Museums

[stevehertz]

We went back to the Black Country Museum today. There's always something new to see and the aforementioned 40s, 50s, and 60s street is now open including Stantons TV, Radio & records shop. Also, when you visit you get a pass for a whole year, so it was free entry this time.

Prior to today's visit, I got in touch with the Black Country Museum's Radio restoration expert Phil, AKA our own PhilG4SPZ. Phil was working on a Ferranti chassis in the workshop at the back of Griptons, and we spent a while chatting about the museum, sets etc etc. He's doing a great job there. Photos below.

Oh, and there's a Marsh & Baxters in the '60s' street and their huge pork pies are to die for. Not to mention the fish and chip shop.

[pmmunro]

The Solon soldering iron is a nice period touch.

PMM

[HamishBoxer]

Still got at least 2 Solons, 25W and 15W.

[Phil G4SPZ]

It was a great pleasure to welcome you and your wife to the Museum, Steve. I hope you enjoyed the rest of your day and that your homeward journey was less fraught than your drive this morning!

Thank you also for the excellent photos and for the compliments. Yes, Peter, I was using my personal 25 watt Henley Solon which is very effective on vintage wiring. Unfortunately some slightly out-of-period items were visible, particularly the Taylor 40kOPV multimeter that lives in my toolbox. I normally use the Museum’s Avo Model 7, but it does take up a lot of room on the bench.

Maintaining a truly accurate 1939 period appearance is quite tricky. Whilst we were engaged solely in restoring pre-war radios it wasn’t too difficult, but as the workshop is the only reasonably-equipped workshop space available to us, we have of necessity had to use it for the restoration of mid- to late-1950s radios and TVs intended for the newly-opened Stanton’s, set in 1959. So I find myself having to explain away the presence of TV sets and VHF radios that would have still been two decades away in 1939!

As I said, it was good to see Steve today, and I would of course welcome visits from other Forum members. I’m there most Tuesdays, so feel free to drop me a PM if you’re thinking of visiting.

[Peter.N.]

I was selling new radios in the '50's but most of the sets we had in for repair were pre war, most of them were fairly easy to work on except the Philips with the Bowden cables.

We charged accumulators too.

Peter

[stevehertz]

Phil tells me that the photos above are to be used in Black Country Museum publicity material. You saw them here first.

[Trevor]

Purchased my first Solon some 63 years ago. A great tool.

[Peter.N.]

I think mine might have been even longer ago than that, I was at school at the time, I'm 84 now. By the time I started work we had those 'Primax' instant heat guns with a 'universal' plug with spring loaded pins to fit any of the plethora of different sockets we had then.


Peter

[Paul Stenning]

Please don't drift onto soldering irons, they are off-topic for this thread.

[Peter.N.]

Sorry

[David G4EBT]

Ye Olde Hurdy Gurdy Museum of Vintage Radio; Howth, Co. Dublin, is located in a Martello Tower. I’ve never visited, though it looks fascinating, both in terms of the history of the tower itself, and the radio museum. Anyone visiting the Republic of Ireland any time might wish to drop by. The website is here: https://sites.google.com/site/hurdygurdymuseum/home

More information about the museum is here:

https://sites.google.com/site/hurdygurdymuseum/more-information

I was puzzled as to how the Museum got its name.

Most of us probably know what a hurdy gurdy is. For anyone who may not know:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurdy-gurdy

Some will know what they sounds like. If you've never heard one:

https://www.bing.com/videos/riverview/relatedvideo?q=Hurdty%...08C0D9B71949E43F87CF08C0&ajaxhist=0

So why is a hurdy gurdy museum full of vintage radios and gramophones? Apparently, ‘hurdy gurdy’ is, or at least was, a colloquialism in Ireland for a radio or gramophone, so you won’t find a hurdy gurdy there, which might disappoint some visitor, but be a relief to others.

‘Hurdy Gurdy Man’ is a very watchable short documentary about the small museum dedicated to the history of ‘wireless’ and the owner and curator, Pat Herbert. This documentary won a Best Lighting nomination for its Director/Lighting Camera Stuart Duff in the Limerick Film Festival: https://vimeo.com/121019017

There is a little booklet about Pat Herbert and the museum which is an interesting read:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-yejrlDvAx_SkZ5MHIzbnlBcFE...esourcekey=0-JAMC7EvYqsICmqp-wBrZsw

Sadly Pat Herbert passed away on the 18th of June, 2020. What a legacy he left for the enjoyment and enlightenment of others.

(The museum has it's own amateur radio station 'EI0MAR' but don't know when or how often it's on air).

Hope that might be of interest.

[dave walsh]

David, I inadvertently mentioned Museums on the recent "Decline of interest in 1920's radios" thread ie The Black Country and Amberley West Sussex ones but apart from the Radio museum that you mention, at Dublin there is also one in a Martello Tower at Seaford [No 74 very near Bexhill] that I haven't visited, and which also houses a large collection of Radios and TV's.

