Radios, Errata

I am a sucker for interesting and old radios...one day, I'll do a post, possibly entitled, "What Did You Listen To KAAY With?" and show some old radios in my collection...boy, I wish I could find that old Zenith now!

Needless to say, my wife found an interesting AM/FM "microphone radio", given out by a financial institution as a gift...she bought it at a yard sale for a quarter- all that was wrong with it was the battery was dead!  The speaker is in the mic head and the controls on the side of the base...the wire is the FM antenna.  The "On The Air" lights up when the radio is turned on.  Pretty neat, pulls in the big stations at night with no problem!

Another was a deal I got this past weekend...fellow had it on a table at a gun show for $15 and it was brand new, in the box, never had batteries in it.  He'd bought it from Radio Shack for $60 and never used it!  It is a Grundig Mini-300 AM/FM/Shortwave pocket radio...and what a HOT receiver!  I listened all up and down the bands to shortwave stations- and the bands have NOT been very good lately- and the audio response, although through a small speaker, is great in a quiet environment.  Outside my office, by the Interstate, with noisy traffic, it is hard to hear and distorts when the volume it up high.  Nonetheless, on my desk (sans computer hash noise), it has a very pleasant tone and range to it.  The night I got it, I also listened to Johnny Rabbitt and "Route 66" on KMOX, with a great signal.  I tried KAAY on 1090 and could not get a signal...not surprising, these days....

For a shirtpocket radio, this thing is pushing the receiving performance of a tabletop radio.  It doesn't have the filtering of larger units, but for casual listening, it is a great little radio.  I also like the non-skid, soft coating all over the radio...lessens the "drop factor" and will not slide out of your pocket very easily.

And the "errata": just a funny radio joke I found in a June 1967 Reader's Digest, under the "Humor In Uniform" section...

"As station manager of the aircraft carrier Intrepid's radio and television station during the ship's deployment to Southeast Asia last year, I had no problem getting volunteer disc jockeys and news announcers.

One junior officer's tenure as news announcer, however, was short-lived, because he added a few words of his own to the standard closing of our newscasts: 'WINT is an Armed Forces Radio and Television Network affiliate and is owned and operated by the U. S. government- aren't we all?'"  submitted by JO2 Harry T. Wiley, FPO New York, N.Y.

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)