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Old 28th Jan 2021, 10:33 am   #1
vinrads
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Default Is radio in your genes ?

I was wondering if anyone had inherited their love of all things radio related from a parent /grandparent, I ask because my farther used to tell me how he helped his farther strip wire ,and straighten it pulling it round a brass knob on the fire range, so as to use single strands in the construction of early radios ,and how he used to make them to order ,I don't remember meeting my grandad I think he died when I was about two/three years old , do you have radio construction/ repairing, in the family .Mick.
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Old 28th Jan 2021, 10:41 am   #2
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Default Re: Is radio in your genes ?

I must have been the family 'anomaly' regarding all things radio/electronic as of four boys I was the only one to take up the hobby and, eventually, have a career in the subject.
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Old 28th Jan 2021, 10:43 am   #3
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Default Re: Is radio in your genes ?

I certainly have. My father's side of the family were all very practical. ( A maiden aunt went to woodwork classes and built her own front gate to replace a rotten one! )

My father had a radiogram and three radios and was always swopping chassis from one cabinet to another. A favourite toy of mine consisted of the components from an early 1920's DIY radio.
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Old 28th Jan 2021, 10:46 am   #4
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Default Re: Is radio in your genes ?

To the best of my knowledge no one in my family has an interest in radio.
Both my grandparent had practical skills to repair things out of need (Trawler skipper and Tin Miner then Farmer) it was not their hobby or interest.
The closest would be my Dads, Mothers Father who was apparently a Naval Radio operator but he passed long before I was born (WW2).

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Old 28th Jan 2021, 11:11 am   #5
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Default Re: Is radio in your genes ?

It's always been a mystery where I got my interest and ability from as my Dad certainly wasn't 'handy.' In fact when I was too young to be trusted with knives I asked him to strip me some flex and he removed ALL the plastic leaving something resembling a paintbrush! I think I was eventually allowed knives as an alternative to wrecking every pair of scissors I could get my hands on.

My Mum's Father (who died before I was born) was an engineer but apparently terrified of electricity.

In fact there's no family history of it as my Dad was a railwayman, as were some of his brothers and the rest miners like his Dad. On my Mum's side they mostly worked in the mining industry — not just as miners but engineers, joiners &c — and some of the girls worked in the offices.

So in my case it's not genetic so much as instinctive.
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Old 28th Jan 2021, 11:24 am   #6
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Default Re: Is radio in your genes ?

My maternal grandfather was into wirelesses in the 1920s . He gave me the parts and helped me build my first crystal set.
He told me how he would make condensers from tinfoil and waxed paper, and grid leak resistors by drawing lines of soft pencil 'lead' onto bits of paxolin.
I still have a crystal set he bought in about 1926 in the form of a book (The Listener, by E R Fone!) It's the same set as on this year's BVWS calendar, the December page. Mine's the slightly cheaper version covered in blue cloth, rather than the tortoiseshell one on the calendar. I also have, and regularly use, his Ferranti 255 which he bought brand new in about 1956.
Wireless Is definitely in my blood.
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Old 28th Jan 2021, 11:33 am   #7
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Default Re: Is radio in your genes ?

No one in our family interested in electronics. Grandparents Carpenter / Undertaker and Farmers. I pestered my parents at Christmas for a Philips EE8 kit when 9y had limited success with it and no one able help. Only encouragement I received was from school teachers, age 10 and when 13 was lent a Radionic kit during the Easter break. I actually met my teacher from when I was 10 some 50 years later when I was displaying some of my radio collection at a Steam Rally.

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Old 28th Jan 2021, 11:48 am   #8
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Default Re: Is radio in your genes ?

My father cannot be trusted with anything practical so I was changing fuses, plugs and bulbs from a young age. His toolkit is still only two screwdrivers.

In comparison, his brother was an apprentice studio engineer in the 60's and then a TV repairman in the 70's. I remember in the mid-70's he was doing a course on Teletext and gave us a demonstration long before we had such a capable TV. I was amazed.

Radios and R2R have got me, but I need to fight the desire to get into vintage TVs.
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Old 28th Jan 2021, 11:50 am   #9
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Default Re: Is radio in your genes ?

Looks like I was the "odd" one .... six of us siblings.. I was the youngest and the "techy" From 5 or 6.... I had batteries and bulbs and bits of wire.. I used to visit an old gentleman with my father... who had all sorts of home built radio's from the 20's and 30's but none ever came my way. I have had a great working life in "electronics" 50 years.. and continuing since retirement.
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Old 28th Jan 2021, 11:51 am   #10
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Default Re: Is radio in your genes ?

I think there must be something "in the blood" of my family, as my paternal great grandfather Gustav came over from Germany to work on the telegraphs. His son (my grandfather) was certainly into electronic gadgetry such as crystal sets and the like. He also acquired the first television in our family in 1950, which is currently in my sitting room partially restored to working order. My father was more into "heavy metal" with a large soldering iron heated on the gas stove, though he did occasionally stray into electrical stuff - using a slightly smaller version of the stove-heated iron. His brother (my uncle) was an electrical contractor. My own foray into the electronic arena probably started with one of those Philips constructor sets using spring clips to connect between the components, before moving on to Heathkit kits, with a side-order of generally playing around with connecting things together and applying electricity to them.
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Old 28th Jan 2021, 11:59 am   #11
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Default Re: Is radio in your genes ?

