Last time in this column I examined a variety of items. This week I’ll do the same thing to pick up a lot of neat sites with good info for engineers and broadcast history buffs.
Bob Groome’s Variety of Neat RF Stuff
Bob’s site has a lot of good radio and engineering stuff, plus plenty of specs on both AM and FM antennas, and some excellent calculator links for working with RF.
Open Source Hardware
This is new to me, but some people are getting into the 21st century version of “100-in-1 project kits” by putting together their own RF gear. This link takes you to different sites that sell “Great Scott” kits. Looks like fun!
Old Radio Stations — Radio Station History
As a fan of broadcast history, this is an unusual site (mostly plain print) with the earliest info on wireless and the earliest days of radio. It’s like the “beginning of radio history.” You might enjoy looking at this, especially if you’re doing some radio history research.
Mexican Border “Radio Blasters”
If you’re from anywhere near the U.S.-Mexico border, you are probably aware of the “X” stations (the beginning call sign designation for Mexican radio stations). Some have had very well-known American personalities on their airwaves (like Wolfman Jack). Our Canadian neighbors to the north start their call letters with “C”, and there have been plenty of great Canadian “waves” that have traveled across the upper U.S. But this time, a link to some of our well-known “Southern neighbors.”
And finally …
Here’s a “laughable” storage unit find! If you’ve seen “Storage Wars” on TV, you’ll especially like this “find” from a storage unit. It’s an incredible piece of early broadcast technology.
If you stumble across a good or unusual web site that might be of interest, please don’t hesitate to send me the link and any info you might have about it. My email address is dan_slentz@yahoo.com.
