[Boatanchors] Crystal sets etc.

[Doug Moore via Boatanchors]

I have attempted to reply to Bob Bethman numerous times at his listed  
address, but every time my messages are rejected. Therefore, I am sending  the 
last one here, in the hopes that Bob may get it.
 
   
In a message dated 4/24/2015 10:10:30 A.M. Central Daylight Time,  
rbethman at comcast.net writes:

Now,  putting that aside, the idea of her listening to a barrage of AM 
Talk  Radio does disturb me.
Bob,
 
That comment struck a chord with me. :-) You are absolutely correct, there  
is very little to NOTHING on AM radio anymore worth listening to. I can't 
speak  for other areas, but here near Chicago, it's all commentary or news. 
The ONLY  music is one Hispanic station, and you get bored with that fairly 
soon.
 
I used to restore and collect table radios, but quickly got discouraged  
from playing them. I do have a Zenith console model with shortwave bands that 
I  kept, but sold or gave away most of the others.
 
I have a friend in Denver who has restored and collected antique radios for 
 many years. His whole house is full of them. When the AM stations 
deteriorated,  he built his own local low power station, and runs it using a Seeburg 
100 LP  player set to cycle continuously. He fires this up whenever he has 
visitors. :-)  He also has some CD's he can switch in that have WWII 
broadcasts and AFRS music  recordings. Makes it very authentic. :-) But, that's a 
lot of trouble for  someone less dedicated.
 
While I am sure there are some AM FM kits around, they are probably all  
solid state, not that this is a problem. You might consider finding an old 
AM/FM  vacuum tube set and restoring it. I have done this with several, my 
favorite  being a Zenith "Boomerang" table radio. Of course I grew up with 
vacuum tubes,  and despite the fact that most of my career in electronic 
engineering was with  solid state devices, I never lost my fascination for the old 
technology. I  enjoyed working on the old tube gear, where you could SEE all 
the parts without  magnification. :-) Also, everything to fix them is STILL 
available, mostly.  :-)
 
I've also built my share of crystal radios, regenerative shortwave  
receivers, and low power Amateur Radio equipment. BUT, I find that working with  
vacuum tubes my mind back to the times when life was less complex and more  
enjoyable. :-) I'm sure it's not that way for everyone. :-)
 
Regards,
 
Doug Moore
 
P.S. I was born in 1938. Started building crystal sets when I was 7. Built  
tube radios shortly after. Got my Amateur Radio license in 1954 as K6HWY. I 
am  currently KB9TMY.