Live from California

Owen Coffman Post 519 in Palm Springs, Calif., is a little more than 100 miles from Hollywood. But decades ago, vacationing entertainment gurus conducted radio broadcasts from the post building, which also housed the city’s first radio station.

Now the post’s newly formed TALARC (The American Legion Amateur Radio Club) chapter has restored the old booth and equipment, with some new additions thrown in.

"Tom and I saw the booth and both thought, what a great place for a ham shack," said club president Glenn Morrison WB6RLC. "We applied for a club station license from the FCC, and once granted, we applied for and received the vanity call K6TAL (K6 The American Legion)."

According to chapter vice president and TALARC Area 5 commissioner Tom McLean KJ6DZT, the restoration started after the space had spent the last 70 years in storage – and after hard work and some donations, was “pretty much done” in time for the chapter station’s May 2015 activation. “That ribbon microphone is to die for,” he comments. "All of the big names, Hope, Benny and Sinatra used this very microphone."

Among McLean’s favorites of the Hollywood figures who broadcast from the post are Dennis Day, Charlie Farrell, Jack Benny and Bob Hope – “a key figure out here.” (Including as honorary mayor.)

McLean didn’t work in the radio field during his time in the Air Force, but considered getting his license as “something I always wanted to do”; he finally did in 2009 and now says, “I enjoy it.” The chapter currently numbers five, but they plan to hold classes to train new recruits. McLean and his fellow club members have lots of plans for their new space. Everyone is welcome, from Boy Scouts working toward their amateur radio merit badges to local residents in homeowners associations restricted from operating from home. They can even contacting “big ships” out at sea, and plan to participate in local emergency preparedness – all part of supporting the community.

Morrison, a Marine Corps veteran, is celebrating his 50th year as a ham radio operator. "We were pretty excited when we found all of the old photographs and vintage audio gear in the booth," he says. "Most of the equipment dates from the late 1930s and early '40s. We also found out that there are about a dozen American Legion posts around the country that have ham radio clubs. Many of the clubs and Legion members meet up 'On The Air' at least once a month."

Even as they proceed into the future, the chapter has by no means left the past behind. Someone has resurrected and restored old recordings broadcast from the post; and McLean and others are sorting through about 14 books’ worth of printed material in his garage, trying to figure out what belongs to the booth.

See more pictures of the Post 519 booth here (http://www.legion.org/hamradio/photos/230617/post-519k6tal).