Radio

John Kannenberg is the man and the mind behind the Museum of Portable Sound. Based in Portsmouth, England, the Museum is actually found wherever John has his iPhone 4S. Visitors sit down with John, don their headphones, and enter the Museum by listening to the curated galleries of MP3s on the device.

We talk to John about the inspiration for this unique institution, how he keeps it running, and the implications for the presentation of radio history.

Additional Links

• Museum of Portable Sound
• Invisible Threads

We were saddened to learn of the passing of Bob Lundquist. Bob was a long-time member of the Long Island Radio & Television Historical Society who spent much of his professional life as an engineer at the RCA “Radio Central” facility in Rocky Point.

This interview between Bob and Connie Currie was recorded in 2015.

Our deepest sympathies and condolences go out to Bob’s family and all who knew him.

Listen to LIRTVHS board member Connie Currie relate some of the radio-related stories and personalities from the town of Islip, Long Island. Including:

• Edwin H. Armstrong in Bayport and Sayville
• Norman Brokenshire in Lake Ronkonkoma
• Clarence Mackay
• WRST in Bay Shore – Suffolk County’s first radio station

Edward Armstrong from the Hope Pioneer, Sep 28, 1922.

Norman Brokenshire from the Indianapolis Times, Oct 25, 1926

Music via Pixabay including:

• Saloon Piano
  Music by FreeGroove from Pixabay
• Going Up Selection, 1912, by Irving Berlin – Live Recorded Piano Music
  Music by Nesrality from Pixabay
• Home Again Blues
  Music by Nesrality from Pixabay
• Faded Letter
  Music by HarumachiMusic from Pixabay
• Chaplin
  Music by PianoAmor

Norm Prusslin came to Stony Brook in the late 1960s and was immediately drawn to the radio station. WUSB was then an AM station heard only in the dorms and building on campus. But there was music in the air, not the least of which was coming from the vibrant concerts given on campus by the likes of Jimi Hendrix, the Doors, and others.

Thus began Norm’s long association with the station, which included its transition to the FM channel as well as a number of thorny issues before the FCC.

In this interview, Norm describes the growth of WUSB and what goes into the care and feeding of a college radio station.

Links

• WUSB Radio
• Stony Brook University: A Pioneering & Legendary Concert History
• WNYE
• WBAI
• Mott the Hoople and Ian Hunter

Article by Frank Fayant from Success Magazine. July 1907.

Peter Kurz is a patent attorney from Germany who fulfilled a lifelong dream by writing a technological thriller based in the early days of the radio industry. The Marconi-Patent weaves together historical events and people into a tale of intrigue, danger, and romance. What’s even better, it features the Telefunken transmission site in West Sayville!

On today’s episode we discuss Peter’s background and the state of radio circa 1914 when Britain was at war with Germany in Europe and the British Marconi Company was at war with the German Telefunken Company in a courtroom in New York.

Peter’s book is currently only available in German but he is working on an English translation so stay tuned!

Links:

• Das Marconi-Patent by Peter Kurz
• Grimeton Radio Station, Sweden

Richard Dillman grew up in Westbury and was soon on track for a life pursuing radio history. After getting his ham radio license in the late 1950s, he began unravelling Long Island’s radio secrets and visiting the area’s important sites: WSL in Amagansett, RCA in Rocky Point, Press Wireless in Brentwood and, yes, the old Telefunken site in West Sayville.

“KPH Marshall, Calif, Operating Table, 600, 725, +2400 meter sets.” Image courtesy of the Maritime Radio Historical Society

On today’s episode he describes the allure of the great stations of radio’s earliest days, the ship-to-shore and transoceanic stations and towers that sent Morse code through the air for profit.

His greatest achievement came on the west coast. Founding the Maritime Radio Historical Society, he went on to help save and re-open station KPH at Point Reyes to the north of San Francisco.

Links

• Maritime Radio Historical Society
• An Overview of Long Island’s Wireless History
• The Telefunken Station in Sayville
• Grimeton Radio Station