VRPS CALENDAR
2001

Later episodes include visits to big swap meets and equally-interesting scenes. It is your program director's intention to show the complete series over the next year or so if member interest justifies it. I can't think of any specific show-and-tell stuff to invite members to bring. But we are always interested in seeing what you folks bring in and hearing your stories. So if you have anything at all you would like to show and talk about, please feel free to do so.

Now for something even more important. Unfortunately, I will not be able to attend the February meeting myself. We need a volunteer to bring in a large-screen TV and a VCR. I will provide the tape. If anyone would volunteer to do this please contact Don via email

The program for the April meeting will be about Major Edwin Howard Armstrong. Your program manager, Don Nordenholt, will be presenting. Armstrong and his importance to the history of radio communications will be very familiar to many of you. To others it will all be new. But I will do my best to make it an hour well spent for all of you.

I have dim recollections of some dissussions about the inventor of the regenerative, superhetrodyne and FM principles at VRPS meetings many years ago. But I don't think we ever did a complete program on Armstrong. I think it is time. I think the same could be done for other famous radio pioneers. I hope this might be the start of something.

Armstrong's story is of equal interest both radio collectors and historians and to others with no interest in radio history. He was, of course, the inventor of many critically important radio circuits used to this day. And he was one of the co-founders of the first radio club of any kind, the Radio Club of America, still very much in existence today. But he was also widely known and respected for his famous patent fights with RCA and others concerning his many inventions. That story alone would make a good Hollywood movie, sort of along the lines of 'Tucker'.

Armstrong was an interesting mix of character traits. Brilliant and serious but also a little bit reckless and flamboyant. I am not a serious biographer or historian. (Many of you may know the story much better than I do and I invite your help in telling it.) My hope is to 'whet your appetites' and leave you with an awareness and interest that might prompt you to undertake further research and perhaps even present a follow-up programe in the future.

We'll look at some video from the Ken Burns/PBS program 'Empire of the Air' that was broadcast about ten years ago. I will introduce a few publications from my library concerning Armstrong and his contributions as one of radio's most prolific and important inventors. I will relate a few personal anecdotes that I hope might be of interest.

Please join us. Please participate. If you have any Armstrong items or info, please bring it. If you wish to contact me before hand please do so via email