Sunday, 29 November 2020
As the transistor radio fades away
Yesterday, Son dug out his transistor radio to listen to Saturday afternoon football. It looks much the same as a biggish transistor radio with a chrome aerial, although it is a modern version with FM, DAB and the ability to stream radio stations from the internet.
“What’s that?” asked Grandson.
The grandkids hadn’t really seen the radio before, didn’t know what it was and were particularly puzzled by the chrome aerial. Son was tuning the thing in, looking for the local radio station and of course there was the usual hissing as he did so.
“What’s that noise? Is it broken?” Asked both grandkids.
They are familiar with the internet via all kinds of devices such as mobile phones, streamed TV, computer games, telling Alexa to switch off this and that, but not a transistor radio with its mysterious aerial.
Imagine knowing nothing about transistor radios…
Come to think of it - they haven’t missed much.
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7 comments:
I wonder what they were really for. I can think of four distinct uses. First, to be a source of wonder to my older brothers in the 1960s, that they could actually own something which - after a fashion - produced broadcast sound that wasn't controlled by my parents. Second, to sit on formica-topped kitchen tables so that people in their sixties and seventies could accompany their potterings with some music or a friendly voice. We've got one now, although the kitchen table is stripped pine. Third, so that builders and workmen could own a battered and paint-spattered model which bellows away to the annoyance of neighbours. Fourth, to get people of a certain age into trouble because they don't know that "Trannie" is now a forbidden word.
"Imagine knowing nothing about transistor radios…"
I wonder what they would make of my old shortwave sets! Not only do they produce all kinds of noise when tuning between stations, those same stations can fade in and out within seconds, or disappear completely for hours, or even days, at a time. And we had to request programme & frequency schedules sent out BY POST, as the internet barely existed 40 years ago. I well remember the excitement of seeing a QSL verification card drop through the letter box, or even hearing my name read out on "Listeners Letters" shows.
But.....(and it might come to this) shortwave works with the most basic of home brewed equipment - I'm thinking of the weekend "Hobby Pirates". It also doesn't need an internet connection, should that get taken down or heavily censored...
By a strange coincidence, I was chatting with my dear sister only last evening, and she reminded me of an old 'battery' wireless which adorned a shelf in the spare room in the 1940s...
One of her 'tasks' was to take the accumulator to some shop in the village to get it charged up. The wireless was an ugly, veneered brute, and as a tot, I was a little afraid of it, because the pattern on the front was a bit menacing!
Whatever happened to Hilversum, I wonder!
"Take the accumulator to some shop in the village to get it charged up"
That would have been the lead-acid jobby which powered the heater circuit for the valve(s). The HT (High Tension) supply was provided by a traditional "Dry" battery, which lasted for months.
Sorry to sound like an old fart (I am), but terms such as "Accumulator" "Wireless" and High "Tension" (nowadays "Voltage") all take me back to rather happier times...
"Whatever happened to Hilversum, I wonder!"
There's a brief summary here (appears to be an automatic translation):
https://pop-culture.fandom.com/wiki/Hilversum_1
I remember 747 & 1008 kHz from many years ago. Sadly, I can't check whether they are still active due to horrendous local interference from someones Power Line Adaptors. Ironically, in view of my previous comment, they are used to extend internet service around the house...
Sam - we've often wondered why builders and workmen have to work to the sound of their battered and paint-spattered radio and why it has to be so loud. It would put me off.
microdave - until a few years ago we owned an old bakelite Ferranti wireless which still produced a good sound, but as with your shortwave sets, many stations would fade in and out. I still enjoyed seeing what I could pick up though.
Scrobs - we once had an old battery radio like your "ugly, veneered brute". It had been left behind in the house we moved to in the early sixties. We never tried to get it working though, perhaps because it was so ugly.
Many thanks for this, Microdave!
The soft smell coming from a valve wireless was just wonderful too!
Hilversum seemed to be printed on every range bar, but nobody I knew had a clue what it was, or where it came from!
"The soft smell coming from a valve wireless was just wonderful too!"
Mine had a habit of going "bang" every so often. I was told one of the Condensers (Capacitors in modern speak) was failing, and a work round was to wire a 100 or 150 watt bulb into live side of the mains lead. This dropped the voltage enough to stop the bangs, and the radio worked fine for many more years!
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