Get In Touch

Can we add you to our mailing list? Questions about your membership? Back issues of our newsletter? (a very limited number are available). Are you a member wanting to volunteer? Need help with your donation? Member of the press needing publication approval for content on this web site or other PARS publication? Any radio history-related question or comment is welcome.Please use the form below.

NOT FOR CLASSIFIED ADS OR SALES. The CONTACT FORM on this page is used to contact the PARS Board and Officers regarding club questions and/or website issues. PLEASE USE THE CLASSIFIED SECTION IF YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO SELL. Otherwise your ad will not be seen by the club membership.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What does the annual PARS membership cost?

Currently, the annual membership fee is $25. Should you want to sell anything at TSRF, flea market tables at Tri-State Radio Fest are not included. The Subway lunch at each meeting is also optional, costing an additional $7. The catered holiday luncheon is not covered by the membership fee. If you want to attend, it is currently $18 per person. But the Luncheon of course is optional. PARS is currently in excellent financial condition. Membership has remained steady for the last five years at around 140 paid members.

What is included in a PARS annual membership?

Eight meetings or events every year. Free parking at every meeting and event. Free flea market tables at every meeting except at the April TSRF. Four issues of  the PARS nwsletter The Pittsburgh Oscillator printed and mailed to your door. Free classified ads in the newsletter. Free access to the PARS website including the privilege of authoring articles and adding comments to other member’s articles. But the best part is the camraderie and friendship with a large group of folks who share your interests.

What is an “antique” radio?

Sounds like a silly question. But most appraisers consider an antique to be legitimate only if it is 100 years old or older. That requirement, looking back to 1922, would mean that there are very few real “antique” radios. But PARS has no such requirement. Our members collect everything from crystal radios to microphones to wire recorders to old test equipment to handheld transistor radios. If it is “vintage” electronics, we probably have a part of our membership interested in it and collecting it.

What role does ham radio play in PARS?

About a third of PARS members are hams. But PARS does not put any special emphasis on ham radio. There are some excellent ham clubs in the region including WASH, WACOM, Skyview and Breezeshooters. And many PARS hams are also members of one or more of these clubs. When these clubs have their annual hamfests, PARS usually rents a table for display and as a recruitment tool. But otherwise, there is no special connection between PARS and ham radio. On the other hand, vintage ham radios make great collectibles and many PARS members have tube-type ham radios in their collections.

PARS Presentation

Can I Make A Meeting Presentation? Author An Oscillator Article?

YES! PARS prefers that all meeting and newsletter content come from PARS members. If you want to talk about the history of a particular radio brand you love, or your restoration of that prize plastic AA5 clock radio in your collection then please speak up! We’d LOVE to give you some presentation time at one of our meetings. A projector and screen are available for your visuals. Please DO make a presentation at a PARS meeting! You will be glad your did! 

Similarly, the PARS Oscillator–our quarterly newsletter–almost always features articles by PARS members. You are also encouraged to submit pictures and anything antique-radio-related, be it  history, technology or local radio news!

You can always send an email through the web site contact form so we can start to connect you with the right person to make your presentation or newsletter article happen! BIG Thanks!

PARS Meetings

Most meetings are held at the Brentwood Presbyterian Church basement hall located at 3725 Brownsville Road, Pittsburgh 15227. Check the NEWS  & EVENTS page on this site for the current meeting schedule.

PARS Special Events

Two of our annual events do not happen at the Church. The Tri-State Radio Fest, PARS' biggest event of the year, is held each April at the Center Stage Banquest Hall at  1495 Old Brodhead Rd, MonacaPennsylvania 15061. The PARS Annual Radio Picnic is held each July in North Park, generally at the Roosevelt Pavilion if we can get it. These two events plus our annual holiday luncheon at the church are PARS' best-attended events of the year. Please see the NEWS & EVENTS page for this year's specific details.

PARS Officers & Board Members

Bob Knowlton, President - [email protected]

Vice-President (OPEN)

Jeff Pleva, Treasurer - [email protected]

Chris Wells, Secretary - [email protected]

Andy Manko, Board - [email protected]

Ed Kaczkowski, Board - [email protected]

John Busalaachi, Board - [email protected]

Joe Patrick W3KWZ, Editor of The Pittsburgh Oscillator (PARS Quarterly Newsletter) - [email protected]

Rex Kraeuter, Club Historian & Publications Manager- [email protected]

James Stevens, Webmaster - [email protected]

 

 

 

 

 

 

PARS Volunteers

As with most hobby clubs, PARS is entirely staffed by volunteer Officers, Comittee Chairmen and Board Members. New volunteers for these positions are always welcome. To contact any of the current slate of officers and Board members, please see the ABOUT PARS page elsewhere on this web site.

NOTICE: This web page and this entire web site including all photographs, text and content is copyright 2019-2023 by The Pittsburgh Antique Radio Society, Nothing on this web site or in our newsletter The Pittsburgh Oscillator may be republished in any form without the express written consent of a PARS Officer or Board member. Permission must be sought and granted in advance of publication and proper attribution to PARS must appear on the same page, on the same screen or video segment in such a way that it occupies the same space as the republished PARS  information. See the  ABOUT PARS page for PARS contact information.