Draft:Museum of Communication, Burntisland

Museum of Communication

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The Museum of Communication is Scotland's only museum of communication[1], sited in Burntisland, Fife, Scotland. It is accredited by the Arts Council through Museums Galleries Scotland, under reference AN1927, awarded 8th March 2018. It covers all form of communication, primarily electrical or electronic. This includes telephony, telegraphy, radio, audio equipment, television, radar and ICT equipment. The Museum also has an extensive technical library. from semaphore to modern radio and television. Admission is free.


History

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The museum started as the private collection of Harry Matthews, after he restored an Ekco radio that he rescued from a skip in 1973.

 
The Bakelite EKCO ED36 radio which led to the creation of the Museum of Communication.

After restoring a number of other items of 'elderly radio equipment' he decided to set up a wireless collection, in order to show the technological changes that have occurred over the last 100 years.[2][3]

Harry retired in 1982 and moved to Bo'ness, and his Collection came with him. Sadly, a proposal for a permanent home in the town for his Collection was not possible. With help from the Bo’ness Heritage Trust and its ‘Friends’ support group, regular exhibitions were established in the Trust’s headquarters in Union Street. Realising that the Collection had grown beyond the management of one person, the Museum of Communication Foundation Trust (MoCFT) was launched early in 1992. In 1994, Harry transferred ownership of the Collection to the MoCFT by Deed of Gift. In 2003 a permanent home was found for the collection in Burntisland, and the museum opened to the public in May 2005; currently the museum opens from May to September on Wednesdays and Saturdays; group visits can be arranged outwith these days and times.


Exhibitions

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The museum has a theme for each year's exhibition; the selected theme for 2024 was Time[4]. Extra exhibits included displays on radar, ASDIC/SONAR, navigation and a range of various types of clocks. In 2023 it was celebrating 100 years of BBC Scotland, and parts of the exhibition appeared in the BBC Scotland programme Tuned in: 100 years of Scottish broadcasting[5]. The museum is open to the public annually during the period May to September to share its varied collection and assist with its charitable aims.

Other features include:

  • Early spark-gap (Morse) transmitters
  • Crystal receivers
  • A restored functioning Strowger telephone exchange (actually a six-line PABX but constructed of Post Office Telecommunications equipment).

Collections

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The museum has a large collection of Telephony, Telegraphy, radio, audio equipment, television, radar (including a Ferranti AI 23 radar.) and ICT equipment. A separate handling collection is maintained, to support visitor interpretation.


Lectures

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The museum runs a regular series of lectures which can be attended in person or via Zoom. Past subjects have included electronic music, Electrons with Attitude, and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

References

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The Museum of Communication.

  1. ^ "Welcome to Fife -Burntisland". Welcome to Fife. Fife Business. Retrieved 6 November 2024.
  2. ^ "Museum of Communication". Our Founder -Museum of Communication. 18 June 2020. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  3. ^ "Tuned in: 100 years of Scottish Broadcasting". BBC Scotland. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
  4. ^ GM3PSP, Alan. "MOC -It's about Time". Visit to the MoC Exhibition “Its about TIME”. Lothian Radio Society. Retrieved 6 November 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ BBC https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001k4xy retrieved 20 August 2024 -television programme.