Last night on the programme, we talked about the switch off of good ol' stereo FM.
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Our chat with former Capital Radio boss got people writing about old radios. John Lloyd was first:
"What about my 48 year-old transistor radio, will it still work?"
And then Simon Cook who wrote about his 31 year old FM radio which "still produces faultless quality listening all over my house". You can see it below:
So we wondered on air which PM listener had the oldest FM radio in the land.
Emma St Clair told us that her transistor radio was her grandfather's and had survived for 73 years. Andrew Wighton has a "working 53-ish year old FM radio - no stereo. An enormous radio with great tone."
Maurice Herson says: "Mine was bought second-hand in 1971 - it previously belonged to a friend who arrived at college with it in 1968. It is a Mainz AM/FM radio and I heard you wanted to know about this on it where it is on constantly in my kitchen." And he's sent this picture he admits is fuzzy - but the sound isn't.
Bob the Gerbil wrote: "How about my 1957 Ferranti all valve radiogram? (two snaps below) 12Watts RMS out from a pair of EL84s in Push-pull. Eddie, you sound wonderful!" It's always nice to get a compliment from a gerbil.
John sent his email from Herts while on the hoof: "My radio has home light and luxbg on it and I used it when I was a kid I'm now 53"
Elizabeth Balsom is mad as hell. "I'm mad as hell at the prospect of having to replace my radios One is part of a Pioneer music centre bought in 1980, another is a Grundig bought in the 1970s, and there are others, all a few decades old and all providing excellent reception. I have a radio in each room, even the bathroom, though I concede that reception isn't wonderful. And as I'm a pensioner, I really don't appreciate having to divert scare funds to buy new radios."
Mike Sells has a Quad 2, part of a vintage Valve HI set manufactured in about 1960. Rachel, listening in Shrophsire told me: "I'm listening to you on my bakelite Bush radio from pre 1950 - it's a lovely sound, Eddie, really suits your voice, and I'm gutted to think it might be rendered obsolete in a few years...." Here it is:
Clearly some older radios need a bit of help. Andrew Slattery told me: "My grandmother has a transister radio over fifty years old that now only works if you stand near it"
Nick Green in Manchester has a "Leak Troughline 2 FM tuner; all valves original as far as I know; sounds superb.Made between 1960 and 1964." I love those old names. A Leak Troughline.
Dr J. Timmermann is another listener with reason to be grateful to a relative. "My grandfather bought my Philips valve radio as a Christmas present on 23 December 1961 for 500 Marks. Being German, my mother kept the receipt as well as the manual. It's a wonderful old thing with four stereo speakers."
Bull Harrigan (best name so far) writes: "Monsieur Eddie, I have 3 valve radios, one here and two at my little maison in the west of France. They are all from the 1940's - so ....... should I throw them all away?" NO Bull. No.
Paul listens occasionally these days "on my 1936 CatEye radio that my grandparents brought from Austria before the war. Radio 4 is just past Linz in the dial"
Mark Spurlock has an "old black Bush DAC90, with smooth knobs (the rarer!). These came from the old age of austerity of 1946; it stll works well and you can warm your hands on the top of it (valve technology) in the winter....sad, eh?" NO Mark. No.
"These were one of the first sets made after the war, and featured in the 'Britain Can Make It' exhibition of 1946; they were sold in black as a mark of the time of austerity and post-war feelings. Problem was, they were designed to be used in the typical family kitchen, but the first made had smooth knobs - with wet hands, common in the kitchen, the grip on the knobs was poor, so all later sets of this model had milled edges to their knobs. Great old set; gets nice and warm due too the valves, plus has a lighted dial - show me a set today that has that!" This is it:
Tim Ritchie listens to Radio 4 "on my old Zenith FM / AM mains radio, made in 1955." Mike Boggis writes - "I won't win the prize" - Mike there is no prize - "but I am listening to you on FM in my office on a Rotel RT-320 tuner which I purchased in 1970. It has been in more or less daily use since then, has analogue-style tuning (i.e. a bit of string attached to a knob), and still sounds great, connected to an amplifier only a few years younger."
