Category Archives: Nostalgia

a.bsolument: Converting radios from vintage valve into boutique Bluetooth

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Kim Elliott, who shares this link to a French company called a.bsolument who specializes in converting vintage valve radios into hi-fidelity Bluetooth-connected audio devices.

According to a.solument’s introduction video, they take vintage radios in disrepair, gut the insides and replace the components with modern hardware which includes Bluetooth 4.0 and aux-in capabilities:

https://vimeo.com/87657532

While I LOVE vintage radios, I have conflicting feelings about this process.

I take pride in keeping my vintage gear in proper working order (through the help of a mentor). Something that simply cannot be replicated with digital hardware is the sound and warm fidelity of AM audio emanating from a valve classic. At home, I have the option of feeding all of my vintage gear Bluetooth and wireless connectivity via an AM transmitter. This allows me to play any digital content while preserving the original audio fidelity (and warming my radio room with those glowing tubes!).

With that said, I’m very much aware that it’s becoming increasingly difficult for the average consumer to find a technician who can repair tube gear affordably. Indeed, some feel it’s impossible thus toss their family radio in the trash.

If a.bsolument is giving vintage beauties–that would otherwise be in a landfill–a new lease on life, then I’m all for it!

What do you think? Please comment!

From the Post Archives: Radio Free Whatever–A Pearl Harbor Tribute

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President Franklin Roosevelt called December 7, 1941, “a date which will live in infamy”–the day Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, Hawaii by air.

This morning, I was reminded of an off-air recording I made in 2013 of the pirate radio station, Radio Free Whatever. Please enjoy this bit of history from the Post archive:

960px-USS_SHAW_exploding_Pearl_Harbor_Nara_80-G-16871_2

USS Shaw exploding in Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941

For your listening pleasure: one hour, seven minutes of the pirate radio station, Radio Free Whatever.

I recorded this broadcast on December 15 2013, starting around 2:40 UTC, on 6,925 kHz AM. This broadcast was a tribute to WWII and Pearl Harbor and contains news clips and music from the same time period. I believe my recording begins about five or so minutes into their broadcast.

Simply click here to download an MP3 of the recording, or listen via the embedded player below:

Radio Advertising: “A 700-Foot Mountain of Whipped Cream”

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I recently discovered a bi-weekly experimental arts-and-culture program called The Organist at KCRW. The latest episode is simply brilliant for those of us who love radio nostalgia.

Here’s the description for Part 1:

This week, we’re sharing a highly subjective journey through one narrow, eccentric, corridor of radio advertising, as heard through the ears of one man. His name is Clive Desmond. Clive is a radio advertising producer, writer, and composer. He’s been doing it for more than thirty years, and he’s won some of the industry’s top awards. Through those years he’s been sort of a zelig figure: you can find his face somewhere in the margins of every one of the medium’s key aesthetic revolutions. He’s rescued beautiful forgotten nuggets of radio history, and he’s delicately arranged them into a glittering associative chain—a constellation of jingles and spots that somehow all add up, to a life: The life of Clive Desmond as heard through the radio.

Click here to visit this episode at KCRW.

Dan’s QSL signed by Miki Gurdus

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Regarding our recent post about Miki Gurdus, SWLing Post contributor Dan Robinson, writes:

Went through my books and found it, the Gurdus handwritten note to me. It appears to have been during a visit he made to Washington, likely in the period I was in college 1975-1979 but could have been later during the 80’s or 90’s.

It reads: “To Dan — In Memory of a joyful day in Washington. Michael Gurdus.”

Amazing! Thank you for sharing your memories, Dan.

British Vintage Wireless Society: Royal Wootton Bassett auction 3rd December 2017

Mark spots a number of radios in “Designated Survivor”

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mark Hirst, who adds the following to our growing archive of radios in film.

Mark writes:

Quite a haul this time!

In episode 20 of ‘Designated Survivor‘, FBI Agent Hannah Wells tries to get a message out before being recaptured….

Click to enlarge.

Many thanks, Mark! Another good one!

Are those Kenwood transceivers in the background? I certainly see a Kenwood external speaker and (perhaps a Nye Viking–?) tuner.

Please comment if you can identify this radio gear!

Greg recommends “All the Light We Cannot See” by Anthony Doerr

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Gregg Freeby, who writes:

As a regular reader of the SWLing Post I wanted to share with you a book I came across recently that your readers might be interested in reading. Shortwave radio provides the backdrop of this Pulitzer Prize winning story that takes place during WWII. You can search Wikipedia or other websites for a summary. While the story isn’t specifically about radios, Nazi radio propaganda as well as clandestine numbers stations run by the French resistance and Nazi attempts to locate and destroy them very much figure into the plot. I found it a very compelling read and thought perhaps you and your readers might too.

Many thanks, Greg. I actually purchased this book a few months ago on the recommendation of a friend who owns a local book store. It’s in my “read me” stack now, and though I haven’t gotten to it, I very much look forward to reading it soon.

Check out All The Light We Cannot See on Amazon (affiliate link).