Brett Moss is gear and technology editor.
WRCH(FM) in the Hartford, Conn., area, is doing its bit for the community with its annual campaign to raise funds for breast cancer treatment and research.
Night of Lite Laughter, it’s called. And though the nominal event has passed, the online auction continues until Nov. 1.
Proceeds from the auction go to breast cancer research and treatment at the Helen and Harry Gray Cancer Center at Hartford Hospital. According to Mike Stacy of WRCH, this effort has raised over $650,000 in the last 13 years. Not bad.
As noted, the online auction continues until Nov. 1, with the exception of the big prize: a dinner and orchestra pit tickets to a Lily Tomlin show. That was the “laughter” part and it took place on Oct. 22 for five lucky people. The winners also got to meet Lily backstage.
Still-available items range from University of Connecticut sports memorabilia to Michael Buble’s iPod. I wonder if his earbuds come with it? His earwax could probably fetch a pretty penny on eBay …
How about a pink Orek vacuum cleaner? Bid now or forever hold your peace.
Best of the lot for the radio geek, though, is the AR-51 microphone from Connecticut’s own retro mic maker, Telefunken Elektroakustik (complete with authentic pseudo-Germanische name!).
The company has made a reputation for itself with replicas of classic microphones of the Telefunken-Neumann variety. (Local engineer Jeff Hugabonne is a fan of the company’s products: “Telefunken is a story all to itself; these guys are all super cool audiophiles and studio heads,” he tells RW.) The AR-51 is something of a hybrid, marrying a little bit of this with a little bit of that and at a slightly lower price. Sort of an “in the spirit of …” microphone.
The particular mic being auctioned was used by Edwin McCain during an in-studio performance at WRCH … and autographed. Not many mics get autographed. If you act now you might be able to pick up a good value at a low price (as I write, the top bid is $400 for this $1,695 value).
Participate in this good cause here.
