"The Big Broadcast" Sunday 3/25 7-11pm est Live

WAMU ^ | 3/25/12 | Ed Walker

[Vision]

Friends, it's Sunday night again. Warm up the tubes for another 4 hours of classic radio programs...

Listen Live

Info

[Vision]

"The Big Broadcast is a Sunday night tradition for families throughout the WAMU listening area. Each week, Big Broadcast host Ed Walker offers listeners priceless recordings of popular radio programs from the '30s, '40s and '50s. Priceless, especially, for a man whose first sentence as a child was, 'Turn the radio on.' "

[Vision]

Happy Sunday Night...Classic Radio Time...

(((((Early Ping)))))

[Vision]

• 07:00 p.m. Johnny Dollar
  12/03/61 #769 Cinder Elmer Matter (Multi-Sponsors) (CBS) (24:16)
• 07:30 p.m. Dragnet
  03/30/50 #042 The Big Gangster, Part 2 (NBC) (26:42)
• 08:00 p.m. Gunsmoke
  06/20/53 #061 Wind (Sus.) (CBS) (29:36)
• 08:30 p.m. Duffy's
  01/04/44 w/Fred Allen (Bristol Meyers) (NBC) (28:50)
• 09:00 p.m. Let George Do It
  09/04/50 #053 Second Degree Affection (Synd) (27:02)
• 09:30 p.m. Dr. Kildare
  03/15/50 #07 Vernon Pendleton (Synd) (28:06)
• 10:00 p.m. Murder By Experts
  04/24/50 Conspiracy (Sus.) (MBS) (29:30)
• 10:30 p.m. Mysterious Traveler
  07/27/04 The Man the Insects Hated (Sus.) (MBS) (29:12)

[Vision]

Nice lineup tonight; lots of variety with a good ending.

I've got a dinner engagement but will be back not too late.

Gina, maybe you can host in the beginning?

[WXRGina]

We’ll be here, Vision, and I’ll keep an eye on the comments!

[Ghost of Philip Marlowe]

Thanks for the ping!

By the way, I just acquired a Zenith T/O D7000Y. What an excellent radio. The BFO leaves a bit to be desired but will still pull in amateur radio with some tweaking.

The tone on this set is incredible. It sounds almost as good as my T/O B600, which is the tube-type. I sure wish I could pull in some old-time radio on it.

[WXRGina]

Does it look like this?

My husband loves old radios and has a swell little collection of antique radios. The best one is a BEAUTIFUL, functioning 1936 Atwater Kent.

[Vision]

Neat. You should try a wifi radio. That will bring in otr and so much more.

[Vision]

How have the shows been so far? I heard some of Bob Bailey driving back from DC.

[WXRGina]

Vision, we have had Internet problems since I posted here this morning. We have been without telephone (land line) since Thursday night, due to freaky-wild lightning storms (with tornadoes here and there and close to 10 inches of rain over a two-day period). So, today, our DSL started getting funky, and we lost it completely for most of the afternoon and up until after the Big Broadcast started.

It came back on finally. The shows have been good, but I have been listening with half an ear and missed most of Johnny Dollar and Dragnet.

I’ve been in touch with area TEA Party groups about their protesting the dropping of my radio blog by corporate.

Anyway, I hope you had a really nice dinner out!

[Vision]

You’ve had a rough week. Hope you are relaxing and ready for a better one.

[Vision]

Night Gina, all. I’m going to the radio.

Keep the faith!

[WXRGina]

Yes, Vision, it’s been a hell of a week, with the one special blessing of my speech to the Alabama TEA Party group on Thursday evening before the axe fell on Friday.

Goodnight, Vision! We’ll talk to you later!

[Ghost of Philip Marlowe]

Exactly like that. I love it. I think it actually pulls in stations better than a Sony-ICF2010 that I had and sold. The analog slide-rule dial allows me to just barely touch the tuning dial to get the reception exact. It seems the digital tuners jump over the sweet spots, but that could just be me.

I bet that 36 Atwater Kent is a beaut.

[Ghost of Philip Marlowe]

I was thinking about that and recalling that one of the Grundig series offered that, but it didn’t get very good reviews (if I recall correctly).

Know of any that have a good reputation and a sane price tag?

[WXRGina]

You're right about the digital tuners. As you know, they are pre-set at the factory, and they may not be perfectly tuned, but with a tuning dial, you have precision control.

Here is a picture of the Atwater Kent. It's not the best photo with the flash, but you can see it fairly well.

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[Ghost of Philip Marlowe]

Wow!

That is beautiful. I love those old tombstones. And it looks like it has the original bakelite knobs...quite a rarity.

The veneer on those old wooden radios is amazing. Some day, when I have enough space and some extra funds (and if the S does not HTF) I want to get one of the Zenith floor models with the robotic tuning dial. I think they are like the 1957 American cars...the peak of design and functionality.

Thanks for the pic!

[logitech]

I like that Zenith.

I’m almost embarrassed how I aquired the Atwater Kent. Somebody gave it to me. One man’s treasure...

On a side note, did you know Mr. Kent made his fortune by inventing the spark gap distributor system that all cars used before electronic ignition? I thought that little piece of trivia was cool.