Hear Arthur Speak ©
It is safe to assume that all of us that are passionate about our Collins radios, and the history of the Collins Radio Company, share a common interest in the events and accomplishments of one Arthur A. Collins. See the Note at the bottom of this page.
Rare photo of Art resting during the war
Your interest in this subject is obvious (you’re here), and much information is contained on this website. Additionally, there have been several very good books about Arthur’s life, his exploits and his accomplishments. There are even a few vignettes about his personal life and his family that give us insight into the more personal side of Art.
Art Collins at the controls of the Collins Beech 18
Those among us who were fortunate enough to know him have a rare set of memories indeed and, as time goes on, more of these will hopefully be shared.
But….All of us would dearly love to hear the sound of Art’s voice. That has been missing – Until now!
Yes, there is one short interview up on You Tube between Fred Link, reporter, and Art and John Weldon who was a senior high power broadcast developer. In this brief interview Art is in his 80s , a much older man, and his voice is not at all what it was in his prime.
Last year John Dilks, one of our CCA members, completed a fine piece of research work on the notables in the development of radio communication. During this effort, a significant recording of Arthur A. Collins’ voice came to light. (John is the past editor of a long running column in QST that focused on the history of our hobby, its equipment, and the people involved. His work is well known. He is also a member of the ARRL.)
At the recent ARRL 100th annual convention, John presented his significant work on the history of radio communication and the key contributors. This presentation included a segment on Arthur and his historical radio contacts with John Reinartz. John was the radio operator on the well-known MacMillan expedition to the northern tip of Greenland. John’s presentation also includes Art’s subsequent significant work on the development of SSB.
John Reinartz The Bowdoin at Greenland Reinartz on Bowdoin
In the section relating to Reinartz, John Dilks shares with his audience the rediscovered recording of Arthur…. and we get a marvelous glimpse of the past as Art – in his prime – speaks at a dinner honoring John Reinartz.
This Reinhartz testimonial dinner was held February 1, 1960 in San Mateo, California at the Villa Hotel. At the time, Art was approaching his 50th birthday. For a peek at the list of attendees (worth a look) and more details of the Reinartz story, check this out:
http://www.eht.com/oldradio/arrl/2014-02/Program-Reinartz-ocr.pdf
So, now for your first time, you can listen to the voice of Art Collins where he shares some of his memories, and some of his humor, with us. It will give you goose bumps.
Click Here to Hear a Voice from the Past!
15 year-old Art Collins’ station where he worked John Reinartz on the Bowdoin at the North Pole
Credits: The CCA wishes to thank all that participated in making this recording available. Obviously, John Dilks is to be credited significantly along with Eitel-McCullough, Inc., the company that made the original recording and held the dinner. This may be the only surviving recording of Art’s voice that has come to light so far. In addition we wish to thank the Collins Radio Heritage Group consisting of the alliance of the CCA and the Antique Wireless Association. Without their efforts, you would not heard this recording here.
Thanks also again to John Dilks for allowing us to here use some of the illustrations from his presentation.
Note: Based upon the age of his children in the photos and the equipment in the photo (32V-3 and 75A-4), the lead picture on this page was taken in the years just prior to (probably by 4-5 years) the voice recording here was made. Thus it gives us a snapshot of Art around the time of the talk.
Copyright © 2014 Collins Collectors Association and earlier copyrights
(This recording cannot be duplicated, copied, nor further imbedded
without the express permission of John Dilks, the AWA and the CCA)