Nostalgia? Probably.

[HoraceBatchelor]

I'm pleased that this thread of mine as attracted a good response. I hope that ive not rubbed anyone up the wrong way. I do appreciate you chaps who can get a second life, or prolong the first lives of these old sets. I cant. I just haven't been gifted with the appropriate skills. A far as electrics go, for me it's a no-go. I got to the age of thirty before i dared change a plug.

And i suppose this is what i really mean when i say "is it worth it?" It isn't just the skill and knowledge you have to require. But you need the right equipment to do the job. And you need to know that you will be safe when doing it. I do not meet any of said criteria. Hence, if i need to once again listen to today's equivalent of Radio Luxembourg, it is going to cost me more than most enthusiasts.

The crux of the matter being. I like vintage radios, i like the idea that from that very same speaker you could have heard the excitement of the commentator as he described the mesmorising ball skills of Stanley Mathews dribbling down the Wembley wing. You could have also heard some interference doing it's best to spoil a world title fight from Madison Square Garden at three in the morning.

And not having the skills to resurrect these relics shouldn't detract from the enjoyment i get from them. it's just the cost that sometimes makes me wonder."Was the good old days, really all that good?"

[stevehertz]

For me it's largely nostalgia. As has been said, it's lovely to gaze upon a vintage wireless set and wonder about its past, the people who owned it, where they lived, what they listened to on it, the dreadful war news that they listened to. Otherwise I'm an inveterate 'fixer' of things, especially things that I am able to not only make work again, but look good again, and I love the look of pre (and many post) war radios. It's also, in the case of my vintage hifi hobby, the ability to own (sounds terribly materialistic I know) high quality hifi pieces that I could only gaze upon in upmarket department stores in the 70s as a low paid 'starter' electronics test engineer. When I collected nigh on thirty vintage TVs in the 70s/80s (many pre war sets and nothing later than 1950) it really was a nostalgia kick, dimming the lights and watching a period film (they were still being broadcast!) snuggled down in a comfy armchair. If nostalgia be the food of love, play on; give me excess of it, let me drown in it (with a nod to Shakespeare).

[G6Tanuki]

Originally Posted by HoraceBatchelor

And not having the skills to resurrect these relics shouldn't detract from the enjoyment i get from them. it's just the cost that sometimes makes me wonder."Was the good old days, really all that good?"

In practice "the good old days" were horrible. Apart from the pea-souper fogs, Polio, no antibiotics.... quite a few of the "consumer" radios people ooh-and-aah over would typically cost a couple of weeks' pay for an average worker. Want to buy a new-fangled telly or a radiogram? It could easily cost as much as a small car - and that's _before_ you added-in the 35% Purchase-Tax! [which explains why renting was so popular].

When you did get to own/have-on-hire-purchase your radio/telly it would break down regularly - meaning additional expense and time-without-being-able-to-listen/watch. And even if it was working perfectly you had a horribly-restricted range of content to actually watch/listen-to - much of which also went off-air ridiculously-early!

Nostalgia? the good-old-days? No thanks!

Nostalgia is the good bits of times past, made better by having so much bad stuff surrounding it.

[rontech]

My parent's radios were of 1936 1937 vintage and I think were bought second hand at that time. RGD 625 table model, a Marconi console and an HMV table model. The latter two were at the EMI top end back in the day.

From my earliest memories to about the 1956/57 period we were avid radio listeners. I cannot recall there ever being a breakdown.

[Paul_RK]

Originally Posted by G6Tanuki

And even if it was working perfectly you had a horribly-restricted range of content to actually watch/listen-to - much of which also went off-air ridiculously-early!

A matter of taste, this: there were already two TV channels when I came into the world, but I'm pretty sure I would watch considerably more than my present few hours a year were there only one. As regards radio, my listening rarely goes beyond Radios 3,4 and the World Service, and I'd be delighted were any of them more to resemble what it was 50 years ago. Howard Devoto wasn't wrong, some will pay for what others pay to avoid...