There is a photo on their Facebook page [This week's favourite object 2020] of a combined TV and Radiogram. I don't know the make but it's big and 1950's probably. I also have intentions to visit a Distillery near Dublin at some point so I could combine the two sites! It opened as the first new one for 120 years, a few years back. My son sent me a bottle of "Poets Tears" made there because their family name is also Walsh. Sadly, I can't really claim to be Irish but I know from experience that it won't matter a bit, with a surname like mine .

The song "Hurdy Gurdy Man" was a fairly big hit for Donovan in the sixties. I've always thought that it was a sort of Medieval barrell organ [think the original b+w Hunchback of Notradame film]. It was on wheels and you played it by turning a handle or maybe it was across the chest, like a piano accordian. Either way the colloquialism [what a great word!] fits the record player analogy you describe, with the circular movement of the handle and the LP.

Regards,

Dave Walsh

Bexhill E Sussex

[SiriusHardware]

Visited the NT Blickling estate today and was interested to find that there is a small museum on-site dedicated to former RAF Oulton which was close by. It's quite small and might not be worth a specific long trip, but well worth making time for if you happen to be visiting Blickling anyway or if you have a specific interest in the history of that airfield of course.

I learned a few things I didn't previously know, for example I never realised that the RAF had ever flown B17s. Also that our bomber formations were eventually accompanied by aircraft specifically equipped as electronic warfare platforms with jammers specific to the Freya and Wurzburg radars, as well as with 'Window'. Interesting little museum.

[Stuart R]

This week, some friends and I made a visit to the Clockworks Museum that I mentioned in post 148. I know there are plenty of clock enthusiasts here, so hope it's OK to give it a mention.

http://theclockworks.org/about

This Museum concentrates mainly on Master Clocks - Gents and Synchronome from the UK and others from the Continent. All with slightly different designs in order to develop the best accuracy. Clocks from the GPO, BBC and London Underground feature. Most are in working order and it was fascinating to see and hear the movements operating.

Alex, the Curator-in-Residence welcomed us with a mug of coffee, gave us an introductory tour and then left us to enjoy the sights and sounds whilst he got on with his work. He's a qualified Clockmaker who has worked on some very well-known clocks. There's a well-stocked Library if you need to do some research and a further display of clocks, including some vintage electricity meters.

The Museum is tucked away in a small side street, but very close to West Norwood station in South London. It's less than a mile from the British Vintage Wireless and Television Museum in Dulwich, so would be well worth arranging a visit to both if you're in the area.

Visits are by appointment; Mondays, Tuesday and Fridays are best at the moment.

SR

[Stuart R]

Me again, with a short report about Rotterdam's Radio Museum.

I visited this weekend and spent two hours there - which was not quite enough! Two knowledgeable and enthusiastic volunteers showed me around and even made me a half-time cup of tea! I could have done with more time there.

A very thorough collection of Radio, TV, record players, tape recorders, HiFI and some home computing. From huge 'sideboard' radiograms to tiny novelty sets.

On arrival, vintage tunes were coming from a 1928 Philips 2514 radio, fed from an in-house AM modulator as there are no MW broadcasts available in Holland anymore.

The Museum was founded by the late director of the 'Correct' Electrical store in Rotterdam back in 1998, and the collection is now housed on the 2nd floor above the shop after moving from the railway shed across the road, which is still shown as the location on some on-line maps.

The Museum is open 13:00-16:00 Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday and is just a 5-10 minute walk from Rotterdam Noord station, served by trains, tram and bus. Or a 20 minute cycle from the city centre on the lovely Dutch cycle lanes.

https://www.rotterdamsradiomuseum.nl/

[Stuart R]

'Correct' isn't a chain, so you should be able to pinpoint the location:

Ceintuurbaan 111
3051 KA Rotterdam
Telefoon: +31104618618

email: rrm@correct.net

If you've got room in your luggage, there are a usually a few sets for sale.

[Phil G4SPZ]

Dalbeattie Museum recently reported the sad death of its founder Tommy Henderson:

http://www.dalbeattiemuseum.co.uk/

The Museum is managed by a group of trustees and is still open Mon-Sat 11.00-16.00. I’ll be in the area shortly and will visit again.

[Phil G4SPZ]

Originally Posted by Phil G4SPZ

I’ll be in the area shortly and will visit again.

And it was as good as ever!

[cathoderay57]

There are relatively few radio sets on display at the V&A in London, but their substantial collection of sets and ephemera can be viewed online here https://collections.vam.ac.uk/search/?page=1&page_size=15&q=radios Jerry

[TonyDuell]

Last time I visted the V&A, admittedly some years ago, their display of radios was larger, better organised, and better described than the ones in the 'science' museum across the road!