Museums. Update of previous threads.

[Fezziwig]

Know any? Been to any?

[Fezziwig]

If you go to The Air Museum at Duxford go to the Ham Radio shack and make it clear you are very interested in radio. They might take you over to a shed full of radio stuff not normally available to the public.

Might be an idea make contact with http://www.duxfordradiosociety.org/ before you go.

[Fezziwig]

Fort Perch Rock, New Brighton, Wirral..


http://www.fortperchrockmarineradiomuseum.co.uk/

[Alistair D]

Museum of communication in Burntisland Fife. It is just about to close down for the winter but if you around any Wednesday or Saturday just ring the doorbell. There is usually members of staff in and they will quite happily show you round.

http://mocft.co.uk/

Al

[Fezziwig]

Ta, It is in the Website.

You can see the building and the stubs of several masts at the Waunfawr Marconi station near Caernarfon.

http://g4usb.net/IMD/station-histories/waunfawr-gb4md/

[Radio Wrangler]

I've recently had an email about the MOC

The museum of communications in Burntisland will be open next Wednesday for a meeting of the Lothians Radio Society, with a past president of the RSGB giving a talk on a century of amateur radio. Free for members, a fiver for non members, so they must be having a membership drive

David

[Alistair D]

They are looking to be out there more.

Today I helped out the museum set up a small display at an EMC seminar.

Try to get there early and ask them to show you the 40 tonnes of old radio equipment in their stores.

Al

[Fezziwig]

Meanwhile 600 miles South is..

http://www.porthcurno.org.uk/

Closed at mo but watch that space.

[CambridgeWorks]

Museum of Brands, London, near Notting Hill Tube station. (About 10-15 mins walk)
www.museumofbrands.com/
My wife and I visited on Saturday 12 October and spent around 2 hours looking round. Very fascinating product range (food, household product brands etc) dating from Victorian time to present day. There was also large assortment of radios and tvs displayed, which I found very interesting. I guess the museum owner (Robert Opie) has a special interest with radios and tvs?
I imagine around 70 - 100 separate radio / tv displayed, from crystal sets through valve to transistor. However, I did not see one Dansette record player or a reel to reel tape recorder for some reason - perhaps in storage so that displays can be re-arranged??
I felt that it was a very worthwhile place to visit, especially with 50% discount on admission for National trust members.
Hope this museum has not been posted here before, as I could not find it on a forum search.
Robin

[Ed_Dinning]

Hi Gents, Discovery Museum, Blandford Square Newcastle. All sorts of engineering equipment, Charles Parsons steam yacht Turbinia as well as lots of Electrical stuff as the NE was the first area to network power at 66Kv.

I'm presently assisting setting up the reserve collection so that visitors can have an escorted tour with informed guide.

Ed

[ukcol]

...... then a visit to the National Technical Museum is a must.

This museum reopened 2 years ago after a revamp and has collections of cars, locomotives, aircraft, clocks, photographic items and much more.

There is a room devoted to television and some of the items I show below. It is worth mentioning that for a small fee (about £3) you can photograph the exhibits.

Colin M

[ukcol]

More pictures.

[Stuart R]

I've recently visited the Museum of Brands, Packaging & Advertising that Robin refers to in post 9. It's relocated again and is now a <5 minute walk from Ladbroke Grove tube station in London.

I hadn't seen Robin's note before so didn't expect to see any technology on display. I should imagine there are now over 200 small radios, 1950s-1990s in a glass cabinet. The display includes a DAB portable - which for some reason is on show 'back-to-front'. I also spied another display cabinet with some 1930s-40s Woodies, whch were hidden from view.

A new 'Time Tunnel' area shows popular cultural items from the Victorian times through to the present day. From the 1920's display onwards- each decade features a radio set or two and also quite a few TV sets, including a wormy HMV 904/905. Many early copies of the Radio Times are also on display. There is now a Dansette record player and a 70s reel-to-reel tape recorder - with box.

This was all an added bonus; it was interesting enough viewing the displays of everday packaging. Seeing how some brands have evolved since the early 1900s and are still with us, whilst others come and go. We stayed for three hours.

Everything is behind glass and no photography is allowed but you can find someone else's photo of the main radio and TV display on Trip Advisor

SR

[grahamperrin]

East Sussex

A few months ago whilst out for a drive with a friend I was led to Seaford Museum – in the Martello tower on the esplanade. Blink, and you'll miss this (in the plan):

6. Comprehensive display of early gramophones, radios and televisions.

My visit: after the time it took us to eat two ice creams, we arrived at the museum door just as it closed for the day. So I look forward to a proper visit in August

Essex

From commentary under EK Cole treasure trove discovered (From Echo) (2008-09-30):

… a superb collection of Ecko Memorablia that lies almost forgotten in the Priory Park Museum. Lets hope these recently discovered photos can be displayed in an exhibition for all the public to enjoy. It would be fitting for some sort of proper permanent display could be found to celebrate the existence and achievements of E K Cole in local industry. Nothing now remains of his factory and offices in Priory Crescent. …

Originally Posted by maxwell

A few years ago I visited Prittlewell Priory; http://www.southendmuseums.co.uk/ although not a technical museum, they had a room devoted to examples of products manufactured at the nearby Ekco works. There was around fifty radios and televisions dating from the early thirties made at the factory, maybe only worth a visit if you are in the area.

Originally Posted by Ekcoman

… Seems many old manufacturing sites of radios/record players have now disappeared including my local one at Priory Crescent, Prittlewell which was once home to EKCO. …

For posterity (captured on 2008-01-12): http://web.archive.org/web/200504031...museums.co.uk/

… a major "communications" display, centred around the products of the EKCO (E.K. Cole) factory …

When I last visited, there were some very interesting non-EKCO items. I grew up in Benfleet, not far from Southend-on-Sea, so this museum – in the centre of a lovely park – had a special place in my heart.

More recently: £1.8m restoration of Prittlewell Priory is complete (From Echo) and sadly neither that page, nor http://www.southendmuseums.co.uk/prittlewell/ mentions the previously held collection; I have no idea what happened to it.

Side note

Seaford Museum listed at British DX Club - Radio Museums & Vintage Radio in the UK.

[Hartley118]

The Orkney Wireless Museum in Kirkwall is a gem and well-deserving of a visit whenever you're within range. Within a rather compact space, there's great variety. Here are some pictures I took on a visit earlier this month.

The jukebox from the local Pomona Cafe is a lovely piece of 1950s nostalgia that's in need of some TLC

Thanks to Peter Stokes and Liz Gilmore, Volunteer Custodians, for an interesting and enthusiastic discussion.

Martin

[Hartley118]

...and here's a pic of the rather cute exterior of the Orkney Wireless Museum so you can recognise it when you see it.

[MurphyNut]

I'm surprised there isn't more Wireless Museums in our country considering how important wireless was prior to Television getting off the ground.
I remember vising the Isle of wight about 25 years ago and enjoying about 4 Museums mainly devoted to domestic radio, alas they are all gone last time I visited.
This is a real shame due to the historic importance of the early Marconi wireless transmissions on the island.