Where The museum is in the small market town of Denbigh, north Wales, and shares a building with the Welsh Language Centre.
What Wireless in Wales celebrates Welsh language and culture in broadcasting. The main focus is on domestic radios, but there is also a television set on display.
Opened The museum is based around the vintage radio collection of David Jones, a former mayor of Denbigh, who was passionate about the Welsh language. The venue opened just after his death in 2008.
Collection There are more than 100 vintage radio sets, ranging from the 1920s to the 1970s. Also on display are radio books, a large radiogram (a combined radio and record player built into a cabinet with a speaker), around 250 thermionic valves and a number of loudspeakers. The museum also has vintage gramophone records from before the first world war. In addition, visitors can see cylinders invented by Thomas Edison to record sound for early phonographs. Some of the exhibits are on its website and Facebook and Flickr accounts. “The collection is not huge, but it’s significant and the bits we’ve got are good,” says the curator, David Crawford. “Everything comes with a story.”
Highlights A recently acquired five-foot-tall Voigt corner horn (an old-fashioned speaker) is at the top of the list. “This is one of the rarest and most significant loudspeakers made in this country,” says Crawford. Only 400 Voigt horns were produced between 1924 and 1950. The museum is exhibiting a later model, one of only 70 of its kind. Another highlight is the first R-type thermionic valve to be made in the UK. Similar to electric light bulbs, these valves were used for amplifying sound before the invention of modern-day transistors, which are used in computers.
Help at hand Six volunteers help with guiding people and cataloguing.
Budget Donations are an important source of revenue. Fundraising efforts have included coffee mornings and a film show in Denbigh. In the past, it has received grants from Denbighshire County Council, Denbigh Town Council and other museum organisations.
Biggest challenge “The shortage of volunteers,” says Crawford. “In the times we live in, volunteers are difficult to find for anything.”
Survival tips “Try to be open as often as you can and be enthusiastic about the collections,” says Crawford. “It’s important to be able to tell people interesting stories about the collection, but not at a technical level. It has to be at a level people will understand.”
Visitors Up to 300 a year.
Future plans To encourage volunteers, organise talks and learn about the exhibits. The museum is also keen to attract more visitors.
Emily Bright is a freelance writer
www.wirelessinwales.org.uk
What Wireless in Wales celebrates Welsh language and culture in broadcasting. The main focus is on domestic radios, but there is also a television set on display.
Opened The museum is based around the vintage radio collection of David Jones, a former mayor of Denbigh, who was passionate about the Welsh language. The venue opened just after his death in 2008.
Collection There are more than 100 vintage radio sets, ranging from the 1920s to the 1970s. Also on display are radio books, a large radiogram (a combined radio and record player built into a cabinet with a speaker), around 250 thermionic valves and a number of loudspeakers. The museum also has vintage gramophone records from before the first world war. In addition, visitors can see cylinders invented by Thomas Edison to record sound for early phonographs. Some of the exhibits are on its website and Facebook and Flickr accounts. “The collection is not huge, but it’s significant and the bits we’ve got are good,” says the curator, David Crawford. “Everything comes with a story.”
Highlights A recently acquired five-foot-tall Voigt corner horn (an old-fashioned speaker) is at the top of the list. “This is one of the rarest and most significant loudspeakers made in this country,” says Crawford. Only 400 Voigt horns were produced between 1924 and 1950. The museum is exhibiting a later model, one of only 70 of its kind. Another highlight is the first R-type thermionic valve to be made in the UK. Similar to electric light bulbs, these valves were used for amplifying sound before the invention of modern-day transistors, which are used in computers.
Help at hand Six volunteers help with guiding people and cataloguing.
Budget Donations are an important source of revenue. Fundraising efforts have included coffee mornings and a film show in Denbigh. In the past, it has received grants from Denbighshire County Council, Denbigh Town Council and other museum organisations.
Biggest challenge “The shortage of volunteers,” says Crawford. “In the times we live in, volunteers are difficult to find for anything.”
Survival tips “Try to be open as often as you can and be enthusiastic about the collections,” says Crawford. “It’s important to be able to tell people interesting stories about the collection, but not at a technical level. It has to be at a level people will understand.”
Visitors Up to 300 a year.
Future plans To encourage volunteers, organise talks and learn about the exhibits. The museum is also keen to attract more visitors.
Emily Bright is a freelance writer
www.wirelessinwales.org.uk