It goes without saying that 2020 has been a very trying year for us all, for more reasons than one. We had trouble with this site for a couple of months and things just got that bad with it that it was best just to take it offline until its issue(s) were sorted out. Whilst it hasn't been pleasant not having the forums and the community spirit that we have always enjoyed with it, the upcoming plans will hopefully ensure that from 2021 onwards, the forums are back and will serve us well for years to come.
I am currently making final plans to return to self-hosting for the site and providing I can set up an NBN connection for it and it proves to be reliable, there is no reason why the servers used before cannot be pressed back into service - they have been up and running for eight or nine weeks now and things seem fine. A few members have e-mailed me, champing at the bit for news on the return of the forums. Yes, it is taking longer, due to me shifting house in the last couple of weeks but the day is coming - I promise.
The next reason, just as obvious, has been the coronavirus. It has been bad enough not having the forums around for the last two months. The coronavirus has done its best to ensure that face-to-face meetings and auctions have not been held either, inflicting even more pain and frustration on radio collectors, restorers, traders, repairers, etc.
Before that we had biblical floods in Queensland along with catastrophic bush fires and fire storms in New South Wales and Victoria. Before the floods and fires we has to endure a crippling drought which provided the conditions for the floods and fires to evolve. We live in a land of extremes, as has been well documented in the poem by Dorothea Mackellar, My Country.
Very soon, I hope to have the new NBN connection set up so that hosting of VR can once again resume. Once this is done I will need to purchase another SSL certificate for the server - unfortunately, due to the nature of SSL certificates, they are not transferrable between servers. Once the SSL certificate is installed there will be some final testing and then VR should once again be up and running.
In the mean-time, Fred has kept himself busy and has provided two more articles below - a Christmas double feature on the restoration of a Tasma console chassis.
Fred has released an article on the restoration of a Tasma console chassis. This is Part 3 of that article:-
https://vintage-radio.com.au/docs/saving-a-tasma-305-radio-set-part-three.pdf
The last six weeks or so has been quite un-nerving to say the least but now the rewards are starting to be realised. When a radio collector shifts out of a small place to a larger one, it means more radios can go on display. Below are two racks of some of the models I own. In the new year, once the VR forums have returned, some shelving will be acquired and set up to fit more in. Whilst there will never be room to display the entire collection, it's not fitting to own so many radios and not have them displayed so people can admire and appreciate them.
Fred has released a two part article on the restoration of a Tasma console chassis:-
https://vintage-radio.com.au/docs/saving-a-tasma-305-radio-set-part-one.pdf
https://vintage-radio.com.au/docs/saving-a-tasma-305-radio-set-part-two.pdf
Fred has released yet another article, an AM field strength meter:-
https://vintage-radio.com.au/docs/am-valve-rf-field-meter-design-part-2.pdf
Fred has released yet another article, an AM field strength meter:-
https://vintage-radio.com.au/docs/am-valve-rf-field-meter-design-part-1.pdf
This STC console has landed in the collection of the site administrator in the last couple of weeks. The radio is in working order and complete original condition, aside from a few component replacements when it was restored about twenty years ago. Please check the photos attached.
Fred has released another article, this time on a DAB to AM converter:-
https://vintage-radio.com.au/docs/the-radiator-dab-to-am-2ch-convertor-2020.pdf
It doesn't pay to use the road these days. It doesn't pay to be an insurance company either. Here's why:-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziX6HyZLs0A
Fred tried to post an article to his thread on the Syncrodyne but the site went offline just before it could be uploaded. Here it is in living colour:-
https://vintage-radio.com.au/docs/syncrodyne-2020.pdf
