Radio Tower 27: The History of Radios with John Vuolo. Part II
Release Date: 12/01/2020
The Radio Tower
John Caracciolo has been a mainstay in Long Island radio for decades, from learning his trade at WNYT to the glory years at WLIR to now overseeing stations like LI News Radio (103.9 FM) and La Fiesta (98.5 FM). On today’s episode you’ll hear more about his journey from engineer to entrepreneur and why he thinks radio is still a vital force in people’s lives. You’ll also hear about the people he misses from the scene, including Bob Buchmann (WBAB) and Jack Ellsworth (WALK, WLIM). Links (WLIR documentary)
info_outline Radio Tower 48: Alex Magoun and the IEEE History CenterThe Radio Tower
Dr. Alex Magoun is the outreach historian for the IEEE's History Center (IEEE stands for the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers). On today's episode, he gives us the history of the History Center and the organization's drive to document and preserve the innovavtions and developments fostered by its members over the years. Along the way we talk about engineers and inventors such as Philo Farnsworth, Edward Armstrong, and Vladimir Zworykin. We also discuss what drives innovation in technology, the public and commercial aspects of funding it, and the many organizations and...
info_outline Radio Tower 47: John Kannenberg and the Museum of Portable SoundThe Radio Tower
John Kannenberg is the man and the mind behind the . Based in Portsmouth, England, the Museum is actually found wherever John has his iPhone 4S. Visitors sit down with John, don their headphones, and enter the Museum by listening to the curated galleries of MP3s on the device. We talk to John about the inspiration for this unique institution, how he keeps it running, and the implications for the presentation of radio history. Additional Links
info_outline Remembering Bob LundquistThe Radio Tower
We were saddened to learn of the passing of Bob Lundquist. Bob was a long-time member of the Long Island Radio & Television Historical Society who spent much of his professional life as an engineer at the RCA "Radio Central" facility in Rocky Point. This interview between Bob and Connie Currie was recorded in 2015. Our deepest sympathies and condolences go out to Bob's family and all who knew him.
info_outline Radio Tower 45: Long Island Home Front with Josephine EichnerThe Radio Tower
We're revisiting our Long Island Home Front oral history project! Although most of our interviews foccused on people who experienced the years of World War II on Long Island, we also met a few current Long Island residents who, in the 1940s, were living nearby. So today we're bringing you excerpts of our talk with Jo Schenk Eichner. Born in Brooklyn, she was living in the Bronx when war broke out. In her oral history, she discusses her youth in a working class family of German immigrants living among the wealthy residents of Spuyten Duyvil. She also discusses shortages during the war, air raid...
info_outline Radio Tower 44: Nick Hirshon, WFAN, and the Nassau ColiseumThe Radio Tower
In the late 1980s, WFAN was on the rise as the first all-sports radio station in the country. They brought a fast-paced, rowdy style to the air, epitomized by the likes of Don Imus, Steve Somers, and Mike Francesa. At the same time the New York Islanders, years past their glory days and playing in an aging barn of a stadium, found themselves on the wrong end of WFAN's jokes. Imus, Somers, and Francesa mocked the team and the Nassau Coliseum mercilessly. On today's episode, Queens native and media historian Nick Hirshon describes his research into this moment in sports and communication...
info_outline Islip Radio History with Connie CurrieThe Radio Tower
Listen to LIRTVHS board member Connie Currie relate some of the radio-related stories and personalities from the town of Islip, Long Island. Including: Edwin H. Armstrong in Bayport and Sayville Norman Brokenshire in Lake Ronkonkoma Clarence Mackay WRST in Bay Shore - Suffolk County's first radio station Music from Pixabay.
info_outline Radio Tower 42: Islip Living History DayThe Radio Tower
info_outline Radio Tower 41: Norm Prusslin and WUSBThe Radio Tower
Norm Prusslin came to Stony Brook in the late 1960s and was immediately drawn to the radio station. WUSB was then an AM station heard only in the dorms and building on campus. But there was music in the air, not the least of which was coming from the vibrant concerts given on campus by the likes of Jimi Hendrix, the Doors, and others. Thus began Norm’s long association with the station, which included its transition to the FM channel as well as a number of thorny issues before the FCC. In this interview, Norm describes the growth of WUSB and what goes into the care and feeding of a college...
info_outline Radio Tower 40: Peter KurzThe Radio Tower
Peter Kurz is a patent attorney from Germany who fulfilled a lifelong dream by writing a technological thriller set in the early days of the radio industry. The Marconi-Patent weaves together historical events and people into a tale of intrigue, danger, and romance. What's even better, it features the Telefunken transmission site in West Sayville! On today's episode we discuss Peter's background and the state of radio circa 1914 when Britain was at war with Germany in Europe and the British Marconi Company was at war with the German Telefunken Company in a courtroom in New York. Peter's book...
info_outlineWe're running a miniseries of interviews with LIRTVHS board member John Vuolo about the history and development of radios.
John is a radio collector and restoration expert, in charge of helping build and maintain the Society's collections.
Today we march through the 1930s, 40s and some of the 50s, talking about car radios, console radios, and a fellow collector named Auggie.