Paul

[David Simpson]

One of the drawbacks of working in RAF radio servicing bays in the early days was being asked (told) by the Chief Tech to repair officer's(& their wife's) domestic & portable radios & record players, etc. Thus many of us junior technicians developed a hatred of these things. This attitude, with me, still lingers to this day. Dansette portable record players - Yuck, and certain other domestic valve radios & trannies - double yuck. "My wife accidently spilt her G & T over the radio" or "one of the chaps at the officer's beach party accidently kicked sand over my Dansette portable " & so on.
This was one of the reasons, when I left the RAF in '75 to become a commercial diver, which made me swear never to be involved with electronics, avionics, or domestic radios & TV's, ever again.
So upon taking up vintage radio pursuits in 2007, as a retirement pastime, I set out to be quite selective in what I took on. Woodies for example - don't really like them except for the likes of Murphy U122's or U128's etc - well made & in beautiful veneered stylish cabinets. Ferranti 145's - those stylish(Chrysler building) bakelite cabinets polish up a dream. 1920's/early 30's TRF's in their solid Oak or Mahogany cabinets - hours & hours(or days) of TLC & & they can look great. Plus repairing clapped out circuitry & components is a challenge. Not really nostalgia, but more a challenge to my old grey cells in trying to remember all the basic fault finding & repair principals I had been taught back in the early 60's.

Regards, David

[John10b]

When I get a bit nostalgic I think of the ups and downs of being in the trade. One of my abiding memories as an apprentice was how very fussy some folk could be. I’m referring to the time when we had to visit customer houses to fix the tv. On many occasions we were greeted with a carpet of newspapers leading to the tv, with the housewife watching our every move in case we “tradesmen “ took a wrong move onto the carpet. Happy days?
John

[AC/HL]

I've had a few variations of the theme around Electronics, all have good and bad points. I can remember people being distraught if they had to miss a favourite programme (no instant replays back then), or drawing up a chair to supervise. Later on there was the cosy office on a really bad day, contrasting with the solitary open road in summer (UK) and the conviviality of mess life abroad. Nostalgia, definitely.

[stevehertz]

Originally Posted by John10b

When I get a bit nostalgic I think of the ups and downs of being in the trade. One of my abiding memories as an apprentice was how very fussy some folk could be. I’m referring to the time when we had to visit customer houses to fix the tv. On many occasions we were greeted with a carpet of newspapers leading to the tv, with the housewife watching our every move in case we “tradesmen “ took a wrong move onto the carpet. Happy days?
John

Unlike the tradesmen now who without even asking if it's ok, use your tools if they're about and habitually leave a total mess behind them.

[David Simpson]

Horace B has been quite honest with us in saying that he doesn't understand radio theory or practice. But I would say that even if he is past 3 score years & ten, there is no reason why he cannot be taught the basics, thus enhancing his enjoyment in being a member of a radio REPAIR & RESTORATION forum.
Hey, over the years I've noticed a number of forum folk's locations as being in the Merseyside area, and there must loads of Forum & BVWS folk in the overall Lancashire county. Hence the success of Golborne Swapmeets just a stone's throw from Wigan. So Horace - reach out to some of the guys, make friends & get someone to kindly mentor you. To Forum &/or BVWS folk from SW Lancs - kindly consider taking this chap under your wing. This is the whole ethos of the expanding "Men's Sheds" idea which seems to be expanding throughout the UK for folk with a variety of pastime interests.
Whatever folk's hobbies & interests are, get out & about & meet folk. Don't sit at home all day with your finger stuck where the sun doesn't shine.

Regards, David

[usradcoll1]

Originally Posted by Skywave

My sentiments entirely. To me, a hobby is something you do for pleasure, so inevitably there is a cost to that. For me, the 'fun aspect' is very closely related to learning why something was designed and assembled in a particular way. And since 'electronics' is such a vast subject, there is always something new to learn. I think we've all met a chunk of circuitry (or even a complete item) which upon first inspection invokes the response "Huh? What that's for? How does that bit work?" 'Electronics' as a hobby? It's all about discovery and exploring. And that can be very rewarding, if not financially, then certainly mentally.

Al.

I had to try doing electronic repair to earn a living. Forget it! Too much work for the rewards. Working against the clock, took all the pleasure out of the work. I've been doing this kind of work for over sixty years.
Now, it's strictly a hobby! I don't even take in this kind of work for anyone but myself.
Dave, USradcoll1

[Maarten]

With regards to consumer electronics maintenance, a lot of the cheaper sets of today don't really last a lot longer than nostalgic equipment. The olden days weren't really worse.

['LIVEWIRE?']

Dave, I'd agrree with your comment about too much work for too little reward, especially in recent years. Between late '71 and April '95 I worked as I.C.E. (In-car entertainment) engineer for an auto-electrical firm, during which time I serviced and repaired everything from simple AM Radios through to Radio-Cassette and Radio-CD PLayers. The firm for whom I worked were main dealers for several Manufacturers including Radiomobile, Motorola, Blaupunkt, Philips, and Clarion. The salary was always a little below the average for the time, but there was a bonus every Christmas, plus refresher courses paid for by my employers. All of this of course finished in April 1995 when the firm ceased trading. I later ran my own repair workshop full time for some 20 years, and in all that time it seldom made a profit, besides which more recent equipment isn't really designed to be economically repaired (in my opinion). Most things today seem to be sold on the basis of 'if it breaks down outside the Warranty period-buy a new one'. I guess the situation is similar in the USA, too? Now in my late 70s, I feel that it's time to call it a day as far as repairing items for a living is concerned.

