Ponderings on REAL Antique Radios and Skills

Thanks for the site info, Rod. I will check it out.

I have enjoyed watching RADIOTVPHONONUT repair videos on youtube for a while now. He does repairs on his latest finds consisting of record players, tube and transistor table radios and some portables. A lot of them are in poor condition but he has fun working on them and usually gets them going. Also, he likes to do vintage TV repairs too. Hates to do dial cord restringing. Very good at explaining things to viewers especially newcomers.  Doesn't seem to like to clean up the things he fixes. He has a good voice that is fun to listen to. Uses classic service type test gear and usually shows tests of the old caps removed that is entertaining and informative to watch. Doesn't do museum quality restorations-just does a good, thorough job of getting them going. Not much on testing tubes-at least if he does he doesn't show it. Has a good service and troubleshooting technique. Very effective. Often complains about how it has gotten hard to find parts locally. His storage areas are very crowded. Likes to pick up new stuff. Sell some of the fixed up sets on eBay. Hope you find him and enjoy. 73, Rod

I have a young man in AZ that I am somewhat mentoring in the old radio hobby.  He wanted to get into "vinyl" and I had to explain all about records.  He bought an old dog-eared Magnavox solid state console stereo, so we fixed that up so he can play records.  There are not that many new records yet.  Any record I would listen to is as foreign to him as some of the stuff he likes is to me.  He's making progress, but it is slow progress.  It is a lot of work to play records compared with streaming something online.

For so very long in the scheme of things, young folks would ask people our age about the things they found they needed to know as they grew.  Unfortunately these days it's us asking them how to do something with a smart phone, remote or personal computer.  That probably gives them the impression that history has no relevance in comparison to putting music files on a laptop.  It sems as less and less venues to examine the past are available, the more the young seek it out.

Agreed Frank! Sadly, it seems to be the norm these days.

What does get to me though, is that sometimes it's not just the kids that are ignorant of what old technology is. I've had folks in their 30's asking the same questions as the young uns. That is what has me shaking my head. In all fairness to the younger folks and in defense of 'some' of them, if there has been no one around to show them the old technology, how else would they be aware of it? To look it up on line, they would have to first know it exists.

Anyhoo, just my thoughts here.

Sadly, an increasing type of response.
At the hamfair 2 yrs. ago I sold a pile of dial up phones, and the guy took the time to explain to his daughter what they were, and bought 2 of them.
 So a bit of education IS happening. A child with curiosity enough to ask what something is, is pretty cool! (So is a parent that takes time enough to explain what something is and how it was used, is also becoming increasingly rare.).

There is a lot of work to be done if we want to teach our young folks about the past.

Last summer, a young man working at my farm, saw me carrying some vacuum tubes to my shop, and asked what they were.  Thinking for a minute, I answered; "This is what we used in radios and TV's before transistors."  He then asked;  "what's a transistor?" 

For decades an item had to be 100 years old to be declared an "Official" antique.
 And for many years folks have been calling tube radios "Antiques", even if the set was made in the 60's.

 Well folks, it's now 2019. There are radios out there that are REAL antiques now, using the "Official" criteria.

 The thing is that many are still in good, working condition. Yes, they have likely been repaired at some time in the past. But think of it! 100 years old and still going strong.

 Everytime you repair an old set, you are in reality preserving history for future generations.

I have found young people who never heard of tubes, dial phones, records, 8 track tapes, cassettes, Video Disk Players, out houses,  etc.

 Now I will never see the near side of 60 again, and I find this appalling.

 The kids today are brought up on CD's, computers, microwave ovens, video games,and cable TV. Most have no appreciation for  what came before- or any interest for that matter. Many of the parents won't take the time to help the kids develop a hobby, as they are too busy with their own lives to even raise the kids properly.

Hopefully a few of today's young people will discover old radios, and us "Old Folks" can pass on the knowledge before it is lost. 

Sites like this one will hopefully be around to share that knowledge, and some of the YouTubers like Fran Lab, Mr. Carlson, Glass Slinger, etc. will be there long enough to fascinate the younger generations and get them interested.

So consider finding a young person and become an "Elmer" to them. Teach them what you know, because when we are gone, much of our skills and knowledge will be lost.

 Many of the old arts in danger of extinction are being revived like blacksmithing, basket making, flint knapping, and more.
 So let's get the younger generations interested in the skills and knowledgewe have, shall we, before we go the way of the dinosaur?