Counterpoise
I Only Want to Love You
Mark Rushton’s Curator Mindset is a place where I talk in 2026 about my ongoing work as a recording artist and visual artist, tech things, and provide music recommendations. This is being released on Saturday, March 28, 2026.
This week’s topics:
Sihuadon R-108 and Counterpoise
The Philco Cabinet
Future Plans
Cocteau Twins - Live 1990 in London
Sihuadon R-108 and Counterpoise
I wanted a little portable radio with certain specs and the word robot suggested the Sihuadon R-108. $45. I like it. It’s tiny, 3” x 5” and not quite an inch deep. AM/FM/Airband/Longwave/Shortwave. No menu. Easy to scan and preset. Easy to adjust. I heard The Report Of The Week’s shortwave radio show on Wednesday evening. I heard local airport chatter. And I heard my 88.5 FM station.
Thursday at lunch, I left the office to walk to the Fitch studio with the radio and briefly heard my station in the courtyard - then silence until I was less than a block away. On the walk back, I lost the signal barely a block north. Back in the courtyard, I faintly heard my station again. As I got closer to the building, the signal got better. Then it was perfect. How is that possible? One of the word robots explained. It probably didn’t have anything to do with the building, or the courtyard. There was less “stuff” in the way. Maybe.
How can I make the signal better? There’s a term called “counterpoise”. What is that? I just need to put a metal baking sheet under the transmitter. I’m sure the thrift store has a few of those.
The Philco Cabinet
The guts were removed from the Philco Model 610F and I hauled it up to my studio space. I’ll get some speakers to mount inside, but I’m still deciding on what brand.
I’ll sand the cabinet down and cheaply refinish the top veneer to make it a little more presentable. Or I’ll hide it. My plans on this “resto-mod” keep changing, mainly scaling back, but I’m glad it’s out of my mom’s basement.
Future Plans
Jon Harnish and I have plans for new music as Ambient Matyk. A whole series! I’m already creating some new noises and experiments.
Meet our new friend, “Moose” - you’ll see more of him this year.
Cocteau Twins - Live 1990 in London
Ann and I saw the Cocteau Twins at Liberty Hall in Lawrence, Kansas, on March 23, 1994. Not the same tour here, but a lot of the same songs. This sounds excellent, considering. “Pitch the Baby” at 15:40 is exceptional.
Hi Moose!