While I never saw my grandfather building things radio related, there were always boxes of components in the under stairs cupboard (this was 50's/60's) and when I went back to my grandparents house after he died, there was radio stuff (of 90's vintage) in his shed.

Also my father used to build his own stereo gear.
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Old 28th Jan 2021, 12:12 pm   #12
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Default Re: Is radio in your genes ?

For sure it was from my Dad i got an interest in Radios etc in fact all things electronic as he was always mucking around with bits n bobs himself especially model railways , and as a small boy i followed his every move with wide eyed adoration aqnd interest in all things electric.
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Old 28th Jan 2021, 12:18 pm   #13
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Default Re: Is radio in your genes ?

I am, as far as I know, the only one in my family that showed even a glimmering of interest in anything electrical/electronic although my son shows promise. That being the case he's left it a bit late as he is in his mid 30's! My Father was a fitter in the dockyard here in Portsmouth & he dabbled in mechanical clocks & the like. It wasn't unusual to have engine or gearbox parts strewn around the kitchen when I was growing up! Apologies if that's a bit OT but I think it's relevant as it gave me an enquiring mind, I was more interested in the stuff that you couldn't see what was going on just by looking at it. I was intrigued by the concept of voices & music coming out of a box. How did it get there? Where did it come from? Why couldn't I hear it without this box? Could I make something for myself that would work just as well? The rest is history!
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Old 28th Jan 2021, 1:05 pm   #14
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Default Re: Is radio in your genes ?

My father was a very practical person and 'fixed things', he was a leading aircraftman in the RAF in WWII, in charge of a ground crew on Spitfires and Hurricanes in North Africa. I seem to have followed his example, finally retiring as a machine design engineer. My oldest son is following on in the tradition. I taught him how to build up computers from about the age of 10, and he got his amateur Novice licence at age 11. He now has a BSc in computer networking and programming and worked for a couple of electronic companies before his current job working as an IT analyst (still with hands on machine build when needed) for a city stock market trading company.
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Old 28th Jan 2021, 4:30 pm   #15
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Default Re: Is radio in your genes ?

I must have inherited my love of electronics and radio from my father. He signed up for the RAF at the outbreak of war and trained as an instrument repairer working on sunderlands.
After the war he was an electrician.

Peter
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Old 28th Jan 2021, 4:44 pm   #16
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Default Re: Is radio in your genes ?

My interest must have come from my uncle and my father. My uncle worked for the Post Office telecoms and then with the BBC as a transmitter engineer. My father was always fascinated by electronics but was unable to build anything as he was red/green colour blind. He was a brilliant musician and I got my love of jazz and classics from him.

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Old 28th Jan 2021, 4:49 pm   #17
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Default Re: Is radio in your genes ?

My grandfather back in Malta worked in the telecommunications sector and back in the day owned a number of sets.

He was passionate about radio, I remember his little transistor well, in the kitchen mostly and always on. He took it everywhere with him, including to the beach.

He also owned an ekco sh25, which would have cost him a small fortune back in the day, and had another valve set in the bedroom which he used to listen to opera, but I don't remember it well enough to make out what set it was. My mum says I inherited his 'radio' gene.

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Old 28th Jan 2021, 5:07 pm   #18
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Default Re: Is radio in your genes ?

My grandad made crystal sets etc in the 1920s and 30s. His son (my uncle) was twin to my mum. He joined the RAF in WW2 as a radio op on Hampdens I think. He was always in my shack in the 60s when I was swl and helped teach me morse. As a sideline he did the occasional radio/tape/ tv repairs. My older brother joined the RN in about 1963 as a wireless op. Then myself, passed the RAE aged 15 in 67.
Nobody else I can think of connected. However, my 5 year old grandson is train mad, more so than me! He has started memorising some of the Underground stations in correct order and can also reel off all the stations from Waterloo to Motspur Park where he lives. The station is just over the fence at the bottom of their garden.
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Old 28th Jan 2021, 6:08 pm   #19
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Default Re: Is radio in your genes ?

I think my love of radio came from my maternal granddad, he was a bit of a "wide boy" during WWII and when he was still living on London (Chadwell Heath) was always finding me things to play with like plumbing pipes light bulbs and batteries, clocks (I am told I used to pull them apart and at the age of six put one back together) and a radio (a Coronation twin I think) when we visited. He was always optimistic, a hands on man and vegetable grower, I haven't got the vegetable gene, the rest are here though. He loved radio, Grandma loved telly, for a quite life telly in the living room, radio in the shed.
 
Old 28th Jan 2021, 6:35 pm   #20
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Default Re: Is radio in your genes ?

Everything started for me when I found a scrapped crystal set (BTH Bijou) in a neighbour's dustbin. Some wire out of the window, earth on the waterpipe and I was in business. I had no idea how it worked, but aged about 8 I really needed to find out.

I was the only one in the immediate family who was in the least bit practical. My brother and father weren't interested - and were pretty hopeless when anything went wrong. My view of the world was pretty different to theirs, so I didn't inherit all of their genes. I had an uncle who was a gifted engineer,though, and I guess that's where the genetic link comes in.

I suppose it must be down to innate curiousity and a need to be self-reliant. Every competent engineer I've met over the years seems to share these characteristics.
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