FAQ and charter for rec.antiques.radio+phono
Phil Nelson
the rec.antiques.radio+phono newsgroup. Part 1 includes the charter along
with much other useful information provided by the "fathers" of this
newsgroup.
You can find the entire rec.antiques.radio+phono FAQ at
http://www.xs4all.nl/~tgale/oradio/faq1.html
I encourage everyone, especially new members, to read the entire FAQ at the
above website. It contains a wealth of good info.
Phil
philn...@antiqueradio.org
Phil's Old Radios
http://antiqueradio.org/index.html
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Section 1.2: The Charter
The so-called `Newsgroups line' appears at the bottom of the screen in some
newsreaders and provides a one-line description of the group's goals:
rec.antiques.radio+phono Audio devices and materials of yesteryear. The
Group CHARTER descripes in more detail what to post and what not to post:
Discussion of the use, repair, and collecting of early standard broadcast
radios, phonographs, and any other similarly-related items designed for home
entertainment sound receiving or sound reproduction.
This group is intended to be a forum for those with an interest in
sound-receiving and sound-reproduction equipment that was generally
manufactured prior to the widespread use of transistors. The group's
discussion, however, will not be strictly limited to vacuum-tube and
mechanical devices, and those with an interest in early transistor radios,
early televisions, and other such items that reflect pioneering audio
technology will be welcomed.
Exclusions:
Amateur radio equipment discussion will be directed to the existing amateur
radio newsgroups and to the boatanchors list. This is only done because
those groups present an established forum for people with an interest in
classic amateur radio equipment. Those classic amateur radio collectors who
also share an interest in early standard-broadcast equipment will fully
appreciate the desire to separate the two interests. Their valuable
expertise will, however, be most welcome in all forums.
"Since the summer of 1993, there has been an ongoing discussion among those
interested in antique radios and phonographs (and other related equipment
and materials) about the possibility of forming this newsgroup. That small
core of enthusiasts has rapidly grown in number, and now includes
representatives of museums, technical specialists, collectors, and novices
with an inquisitiveness about sound reproducing and receiving equipment of
the past. With enthusiasm for the preservation and enjoyment of these superb
expressions of human inventiveness steadily increasing, the time has come to
establish a forum through which knowledge of their history, restoration, and
use can be shared by experts and newcomers alike. This proposal represents
the essence of what an Internet newsgroup can accomplish--it can produce a
collective source of knowledge from which useful information can be drawn
for years into the future."
- Bill Robie, August, 1994
In general, this means:
1. This newsgroup has the name "antique" in it, and primarily addresses home
entertainment equipment. It is not a "catch-all" group for discussing things
not covered by other groups.
2. Items of particular interest to readers in this group: a. Acoustic
phonographs of all types.
b. Early electronic phonographs, primarily for playing 78 RPM disks.
c. Radios, T.V's and associated equipment of the 1920-1960 period.
3. While much of the discussion the group is about radios and phonos of US
manufacture, the group is open for discussion of non-US radios and phonos
from the same period sold primarily to a domestic market.
4. There are a great many opinions about what is "antique" and what isn't.
The focus of the discussion that led to creation of this newsgroup was on
phonograph and radio technology of the 1890-1950 era. The group does include
some discussion of:
a. Monaural vacuum tube "high fidelity" equipment.
b. Early hybrid and transistor home entertainment designs.
c. Early black and white televisions, and a few color sets. However,
post-1950's technology generally diverges from the focus of this newsgroup.
We generally regard 1960 as a cutoff date for appropriateness in this group.
d. Instrumentation suitable for use in design, repair, and calibration of
antique home entertainment items. This includes laboratory-grade equipment
as well as service shop equipment.
e. Discussions about technological history, recording and broadcasting
practices, etc., have been interesting areas of discussion in the group.
5. While not originally sold as "home entertainment" equipment, there is an
interest in jukeboxes, early musical devices such as the Hammond organ, and
movie theater audio, particuarly items manufactured before WW II.