John Healey writes: "Our current bedside radio is an Armstrong AF 208 valve AM/VHF receiver, mid-fifties (?), bought for £1 at a jumble sale in Suffolk 30 years ago."
Dr B. Boothroyd has a leak too. "Our Leak mono radio was bought in the 1960s and was FM from the start of FM broadcasting."
And what about this from Michael David Edwards? "I still have my Grundig Yacht Boy Transistor radio in my bedroom which was the first thing I bought when I went to work in Sept 1968. This makes it nearly 42 years old. It is still in excellant condition and has a quality of sound that is unsurpassed. It is a trusty companion when I wake in the early hours. What will happen to the hobby of constructing crystal radio sets? I spent many happy hours making these and learnt much in my teens about radio design, wiring and soldering. I remember constructing a mast made out of my father's bamboos and running an aerial along the length of the garden and in through the bathroom window!"
John Topping inherited his from his dad. "It's 5 feet long called the coffin affectionately. It still has stations listed like Luxembourg. And it has valves in." Zoe Stewart often listens to Radio Four on "my Dansette Transistor Radio 111." David Hewitt writes: "I frequently listen to PM on a 1937 McMichael radio (on Long Wave of course) and my oldest working FM radio is a Bush VHF41 dating back to around 1955."
Anthony Prior takes us into a whole new area with this: "My radio's not that old but it still works with electrons that are 13.7 billion years old. Predating the ´óÏó´«Ã½'s first radio transmission by several weeks I think :-)"
And what about sheds? MMM? Adrian Backshall writes: "Dear Eddie, I was in my shed when you asked who was listening to you on the oldest FM radio. Well, I was listening on a 1957 Ultra valve radio which is three years older than me! is solar powered and the radio runs off of a 230V inverter clipped to my car batteries. It`s lovely sitting in my wife-free shed with a cup of tea, the radio and a plate of biscuits :o)"
Huw Finney in Maidenhead says: "I still use a 1929 Cossor to listen to radio 4 on occasion, here are some pictures, I have displayed it in the kitchen as a conversation piece." And here it is:
And below: "Early fifties we think!" From Mike and Becky in Sheringham.
Note the mix of old and new technology in Pam Hunt's photo below. She writes: "I listen to PM on a 1932 ( I believe) HMV Wireless set - Long Wave 1500 metres. It says Droitwich on the dial, just between Kalundborg and Berlin. You can't beat the Thermionic sound. I dread the thought of them switching off the transmitter."
"Hi, I have a Roberts radio that works. It is older than me, my parents had it before I was born and I am 53! Janette Taylor"
"I have a Philips AM/FM Receiver Type G63 which I bought in 1959, so it must be at least 51 years old. It has valves which take some time to warm up, and a light illuminates the dial. It still works. Yours, Sydney Gibson"
Paul Neilson says "when you asked about old radios being used to listen to PM, I was listening on an early 1970s wooden cased German Normende Spectra Phonic 4005 which I was given by a German WW2 veteran in Nuernberg in the 1988 so that I could listen to the World Service on short wave in the days before ´óÏó´«Ã½ iPlayer.The reception was so bad I had to learn German to find out what was going on in the world. is a picture of it.
And what about this beauty from John Sykes? "This classic Hacker Mayflower 1 was made in the late 50's. s/n 1014. You are, of course, marked as "Home". Sounds better than any other stand-alone radio which I've tried (and I currently own quite a few!)."
From an email address including "gromlangley" we have this, circa 1935:
Tony Wheal writes: "My bedside Danish L&L Piccolo Box 625 FM, AM & SW radio was bought in 1958 on HP for £2 5s 6d a month for 3 years. It has a beautiful solid rosewood cabinet and remains unrivalled for clarity of tone. Our National transistor portable (also FM,AM & SW and a rather unattractive product of its time) was bought around the same time or a bit earlier and adorns our bathroom windowsill, also working perfectly."
Sue Kelly "Hi, I just rushed to the 'Vintage Bush Radio'' Web site and found that my lovely old model ( bought in a charity shop in Hove as a birthday treat ) is a VHF 64 and dates from 1956-57. It works really well and the old music stations especially sound much better on this model than any other radio in the house."
