ORCATS

This web site uses an embedded media player requiring javascript capability so that you can listen online without downloading if you prefer. Look for any place you see a small arrow (play button) next to a link. You can click on it and it should open the media player and begin playing immediately (for broadband connections). You can pause the playing or stop it depending on what you want to do.

If you want to download the file, you need to "right click" on the link (not the button) and select the "Save as..." option that pops up in the menu and select on your own computer where you want the file to be saved.<

Recently, Randy Riddle who has a web site devoted to providing mp3 versions of his transcription disc collection, posted a complete episode of the Suspsense story "The Rescue" starring Jimmy Stewart. It is an AFRS version of the show from April 19, 1951. What was previously available had the last ten minutes missing (and that is what is in circulation).

This version is complete! You can download it directly from here if you right click on the link and select "Save as..."

If you just want to play it, and you see a little arrow just to the left of the link, you can click on it.

Sometime back, I came across a blog that offers mp3 copies of radio programs, some of which are previously uncirculated, that were made directly from Electrical Transcription. The blog is run by Randy Riddle, who over the years (and still) bought ETs offered via eBay and other auction sites. Randy generously has been making copies available and tries to offer some history on the programs themselve. His site is located at Rand's Esoteric OTR. One of the programs he recently made available was a long lost copy of Orson Welles in Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Lost Special" on Suspense.

Recently, Brad Kay discovered for sale at one dealer's table a stack of ETs that were programs from 1931! The programs were essentially musical infomercials for various products, but these were in pristine shape. Turns out they were discovered behind a wall in a warehouse in Chicago being torn down. The discs were in a crate still in their original sleeves. The dealer selling them had no idea of their value to fans of old time radio as the dealer's table was at the annual BixBash in Racine, Wisconsin where fans gather to honor Bix Beiderbecke and his genre of music. The programs include: The Radio and Television Institute Revue: an informercial for the Radio and Television Institute for a home study program; The Marmola Entertainers: Marmola was a weight-reducing pill that came under disrepute by false claims by its maker; The Foodtown Pops Revue: Foodtown Pops was a breakfast cereal; The Nesco Royal Cooks: the National Enameling and Stamping Company made Kerosine cooking stoves; The National Flower Festival: held during Armistice (WW1) day; Jim Brown's Entertainers: The Brown Fence and Wire Company sponsored a musical show of old time music (performed by big city musicians) with some nice mountain style music.

Check out this web site for an interactive look at the radio logs from the New York Times, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times.

Some of you might know about the Old Time Radio Researchers Project. This is the group that is attempting to find the best quality mp3's of complete series, provide additional information and package them altogether in an archived file. They also produce a newsletter. It is pretty well done and you can find back issues here at one of their web pages.
If you have a highspeed line, you can also download some of their released projects on the public site called the Internet Archive. Click here for a list of a lot of old time radio available for download. I warn you that some of these downloads take a long time. I plan on putting many of them on the ORCATS hard drive.

Some of you might have heard this before or even have it, but I came across this promo for the Superman radio series from back in the late thirties possibly (it's not dated). If you don't have highspeed you might not want to download this as it is over 10 megabytes in mp3 format.

I knew that my old shortwave listening days had finally become respectable when I came across this web site - The Conet Project. They have organized a set of recorded CDs of the old spy numbers that one has heard for years (50 or so) via shortwave radio. I used to be fascinated by these back in the early days of the cold war. It's funny to find that so many people are now discovering something that has been out there for so long.

If you are a web surfer you might have often come across the latest thing that is rapidly becoming a big thing on the World Wide Web called a blog. If you are not familiar with a blog, it is essentially a personal diary - one or several persons' opinion on some or multiple subject. Most of the blogs coming out now are people commenting on politics and other social issues of the day. But the blog (short term for "web log") is appearing from people who have interest in other area including old time radio. There are now several old time radio blogs.

One of the best blogs on old time radio is Easy Aces: A Journal of Classic Radio.

Another devoted to old time radio, but more literate is Harry Heuser's Broadcastellan blog.

Ivan Shreve's Thrilling Days of Yesteryear is focused of late on television and old film, but he also covers otr. Ivan is a very good writer and spends a lot of time offering his take on radio programs he usually listened to the night before. He goes into a lot of depth and it is fun to read what he has to say.

Another otr blog though not completely focused on old time radio, is the OTR Digest's own Charlie Summers' Nostalgic Rumblings. Less frequent and more drier in writing, Charlie will comment on his take on things such as the FOTR, his visit to Metro Washington's OTR Club Meeting and so on.

Bill Jaker mentioned in an email that "a copy of one of the oldest known airchecks, a 1925 experiment in international broadcasting. RCA's station WJZ in New York tried to rebroadcast a musical program from 2LO, the pioneer BBC station in London. The signal was actually received at an RCA listening post in Belfast, Maine" If you were unable to get to the site he mentioned, you can get the file here. Just right click on the link and select "Save as" and then give a location on your own computer.
Belfast, Maine Relay Broadcast.

Here's the web site address.