KDKA and the Pioneers of Broadcasting

Speaker: Mike Molnar

Abstract:
It was just over a hundred years ago that commercial broadcasting began. Previous radio transmissions of voice and music were conducted by only a few experimenters. This presentation explores the technical and business developments that led to a system of mass communication that would shape the 20th century.

About our speaker:

Mike Molnar lives in Glen Gardner, NJ, in the western, more rural, part of the state. Always interested in tinkering with electronics, Mike started a TV and radio company in the early 1970s. Soon, to avoid starvation, Mike shifted into medical electronics – nuclear medicine equipment in particular. He started Diagnostic Services Inc., in 1984, repairing and refurbishing nuclear medicine cameras and computers in hospitals and private clinics. Soon the company found a niche building equipment to meet the specific needs of veterinarians. Now, if a horse needs a bone scan or a cat needs a thyroid scan, it will likely be done on something Mike designed.

As high-tech equipment filled his work hours, low-tech filled his hobby hours. Mike’s collection of old radios and televisions, his electronic fossils, now spans 50 years. Some can be seen on his website www.electronicfossil.com . Mike is a member of the Antique Wireless Association, is a founding member of the New Jersey Antique Radio Club, and is a member of the Mid Atlantic Antique Radio Club. Over the past 10 years or so he began to write articles and give presentation for these three clubs – which included a number of articles published in the AWA Review.

Note: The meeting location is 309 Alplaus Ave, Alplaus, NY, and the building is at the corner of Alplaus Avenue and Bruce Drive. Please park in the paved lot adjacent to this building. Do not park in the restricted area in front of the building that houses the fire trucks. We will meet in the Multipurpose Room (entrance is on the North side of this building).