Letter: 60 years of radio in pictures

Radio World welcomes letters from readers. Comment on this or another article. Email [email protected].

I read James Careless’ July 19 article about listening to radio at home and your question about how we listen to radio at home today. As a young boy, I originally listened using a detector radio with a long wire antenna. In high school, I built my first radio, a Heathkit GR-91, in 1962. It still works today.

I also belonged to the radio club (in high school) and got my first experience in broadcasting. Have fun. I eventually earned my FCC Second CGirls’ license and amateur radio license (KA1AWI).

Over the years I have worked as a backup technician and occasionally as a DJ on local radio stations. My main work was LMR radio, which came in handy when stations started using Marti remote radios. Remotes have always been fun, especially on the water.

Attached are photos of radios I own and still use. Most trucks in the 60s and 70s were not equipped with radios, so the small Audiovox with a clip-on antenna worked great (remember the gutters on vehicles?). Today, instead of shortwave, I stream music from abroad on a Kindle with external speakers.

This is how the author listened to the radio for over 60 years. Click on the photo to switch between the images.

— Richard Theberge

(You can find more letters in the Radio World reader forum)