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Page 1 of 8 + June-July 2006 HVRA Newsletter + Send News to: knoblcs@omnilaw.com membership: tomburslem@yahoo.com
Page 1 of 8 + June-July 2006 HVRA Newsletter + Send News to:
knoblcs@omnilaw.com

membership:
tomburslem@yahoo.com

Send your dues to: Tom Burslem | P.O. Box 31276 | Houston, TX 77231-1276

From the President:

Greetings to all on this balmy May evening! We decided to go to press a little early with this issue due to the
early May meeting schedule and to remind everyone of events aboard the Battleship USS Texas on June 3 & 4.
I want to begin by thanking all who participated in our annual spring mega auction April 22. This was the first
time that a mega auction was held at the Bayland Community Center and all went extremely well. Now there
are several important items facing HVRAs future that we must address in the coming months.

As many of you are aware, most hotels are now requiring organizations such as ours, to have adequate liability
insurance coverage. The Marriott is no exception, and plans were made during our May 9 Board of Directors
meeting to address this issue. Our first step will be to hire a CPA, with whom one of our members is
acquainted. He will then advise us as to how to proceed to incorporate HVRA, assist us with tax liabilities,
record keeping, etc. After we become an incorporated entity, then we will approach insurers to cover our
outside events. This will also serve to protect us as individuals from lawsuits that could result from some
unfortunate mishap at one of our events. With adequate insurance coverage, perhaps we can once again
organize area mall shows that were so successful many years ago.

Now for the second issue! I know there are holdouts who want nothing to do with these newfangled things
called computers. Well, theyre not so new anymore and now even if a kid in grade school doesnt have access
to one, he or she, will be in academic trouble real fast. The first time I was confronted with one was about
twenty some odd years ago when Shell Research put one in my office. I must have spent two days trying to
figure out how to turn the darn thing on. I hoped they were just a fad and would go the way of the hoola hoop
and Edsel. I was wrong! I never did master the art of typing and to this day cannot seem to get over 8 or so
wpm with both fingers going full speed. The ability to type was major criteria for developing a relationship with a
member of the opposite sex when some of us old science majors were undergrads. Back in high school, the
girls took typing and home economics, while we took chemistry, physics, and shop. Perhaps it is my lack of
typing skill that still underlies my aversion to these necessities of modern life computers.

Despite the challenges these things present they have revolutionized the world. Now with e-mail, E-Bay, Map
Quest and so on, I dont know what I would do without one even though Im only semi computer literate. The
price has come way down with each passing year. This old HP cost a couple of big bills a few years back, but
last month my wife bought a new Dell for a few hundred that my kids say, makes this one look ancient. Yea, I
know, youre asking why the diatribe get to the point! Well here it is and it goes like this: Unless youve been
living in a dank cave somewhere with Osama, the cost of everything keeps going up, that includes gas for sure,
and printing costs and postage as well. The other day I heard that another postage rate hike is in the works for
late this year or early next. Printing costs are sure to follow.

Last year, in order to save on newsletter costs, we moved to a bi monthly publication, and transferred printing
and mailing to the USPS. This resulted in a significant cost saving, but limited our mailed newsletter size to no
more than eight pages in black and white. We also encouraged members to go to our web site to read the Grid
Leak and keep abreast of club activities. The advantage being that things could be presented there in living
color, and there would be no eight page limit. About half of our members decided to go the web site route
rather than receive the mailed hard copy. We still have about 150 members who still receive the mailed out
copies for various reasons. If we could reduce that number significantly, the money we would save could
among other things, help subsidize our convention. For example: cheaper room rates (which are also going up
$10.00 next year), the banquet dinner, better door prizes, contest awards, and overall club functions in general.

If you are still receiving a mailed Grid Leak, and have internet access, why not notify our treasurer, Tom
Burslem
www.tomburslem@yahoo.com
, or me, at
www.mingqi53@sbcglobal.net
and request that we remove
you from the hard copy mail out. This would be a tremendous help to our club. A proposal was made during
our May board meeting, that we begin notifying members who do not have computer access by postcard of
meetings and events. Hard copies of the bi-monthly newsletter would be made available to those members at
the monthly meetings. For those who may be confined to their home, a care facility; or simply cannot access a
computer for whatever reason, we will arrange to continue mailing printed hard copies to them. I hope you will
consider our appeal and join those who have signed on to our web sites Grid Leak publication.

Page 2 of 8 + June-July 2006 HVRA Newsletter + Send News to:
knoblcs@omnilaw.com

membership:
tomburslem@yahoo.com

Send your dues to: Tom Burslem | P.O. Box 31276 | Houston, TX 77231-1276

April 22 Spring Mega Auction Results

The weather was beautiful for the thirty-seven buyers and sellers who turned out for the annual spring mega
auction. By 2 PM 130 lots had crossed the auction block that included some beautiful black dial Zenith
consoles and other very nice sets from a private collection. Gross sales came to $3,022.00 from which
donations and commissions contributed $457.00 for our treasury. We thank all who assisted in making this
annual event another success, and to those who came out to support our club and had a fun time.


Next General Meeting Saturday,
May 20, 2006

Mark your calendar for the next meeting on
May 20 at 9:30 AM in the Bayland Park
Community Center. The program will
feature two tube receiver and amplifier
projects built by members. They dont
have to be fancy, but we prefer that they
be in working order. Prepare a five or ten
minute oral presentation about your
project, and provide literature or copies if
possible. These two tube wonders may be
three tube sets if a rectifier tube is used.
We wont include the rectifier in the tube
count. The diagram of the two tube autodyne receiver below was found in the 10
th
edition of The Radio
Handbook © 1946. This would be a good project for someone. Remember, a $25.00 Home Depot gift card will
be given to the owner of the project voted best by the membership. You can enter more than one project, so
dont be shy! If time permits, we will hold a radio troubleshooting session and of course there will be time for
our regular monthly auction. Donuts, juice, coffee, and possibly bagels will be provided.

Meeting 9:30 AM Saturday, June 24

Here is your chance to learn about repairing
transistor radios and other solid state circuits
as well. HVRAs veteran solid state expert and
historian will lead you through troubleshooting
techniques and how these circuits really work.
Remember, some of these older transistor sets
are really becoming collectible. The prices for
restored hybrid and transistor sets from certain
cars of the late 50s and 60s are headed for
another solar system! Here is your chance to
perhaps broaden your expertise and earn some
extra money. The monthly auction will follow
and refreshments will be available for early
arrivals.

July Meeting 9:30 AM Saturday the 22
nd
.

The July meeting programs title All About Batteries how they
work, and what makes them work, will include some really crazy stories from your president who operated a
battery quality control lab for nearly a decade. A slide presentation will be shown demonstrating whats inside
that makes two lead plates store electrical energy in secondary cells and why they wear out. Maintenance free
batteries, primary cells; and yes, even the BULL S**T battery that was invented here in Texas several decades
Page 3 of 8 + June-July 2006 HVRA Newsletter + Send News to:
knoblcs@omnilaw.com

membership:
tomburslem@yahoo.com

Send your dues to: Tom Burslem | P.O. Box 31276 | Houston, TX 77231-1276

ago will be described and demonstrated. Can bacteria really carry electrons around? Come along and find out!
You dont need to have a degree in physics to enjoy this program. As always our monthly auction will follow
and refreshments will be available for early arrivals.


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Throughout the Greater Houston area there are neighborhood newspapers distributed free on a weekl