6. We welcome participation by "hams," and include some discussion of old
tube-type communications receivers, particularly from the '30's and '40's in
this group. Amateur radio issues in general are already covered by the
rec.radio.amateur.* groups. The "boatanchor" mail list, which was previously
mentioned here, is, according to the list administrator, a paid subscription
list as of March 15, 1996.
7. Casual buy, sell, swap, and trade, of old radios and phonos, parts, are
within the charter. Please keep in mind that this is a discussion group,
with many non-collectors who have one or two items that they enjoy. This is
not a place to hawk your wares. If you have an old radio or phono or two, or
want to buy a specific make and model of something, then post here. Do not
post blanket "WTB (wanted to buy) notices for any and all old radios, old
transistor radios, phono records, candlestick phones, etc. Also, do not post
anonymously (AOL, Prodigy, and Compuserve users take particular note, as
these systems do not give posters a clear identity). Give a geographic
location.
Before posting a buy/sell/swap item here, consider posting to one of the
newsgroups set up for that purpose. Rec.antiques.marketplace is the
principal group for antique trading, and is regularly read by readers of
this group who want to buy and sell. Rec.radio.swap is a general group for
electronic items of all types. Rec.audio.marketplace,
sci.electronics.marketplace are also good groups to use, particularly for
post-WW II items. Consider using a regional marketplace or forsale
newsgroup, particularly if you are talking about something you do not want
to ship. Remember that this group is worldwide.
Dealers of parts, supplies, and services for home entertainment items are
listed in section 4 of this FAQ.
8. Binary postings. Please do not post binary files (picture files,
uuencoded data, mime attachments, etc.) to this newsgroup. This is a Usenet
convention, not a charter issue. A number of system administrators run
software that detect and cancel binary postings in non-binary newsgroups. If
you want to post a binary file, find a group with "binaries" in the name,
post there, and post a pointer to it here. Keep in mind that binary groups
are not available on many systems, because of the traffic volume involved,
and are poorly propagated.
Some of the things that don't seem to fit well with this group are:
1. Stereo from the 60's and later, particularly things with bookshelf
speakers. The rec.audio.* newsgroups are the place to discuss these.
2. Computers. Usenet has hundreds of newsgroups devoted to computers,
including old ones.
3. Tape recorders other than vacuum tube reel-to-reel units.
4. Video recorders.
5. Guitar amplifiers.
6. Amateur radio equipment except for older general coverage receivers that
sold to non-hams as home entertainment SWL (shortwave listening) sets.
7. Phonograph records---trading should be done in the rec.music.collecting
newsgroups.
8. Off-charter and commercial buy and sell postings. This includes "wanted
to buy, old radios" postings from individuals, and any buy/swap/trade
postings from anonymous accounts where name or location are not given.
Repetitive postings are also unwelcome to most of the readers.
The above are general guidelines, not hard-and-fast rules. If you receive a
response posting or E-mail indicating that your post was off topic, it will
generally point to a more appropriate group. This group has been
historically free of flames. There are some very honest differences of
opinion about many topics, and some of the discussions are lively. The focus
of this group is on positive things. Ad hominum attacks, flame wars, along
with attempts to use the group for commercial purposes, are not welcome
here. Your questions, and your experiences with old radios and phonos are
the lifeblood of the group. Work to make this group a happy and positive
place.
A NOTE ON SAFETY: Virtually everything we discuss in this newsgroups can
present safety hazards of one sort or another. In particular are the energy
stored in phonograph springs and the voltages and currents in electronics
equipment. In addition, processes such as soldering components can cause
fires and serious burns if improperly done.
(See also Q and A 9 in this page, lower down). While the subject of safety
hazards and safe operation, troubleshooting, and repair practices is a topic
of discussion on the newsgroup, such discussions are generally far from
comprehensive. Additionally, many of the processes discussed presume
knowledge of safe practices, and do not go into detail about possible
hazards. Safety is your responsibility. While we may discuss techniques and
practices that work well for us, and that we can use safely, we are not
prepared to give supervised instruction or to audit people's safety
practices. If you are unsure of your ability to work in a safe manner, seek
out local assistance and supervision.
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