InfoAge newsletter, The "Marconigraph" Volume 2, Number 1
InfoAge's "State of the Union" report, published in January 2008.
Click Here for a PDF file of the newsletter.
NJARC's new "Headquarters" at the Belmar Marconi
Station.
The New Jersey Antique Radio Club's long-awaited
permanent home as part of the InfoAge project at the Belmar Marconi Station,
Camp Evans, Wall Township New Jersey has become a reality.
Click Here to go to the InfoAge home
page.
UPDATES
January
19, 2005: by Ray Chase
InfoAge activity is really ramping up.
We have created a two level board structure, a high level celebrity
and VIP board to establish long range policy and go after major funding. Below
that is a working level board that is responsible for detail operations. The
working level board is now meeting every two weeks to plan & guide an
ambitious schedule of events as well as restoration and refurbishment.
We plan on a major infusion of funding this year but the needs are
great and we will be taxed to accomplish all that must be done.
One area
that we are now pushing is an increase in our membership rolls. To this end,
member organizations are expected to contribute a share of the membership.
While we have not set any current numerical goals for member organizations
participation, let me give an example. Garden State Central, the model railroad
group has maintained a 100% membership in InfoAge for several years and they
still do not have any InfoAge facilities to call their own.
NJARC is
recognized as one of the most important segments of InfoAge and our commitment
in labor and material are well acknowledged but we are also one of the largest
groups and we should promote InfoAge membership to our club members. To that
end, I'm suggesting that the NJARC board members should set an example and
become members of InfoAge if you are not already signed up.
For details
go to InfoAge.org towards the bottom of
the home page. I'll be reporting additional details of our plans on a regular
basis and scouting for more members at club meetings.
December
20, 2005: by Dave Snellman (from the DVHRC
Oscillator)
The New Jersey Antique Radio Club opens its
museum at InfoAge in Belmar, New Jersey
The NJARC realized a goal set by
the founders of the club. They opened a museum to display antique radios and
other memorabilia at InfoAge, located at the former Camp Evans in Belmar,
NJ.
While other radio clubs have opened and maintained museums, this one
has many unique qualities.
NJARC's museum is located at 2201 Marconi
Road in Wall Township, NJ. OK, you might say "Marconi Road" is a great address.
Well that's only the beginning. The current location of the NJARC museum is in
the cottage once used by the chief engineer of the American Marconi Company at
their receiving site in Belmar. NJ. Yes, the structure dates back to 1914 and
perhaps the great man actually spent some time there.
After the Marconi
years, the site changed hands and finally ended up as an Army Signal Corps
laboratory. From just before WWII through 1993, the site produced some of the
Army's most top-secret technology. Named Camp Evans, part of Fort Monmouth, it
was known as the Army's "House of Magic."
When the Army decided to
de-commission Camp Evans, a local group formed to preserve the site and convert
it into a science-learning center and museum facility for future generations to
enjoy.
After many years of hard work, the group known as InfoAge is
finally seeing the fruits of their labor. Public and private interest in
preserving this site is tremendous. Many local groups are joining in to assist
in making InfoAge a reality.
The NJARC display is the first display
open to the public on a regular basis. Every Sunday the museum is open from 1
to 4 PM. While the number of visitors is not overwhelming, word is getting out
and interest is growing.
In the museum, NJARC has set up three
"galleries." The first one looks at the early development of radio, from
telegraph keys and sounders to a working Atwater Kent model 20C, visitors are
treated to a trip down the road that early amateurs followed. One example is an
early amateur wireless station. An early RCA Radiola III, along with a "Nipper"
- RCA's early vacuum tube set and mascot are seen in one of the display
cases.
Though it seems out of place in the early radio gallery, a PC is
available to review pages from the infoage.org web site.
Gallery two
takes visitors through a look at radio's "golden age." From the early 1930s
through the WWII years, radio played a very important role in American life.
Millions of radios were manufactured and sold in this country. (Yes, they WERE
made in the USA.) Examples of tuned-radio-frequency (TRF) sets through those
employing Armstrong's superheterodyne circuitry are on display. You can also
listen to vintage radio programs as well as current offerings by local AM
stations on these vintage sets. Radios in display cases show sets you'd find in
many homes. Table radios, portable radios and communications sets are on
display.
The club is also the custodian of the New Jersey Broadcasters'
Hall of Fame collection. Once housed in Freehold, NJ, the collection moved
around the country. Well it finally found a home through InfoAge. NJARC is
proudly displaying pieces from the collection. In the "golden age" room, a
display of vintage microphones is presented. WOR and KYW microphones emphasize
local interest.
One of the goals of InfoAge is to present displays that
are not static, but encourage visitors to get involved. The third gallery is a
"hands-on" gallery. Visitors are encouraged to learn how electricity is
generated - through electrostatic or electromagnetic means. Magnetism is
"de-mystified." Basic electric and electronic circuits are displayed and
visitors are encouraged to "play." A crystal radio and a one-tube radio set are
available for visitors to "tune in" and listen to through earphones. Visitors
wonder what the purpose of the "mixing" bowl is - they learn that by placing a
set of earphones in the bowl more than one person can listen to the radio.
While not hi-tech, it's part of our radio heritage. A vintage WWII military
aircraft receiver is available to demonstrate radio beacon reception, AM radio
reception and reception of shortwave broadcasts.
I could easily go on
about the museum and I could spend "volumes" trying to give you an idea of what
InfoAge is all about. Rather than try to do that, I'd recommend you visit the
museum some Sunday afternoon. Short of that, please visit the InfoAge website
at www.infoage.org. I know either way you'll not be
disappointed.
December 1, 2005: by Ray Chase
Things are
really happening at InfoAge. We now have full access to the Marconi hotel and
associated buildings. A formal transfer ceremony has been scheduled for April
1, 2006. At this time we will take possession of 37 acres and 16 buildings
including the cottages and the Diana site that we currently have. This date
will be a big affair and we will be tasked to show many dignitaries who have
supported us for many years what we really can do. If you have not seen the
Marconi hotel recently you really should come by on a Sunday and check it out.
Many groups have put in a lot of effort and the improvement is spectacular. The
InfoAge board has been meeting every couple of weeks to now take up the
challenge of funding our programs and planning how to use the facilities. We
now have a vintage computer group as part of our family of supporting
organizations. On January 7th we will celebrate the 60th anniversary of Project
Diana, the bouncing of radar signals off the moon for the first time. In March
there will be an East Coast vintage computer festival at the site and then our
transfer ceremony on April 1st. In-between there will be school groups and
other public events. Exciting times for us at InfoAge after many years of
frustration.
Driving Directions:
From the North
Take the Garden State Parkway SOUTH to
EXIT 100 ( Route 33 east), Exit ramp will merge with Route 33 east, continue to
Route 18 SOUTH, follow Route 18 to EXIT 7A, Exit jughandle will put you on
Brighton Ave heading north, follow to bottom of hill, turn RIGHT onto Marconi
Road. InfoAge is at the top of the hill on the right.
From the South
Take the Garden State Parkway NORTH to
EXIT 98, Bear to the right and take the exit for Route 138 EAST, follow to
Route 18 NORTH exit, follow Route 18 North to EXIT 7, Exit ramp will put you on
Marconi Road heading east, InfoAge is at the top of the hill on the right.
From the West
Take 195 EAST, to Route 18 NORTH, follow
Route 18 North to EXIT 7, Exit ramp will put you on Marconi Road heading east,
InfoAge is at the top of the hill on the right.
Here's a map of the area:
Click
Here for personalized driving directions to the meeting.
|
