[NJARC] Food for thought - for our club..

[oldradio at comcast.net]

FYI de K2TQN

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: "Dave Rossetti" <drossetti at comcast.net>
To: "Phillip Carpenter" <carpenterpa at tds.net>, "Bill Carns" <wcarns at austin.rr.com>
Cc: boatanchors at puck.nether.net
Sent: Sunday, August 30, 2015 8:04:59 PM
Subject: Re: [Boatanchors] Another Parts Store Closes...
    
I am a relative newcomer to vintage electronics  (7 years) and a member of the Washington DC/Baltimore region's Mid-Atlantic Antique Radio Club (MAARC.org). We recently took inventory of our club membership and identified two things, our member numbers had declined a bit, but also noted that many of the members were not just interested in antique radios, but also hi-fi audio, ham gear, tubes and/or tube testers, music amps, military gear, car audio, and test equipment. We have taken on an initiative to more closely identify the club's focus with these varied, yet related interests.

As part of that rebranding, we set up a table at this week's Capital Audiofest. Noted that nearly all the audio gear displayed by active vendors is tube-based. We placed some vintage audio gear (Morantz, Leads, and Brooks amps and pre-amps) and a TV -7 tube tester on our table. Folks went nuts. I would estimate 20 to 30 attendees became seriously interested in seeing in more detail how MAARC may be something they need to join.

Bottom line, I see the interests in vintage, tube based, electronics may be changing, but are alive and well. This is further reinforced by the growth and increasing interest in the nearby National Capital - region Radio and Television Museum (NCRTV.org). In an even bigger picture, I get excited when younger people show interest in vintage electronics, because it just might result in them pursuing an engineering degree of some type, something this country needs more of.

Dave Rossetti410-279-0226 Mobile
Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4G LTE smartphone