tour of the museum. The last visit by the GCARC to the RCA Museum was well-attended and participants had high praise for the event.
Special thanks to Club member Anthony Cerami, N2OAC for arranging this visit for the Club.
73 de Jon WB2MNF
GCARC President
73 de Jon WB2MNF
GCARC President
Club Field Trip : October 08, 2022
Pictures by Anthony Cerami, N2OAC
Pictures by Sheldon Parker, K2MEN
- The first is a 1909 Victor talking machine. It was completely mechanically operated. No wires, no batteries no electric power. A diaphragm was located just above the bamboo needle. Sound travelled through a "pipe" connected to the speaker. Volume was controlled by placing a sock in the speaker. ("put a sock in it")
- The second is a 1925 battery powered Radiola. It came with a visible antenna and was battery powered. It was sold without the 6 tubes necessary for it to operate.
- The third is an early tv which spent most of its life in a Camden bar and was donated to the museum. Screen looks to be about 10".
- Number 4 may be familiar to some of us. It stacked 45 rpm records and played them automatically. We had one in the dorm when I went to college.
- The last is a summary of early Victor Talking Machine history.
Sheldon Parker, K2MEN