Today starts an interesting adventure. I have been acquiring radios again at a steady rate for the last 10 or so years, plus I still have a few of my old ones. I need to get a handle on this collection, as I have decided that I just have too much "stuff" (will all due respect to George Carlin).
Most of it is here, in my garage, in boxes and crates. I'm going to sell quite a bit of it, but wanted to get back into writing at the same time. I will be posting stories about some of what I come across on my blog FOFIO! if anyone is interested in checking it out, and will post links to the articles here. I am calling the series "Radios I Have Known".
I will start out by reposting an article I wrote about a radio of my dad's.http://fofio.blogspot.com/2011/04/dads-sony.html
Enjoy, and if anyone has a good story about a radio, let's hear it!
My father grew up in the 'Radio Era' which made him more radio-aware than my children are now. He was by no means a hobbyist, but knew enough to tell good from bad. He knew that AM radios had to be turned for best reception, and a good swiveling whip antenna was necessary for FM reception. For him, the radio needed to be able to pick up his NPR stations, WCBS-AM, and get the Mets games when he was on the road.
I ran a sales territory for our family business. As Dad got older, he eventually came off the road, and ran the company from inside. Every now and then though, he would schedule to ride with one of his salespeople to keep an eye on things. He rode with me for few days once on my Northern New Jersey run. Thursdays on that run, I would sometimes stop at the offices of Gilfer Shortwave, and chat with Jeanne Ferrell and Paul Lannuier. I had purchased several radios there over the years, and would buy the various shortwave books and guides from them as they were released.
That one Thursday that Dad came along, he got a kick out of Gilfer, and all of the radios. He and Paul talked for a bit, and he purchased a Sony ICF-SW20. Partly because he really liked the quality of the little radio, and partly because I think he liked the folks at Gilfer as much as I did.
Dad had this radio from then, till he passed away in December 2009. It was his main radio. I saw it on his nightstand, in the bathroom, and on trips back east to visit us. Even with all of the selling and swapping I've done lately with my radio collection, I will never get rid of this radio. To me it was an acknowledgment from dad that my interests in radio were appreciated, and is a memory of the man I miss. It currently lives on my desk at work, sometimes called to duty for news, and music. Thanks for the radio Dad! I'll pass it down the line someday to Alec.
