Ekko Radio Reception Stamps USA

I have run across radio reception stamps (on auction sites) that were in use around the early 20th century to track how far out a station signal can be heard. They were normally sent back on cards to the radio station. I have bidded on one or two in the past but always get outbid. They usually have an image of an Eagle with an art deco design and come in a single color of various shades or orange, green, brown, red, yellow. They also have the call letters of the radio station imprinted in black across the bottom. I am trying to obtain one from my town. Most of these were issued during the 1920's - 1930's I think.

Does anyone have any in their collection?

No, but I have a QSL card





and a qsl stamp (not mine)

Here is some subsidiary info Stamperdude,
when I made a query on a Newsgroup in July 2008

This may be of some help,
by Art Mangan US "cinderellas are fun"

Rod,
I am not surprised that you have an image in your database. The QSL cards and stamps are along the same idea. Maybe, they were for a different network or company? I do like that stamp.

That card was sent to me when I traded some Sweden IIRC
The author of the card was the trader
Apparently Sven is quite widely known.

Here is a good ebay site for info
http://reviews.ebay.com/WHAT-apos-S...000000839026

Info I have for qsl cards
from the same newsgroup interchange

author : Bill

These do sound like QSL cards. In the Amateur Radio community the cards are
used to confirm that a radio contact has happened between two stations.

There are QSL Bureaus, usually run by the national society of amateur radio
operators in a particular nation.

The allows an individual amateur to send many QSL cards to one destination
for eventual distribution. And that is one of the difficulties, it can be
very slow. Almost all the work is done voluntarily, so it can take years
for a given card to get to the correct destination.

Most societies charge a nominal fee, but it might be only a few cents per
card, still far less expensive than paying individual postage for each card.
Some societies sold adhesive labels to be afixed to the card to pay the fee.
These are not postage stamps.

Usually, the bureaus handle only cards going between different countries,
but there are some special interest ham organizations that run bureaus for
their membership.

The USPS was always kind of rough on the QSL cards I received, so most
people resorted to putting the card in an envelop to keep the 27 cancels
from showing on the card.

I have seen some at post cards shows selling for maybe up to a buck each.
This would be beyond whatever philatelic value involved. Obviously, if it
has a postage stamp on it, it might have value as a cover.

If your cards are old, say from the 1930s (or earlier) there are hams who
collect them. Each one is a little bit of history.

For what it is worth, I have about 12,000 of them, from around 250 different
countries, sitting in card files in my back room. Since they only go back
to 1963, I think they have only nostalgic value to me.

Bill Amateur Call Sign N9HH

Thanks Rod. I had something similar to that printed off the internet a couple years ago. I may print this one off as well to compare them.

Here is another link for more info on Radio Reception stamps from the 1920's forward. It even has a picture of the same stamp Rod showed above.
http://www.radiowest.ca/ekko/

That stamp I showed has a curious design,
Is it me? or can you see a Motor Vehicle Radiator and radiator cap?
Perhaps suggesting a faster way to travel distance.

Keep an eye open for the more difficult Canadian EKKO stamps. They have a beaver rather than an eagle on the top. Canadian radio stations start with a "C" call sign (ie. CKAR) and are four letters long like American ones.

David

Neat stuff everyone. I do see a radiator and cap on that stamp. Neat.

A radio cinderella on a 1937 St Pierre and Miquelon cover.
Courtesy of http://www.postalhistory.com/index.htm

Earle C. Anthony was the original owner of KFI and was also an automobile dealer, among numerous other things. The Wikipedia article on him details some of his accomplishments - he was a "big cheese" in Los Angeles by all standards.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earle_C._Anthony

The article mentions that one out of every seven Packard automobiles was sold through one of his dealerships - the stamp's radiator outline matches that of the Packards of the day. Here's a 1928 Packard.

Ryan

Wow! what an amazing piece of research Ryan
That is really impressive.

Amazing piece of machinery too! if the engine overheats
the pressure within the cylinder block carries through
to the Radiator cap, and when the pressure exceeds the
force of the spring on the cap, it exhausts.

Saving both the caps on the cylinder block
and/or blowing a hole in an expensive radiator.

Ryan,
Thanks for that info.There is a place on Route 66 in Oklahoma called Afton Station that is a D-X gas station with a Packard Musuem inside.
Puzzler, neat cover.
Also, I have a slight interest in radio related philately because I almost pursued a career in radio and even had my broadcast license when I was in high school. I love music and retain lots of pop culture trivia & useless information.

Nice post Stamperdude.

I collect radio items related to the Tuvalu Islands. Back before the internet and regular phone service to the outer islands, the main communications to the capital Funafuti was done by ham radio operators, who also acted as island postal officers.

Sometimes they used the radio handstamp to cancel mail.



This stamp issue of 1983 shows communications in Tuvalu. The 35c stamp shows a real radio operator who was a good friend of mine.

That is interesting BeeSee. Neat!