Monday, February 16, 2009

Antique radio collectors

Local ham Rob, VK2ZNZ called me after the Sunday broadcast to propose an excursion to visit some chaps he met at the Historical Radio Society of Australia.

First stop was Joe and Anne's place where the decorative furniture included this amazing cabinet radio.

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Joe spend many years working on ships and has built boat style storage spaces throughout the house for storing radio restoration parts including a huge range of valves. Here's the view up a trapdoor above the loo into some previously wasted space.

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DSC01872.jpgOff a small but lush garden, the workshop is actually a tiny cupboard like space but is surrounded with all the parts he needs easily at hand.

Throughout the house there is no wasted space that is not filled with bits and pieces, this includes the attic all the way down to a crawlspace under the floor.

Upstairs there's an official long wire antenna that looks like it might do for transmitting too.

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Valves are even stored under each bed.

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So no bouncing I guess. Lots of drawers are full too.

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Everywhere.

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If you want something, it gets looked up in the catalog..

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Ah.. it's in a box under the floor near the front door, off we go.

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There it is!

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Next we were off to visit Jack, he also has an extensive collection of valves.

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Now Jack was quick to say that he's not a radio collector but he does seem to have accumulated a few sets.

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In several rooms.

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Around the house.

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Here's radios for listening to while doing the washing.

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I found a set to buy, Jack turned it on and wasn't happy with the sound so got to work fault finding.

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I'm going to collect it next week.

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Thanks Rob, Joe, Ann, and Jack for a very entertaining Sunday afternoon.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I envy that storage utilisation. Especially the discipline to have everything catalogued for easy access.

I must do that eventually. I have far more bits and pieces than I have compartmentalised storage for. A bunch of ziplock bags in larger boxes would be needed for all the less-usual bits and one-of objects. I already have my bulk capacitors like that, but I have no idea which box contains what so retrieval is a protracted affair that usually kills the mood and/or wastes the afternoon.

yandri vahala said...

awesome ... I have some radios too
thks alot