[stevehertz]

Originally Posted by Maarten

With regards to consumer electronics maintenance, a lot of the cheaper sets of today don't really last a lot longer than nostalgic equipment. The olden days weren't really worse.

Seriously, is that the understatement of the year? Most of the modern electronic equipment that I own is faulty or intermittent in some way or another. Yet receivers from the 30s can be relatively easily repaired by an enthusiast. On the other hand try repairing a modern piece of consumer electronics with micro sized surface mounted components. Nigh on impossible. You need very specialised and expensive service equipment and even then, most repairers just change boards.

No, most vintage equipment is eminently repairable even if you have to sometimes use a lathe or something to replicate a physical form.

[Maarten]

@LIVEWIRE even if modern equipment isn't really meant to be repaired, for equipment such as mobile phones, tablets, laptops, more upmarket TV sets that still cost a few weeks wages, there's a growing market for repair. The tools and part of the skillset is a bit different, but it can still be worthwile. Louis Rossmann is a well known youtuber who specialises in component level repair and data recovery of Apple devices. In a few years time he expanded his business from 3 employees to 13 and is now moving to a bigger store.

[dave walsh]

Does Nostalgia have a future?

We've talked about nostalgia [1] in the past [ironically] and it's all getting even more real as the years go by for us older individuals! I think this is the first generation [in many ways] to have a hobby/collecting mentality en-masse as it were and the spare time [although that is all going backwards-in a way-just now!]. A lot of it is a harking back to past times and things that were out of reach or unappreciated maybe .

It is very satisfying to repair and restore things [2] but only if you have some awareness, knowledge and motivation and don't expect to just buy new.

Another aspect may be independence [3]. It's a digi-world now. For a very long time electrical communication was available but generally only to those who could afford or controlled it. Few people could ring America or anywhere more local at will. Along with economic necessity, I think this awareness helped to inspire Amateur Radio. Apart from the all important [to many] technical/construction aspect individuals could make contact on their own initiative, setting aside the somewhat dull outcome a lot of the time. Hancock's Radio Ham episode covers most of these issues beautifully!

Re-use [4] features in all this and at present "Up-Cycling" takes it into the wider society. I'm not sure that's the same as being able to think/do things for yourself but I keep coming back to the best example of a digital collapse in recent times ie Hurricane Katrina when individuals were brought to a distressed collapse not through cold, hunger, illness, abandonment etc but because their cell phones didn't work. The Amateur Radio Emergency Service had VHF/SW kit that did. Given the total dependence on servers etc I'm surprised that they aren't guarded more closely than Nuclear Installations!

The future [5] is unlikely to be loaded with nostalgia and Blade Runner [1982] seems increasingly to be a template. It's not completely unlikely that the sort of kit we value might even have a use again in some circumstances! I re-call a Radio 4 play in the seventies which imagined a future that involved everyone living in eco-domes but bringing out reminders of the past. They had an Aston Martin [in a society where fossil fuels were banned] but a small amount of petrol was licensed so they could start it up for a few minutes [now and again] simply to enjoy the sound of the engine running! Now that's nostalgia!

Dave W

[Radio Wrangler]

Originally Posted by G6Tanuki

In practice "the good old days" were horrible. Apart from the pea-souper fogs, Polio, no antibiotics....

Whenever I come across one of those people who say they wished they were living in some specific byegone age, I have just one word to say to them:

DENTISTRY!


David

[McMurdo]

Not nostalgia for me either, unless you can acquire it retrospectively; I grew up in the 70's. I do have a love for antiques and history, art deco and industrial design, and anything reflecting the heyday of british industry. I admit to having something like I once heard Gerry Wells say in an interview; that when he was collecting stuff from bomb sites, he felt the stuff needed saving, or rescuing. Sometimes i find myself bidding autonomously at an auction because I think a particular radio/tv deserves to be saved by me. Not in a pompous way...I just feel that I could give it more love than my co-bidder.
Nurse...the screens!

[HamishBoxer]

There was a home office film based on Gerry Wells, I think that included rescuing radios, even though it was highly illegal during war time.