Photo courtesy of Asheville Radio Museum
The Asheville Radio Museum, a collection of ham and vintage radios located in the Department of Engineering and Applied Technology on the A-B Tech campus, celebrates its 20th anniversary on Saturday, September 11, from 12–3 p.m. The free event will include a number of activities for visitors, including the opportunity to tap out your name in Morse Code, listen to a 100-year-old Thomas Edison phonograph and create radio waves with electric sparks.
An early 1900s Morse Code practice machine called an Omnigrap
Despite its small size and somewhat obscure location, the museum has remained popular for two decades through word of mouth. “Visitors leave the museum with newfound knowledge and surprise about radio’s relevance to their everyday lives, and they get the message out to friends and family and their online networks,” says Peter Abzug, communications director for the museum. Abzug attributes the museum’s success in large part to the passionate, all-volunteer staff. “A number of our volunteers are amateur radio operators who are experts about radio’s technical history and socioeconomic impact on the world, nation and Western North Carolina,” says Abzug. “When you visit the museum, your guide will be a true subject matter expert.”
Abzug also says that the 20th anniversary event is as much a celebration of the volunteers as the museum. “All of us at the museum are passionate about radios, their technology and the prominent role they played and maintain playing in shaping our lives,” he says. “As museum volunteers, we know we’re just custodians for today, making sure others will have the pleasure of overseeing the museum’s 40th anniversary in 2041.”
For more information, visit AVLRadioMuseum.org.
