This edition of Workbench details the benefits of skateboard griptape. You also can’t have enough power cables and we’ve found a website that has an endless supply. Plus, we give Bill Lear his due for developing the car radio and Frank Hertel gives us a tip on “Faraday fabric.”
Get a grip of this skateboard
Radio World’s Workbench column was featured recently on Kirk Harnack’s “This Week in Radio Tech.” In discussing useful tips, Kirk shared a sheet of skateboard griptape.
These sheets, available at skateboard stores and via online retailers, can be custom-cut to place on tools, computers, even cellphones, all in an effort to reduce slipping and improve your grip. Choose a plain color, or pick out a really gnarly pattern and give your device a really sick look, dude.
Along the same lines, I found a roll of Skid Guard tape at Ace Hardware. I cut pieces to line the sides and edges of my laptop, as well as a few screwdrivers. Skid Guard tape can also be used to line the edges of steps or hazardous walkways. Prices are reasonable, $5 to $20, depending on the quantity.

You can also buy tape in bulk. Shown is a photo of a 60-foot roll of Jessup Griptape that is 9 inches wide. A box of four rolls costs around $300 on the website http://safewaytraction.com. Safe Way Traction is a family-owned, U.S.-based national distributor of interesting solutions for preventing slips and falls.
They’ve got your cable
Dan Slentz, our official unofficial internet researcher, discovered a company called StayOnline, which describes itself as “The Power Cord Company.”

StayOnline stocks a variety of power cords, sold with no minimum quantities. In fact, the website states that the company has the largest in-stock selection of power cords and plug adapters in the world, “including IEC 60320, IEC 60309, NEMA Straight Blade, NEMA Twist Lock, Non NEMA 50 amp and international standards. Whether for your data center or an industrial application, we have your cord.” It also carries plugs, connectors, wall plates and other wiring devices and rack accessories.
Have fun browsing the collection at www.stayonline.com.
Car radio history
You have probably been following the effort to require carmakers to include AM radio in their vehicles.
Retired broadcast engineer Ken Lundgren spent 15 years working at Motorola. During that time, he said, it was commonly understood that Motorola made and sold the first car radio, developed by Paul Galvin. But Ken remembers reading that the first car radio had been developed by Bill Lear of Lear Jet and 8-track tape fame.
It turns out that Lear was work working for Paul Galvin at the time. Motorola apparently made sure that Galvin got the credit.
He says back then, manufacturers thought that a car radio was not feasible because high-Q coils couldn’t be made small enough. All they had at the time were air-core coils. But Bill Lear didn’t know it wasn’t possible, so he did it. Maybe that was when they discovered ferrite cores.
They used B batteries at first, to power the radios. Ken is not sure when the vibrator power supply was invented, but the technology kept moving forward. Ken reminds readers the first police radios were receive-only.
You can read a story by Buc Fitch about the early days of car radio in the Radio World archives here. Meanwhile, Ken shared a link to a five-minute video that chronicles Motorola’s amazing history and includes some great archival photos. At https://video.motorolasolutions.com/ enter “Motorola Solutions Heritage Story” in the search field.
RF shielding fabric
Newman-Kees Engineering principal Frank Hertel shares a resource that may come in handy for broadcast engineers.
It’s a woven fabric made of copper or copper/nickel. This “Faraday fabric” promises to provide EMF protection as well as RFID radiation signal shielding. It is the type of fabric used to make sleeves to protect credit cards from signals (a neat side-hustle if you like to sew).

The fabric is easy to cut and could be used to line a studio. We saw it on Ebay, search “EMF Protection Fabric-Blocking RFID Radiation.”
But Radio World’s Paul McLane found the website of the manufacturer at http://amradield.com. It states: “Amradield is your source for all top-quality personal and commercial products for Wi-Fi and cellphone radiation protection, electromagnetic radiation protection, RF and smart meter shielding and EMF mitigation products. Our products are designed to shield and protect the human body from common EMF sources found in offices, apartments, homes and commercial facilities.”
The website shows photos of products made with the company’s protection fabrics, from curtains and yoga mats to baseball caps and women’s dresses.
If you try the fabric, drop me an email with a description of your application and a photo. Email johnpbisset@gmail.com.
Local electrical codes
Rudy Rivas is the iHeartMedia market engineer in Miami. He makes an important point for stations that may be reconfiguring, downsizing or moving facilities to accommodate the changing broadcasting landscape: Check your local codes!
For example, how many rack rooms or transmitter sites have you seen where racks or equipment are placed close to electric disconnects, or where the electrical room is also used as a storeroom?

Local codes change frequently. In Miami, Rudy points out, you must provide a 36-inch setback as shown in the accompanying photos.

So assume nothing. Times they are a’changin’.
Send your tips. Workbench submissions are encouraged and qualify for SBE recertification credit. Email johnpbisset@gmail.com.