In this letter to the editor, the author comments on the story “Hey Radio World, How Are You Tuning In?,” where we asked readers to share fun pictures and stories of their own radio collections. Comment on this or any article. Email radioworld@futurenet.com.
I’ve been a SW DXer and radio-fanatic since I can remember. Over the years I have had numerous makes and models, depending on what my interests were at a given time. I’ve never gone in for expensive products and have always tried to find something affordable that does the job well.
I’ve had Sonys, Kaitos, a National Panasonic, Hallicrafters and Zenith TOs, some that I restored to save from the dumpster. These days, I mostly use a Tescun PL-880 for general listening on AM, FM and SW. Add to that a mid-1960s Zenith Royal 74 AM portable that is the same model my family had when I was listening to our local hit spinners in my youngest years, and a C. Crane CC-2E. Both were gifted to me by a kind friend.
At the breakfast table I catch Morning Edition on a first run Tivoli Model One that was signed by Henry Kloss. In the office I use a robust Toyota/Pioneer AM/FM/HD car radio that I ended up with (long story) and I made into a station monitor (see photo).
There is still something that catches my imagination when listening to a weather report from an AM station hundreds of miles away. And I’ll never forget how, at one station where I worked early on, when it came time to stop transmission for the day, the off-air monitor would be filled with this background din of voices and musical notes floating in from hundreds of miles away. Timeless.
— Charles Dubé, CPBE, chief engineer of radio for New England Public Media
[Related: “Letter: My Radio Collection Stands the Test of Time“]
