Channel Master Antennas Advertisement
January 1957 Radio & Television News

January 1957 Radio & Television News

[Table of Contents] Wax nostalgic about and learn from the history of early electronics. See articles from Radio & Television News, published 1919-1959. All copyrights hereby acknowledged.

One sure giveaway to the age of a picture is the presence of a wheat penny, a buffalo nickel, or a Mercury dime. This 1957 advertisement for Channel Master antennas has all three. It shows a walking Liberty half dollar as well. Quarters haven't changed much over the years, with George Washington's head on the obverse side since 1932. The wheat penny design ended in 1959 when the Lincoln Memorial was put on the reverse side in its place. Thomas Jefferson's head has been on the nickel since 1938. Theodore Roosevelt's head was ensconced on the obverse of the dime in 1946. John F. Kennedy was placed on the half dollar obverse in 1964. This ad is about antennas, not coins, though. For a lot, if not most, of RF Cafe visitors, there has always been cable and satellite television. For some, TV has always been available on their smartphones. Everyone's concept of history begins when he/she is born. Those of us who grew up in the over-the-air broadcast world remember well the importance of having a good quality antenna, with a rotator, to be able to watch our favorite cartoons and prime time shows. We remember going up on the roof with our fathers to install or repair an antenna, while a tag team of one person watching the television picture in the living room and another leaning out the window to relay picture quality messages up to the roof while adjustment were being made, was the standard modus operandi.

Channel Master Antennas Advertisement

Posted September 12, 2013