Relaxing to a transistor radio
It's always nice to get away from the city on the weekend. Today a friend and I went to Front Royal. There are some wonderful antique shops in that town, as well as a great vintage store.
I was particularly impressed with this one which had all sorts of kitchenware, clothes, period telephones, and other curiosities. They had a lot of old photograph equipment, including old Polaroid cameras, an 8-mm film camera and projector. I indulged in a bit of nostalgia by picking up some old Great Muppet Caper glasses from the 80s. I also picked up a radio. Not a stereo system, not a satellite radio system, not a boom box...a portable GE AM/FM 15 transistor radio receiver from the 1970s.
Here's a picture:
It's got a strap on the top of it, so I can carry it into the garden and enjoy a good baseball game this summer. :-)
If you open the back, there's a mess of wires and transistors plus space for 4 double-A batteries. If you think hacking is a recent phenomenon, think again. Ham radio enthusiasts have been doing since the early part of the 20th century with their crystal sets, and then later with vacuum tubes. My next goal is to procure a shortwave set.
Current listening: "Traditions with Mary Cliff," WETA-FM 90.9 (broadcast)
posted by Thom Pease @ 9:16 PM
4 comments
4 Comments:
a) You have a garden? That's awesome.
b) Love the radio! I have an AM transistor when I was younger and used it to listend to geeky 1930s radio shows. Does the AM band still broadcast? ;)
LOL. Yes, and it's very interesting what's going on with AM because it could be revitalized with the onslaught of HD radio. Apparently there have been incidents of AM digital broadcasting where there is major spillage onto other channels (like 1140 spilling into 1160, etc.) It's not perfect yet, but the quality of sound on AM is going to go up. (Static will be never be eliminated though).
ooooo, we used to have one of those radios!
*found you from crystal's blog*
Welcome Lass. Thanks for your post.
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