Claire wants to make it clear she is NOT middle-aged: My radio certainly won't be the oldest... it's not that old but it is a full hi-fi set which I love, including double auto reverse cassette tape deck and a working record player, along with CD player and of course, radio. I have included a picture which seems to have turned itself sideways on on my screen, so if it turns up upside-down or something then sorry! (Please re-send the photo Claire!) When I'm not listening to the radio I'm usually listening to my favourite record (Bruce Springsteen: Born in the USA) or plugged into my walkman listening to the Beatles (which annoys my friends greatly) And in case you're wondering, I'm not middle aged and I haven't got stuck in a past era of good music and retro technology. I'm actually thirteen years old... and I also have an iPod!"
"This old Philips (above) is still in service in my otherwise high-tech lab. In a flashback to a time when stations and frequencies were carved in stone, the scale still correctly reads "Droitwich", although the frequency has since changed from 200kHz to 198kHz. Unfortunately even this little treasure is being retired in favour of internet radio. It was a high price to pay to evade Test Match Special, but it had to be done. Yours, Bruno (Rotselaar, Belgium)"
Above is a "GEC Stardeck I bought by my wife Ruth in approx 1976 and still used every day Has outlived the company I used to work for!" from Alan Page in Coventry.
Louis Backer writes: "My trusty 1956 Ekco C273 FM radio (below) which is still going strong, is used on a daily basis, and one of three I have about the house. A superb retro piece for a contemporary home, but above all, a sound superior by far to that of either of my warbly DAB sets. I even re-broadcast Radio 7 through it with my iPod transmitter!
P.S. I do go out and lead a normal life too."
Ronnie Punnett wrote to me to say she "has been listening to you on my x husband's radio, which was an 18th birthday present; he was 53 on Sunday, making the radio 35 years old."
Philip Hanman says: "FM? That's all a bit new fangled for me. I listen to PM on a 1936 valve set made by a company called 'Desmet'. 1500 metres Long Wave (I don't do Kilohertz)."
Chloe Evans writes: "I don't know exactly how old this radio is (see below) as I acquired it during a lab clearout when I was doing my PhD in the 90's. It had been my supervisor's whilst she was researching her thesis so I think it must be from the early eighties. We weren't allowed radios in the lab after an incident with a postdoc with OCD, so I took it home and love it and take it on holiday often DAB in Oxford is like listening through coffee percolating, so I am worried about the death of FM and I'll particularly miss the sound of this little, but dependable radio."
Alan Makepeace has a "Murphy baffleboard radio set driven by valves which is in regular use and has better quality sound than any of my transistor radios whether digital or analogue. It was purchased in 1956."
Jennie Aron is the "proud owner of a transistor radio with FM. The model is Cathay R1412. Unfortunately, I can't remember exactly when I acquired it, but I do know it came up to University with me in 1963 and I heard the news of President Kennedy's assassination on it. My father brought it back from the States in either the late 50's or early 60's. It still works."
Paul Mackilligin was listening "on a Hacker 'Herald' portable FM-only model RP37A produced in the 70's (?) specifically for Open University students I believe. Has output socket for 'tape recording'. I've used this radio and another identical one for live theatre performances and the sound quality is superb."
Rod Hall has "a valve Philips Sirius 433 1960 Radio which is FM Stereo. It produces great soft sound which has a better quality than transistor radio's that replaced them. (due to superior amplification). Every change, from valve to transistor to DAB has reduced the quality."
Adrian has "a working Bush VHF 54 valve FM set dating from around 1954/55, used almost daily." Pat Sheehan very attached to "my clock radio... was one of the first items my husband and I bought together in 1973. The marriage is long gone and the clock no longer works as it's gummed up by a wine spillage but the radio continues to provide me with Radio 4 in the mornings and evenings and Radio 3 during the Sunday Service.
It's dodgy reception and over bright digital clock has seen me through the night feeds of three children and I don't want to have to buy a new one before it finally gives up the ghost."
Mike Hall has "a Quad hi-fi FM tuner of circa 1970 that is still used regularly, particularly for listening to CD review on Radio 3 on Saturday mornings."
Above is Richard Wilson's "faithful Grundig Record Boy portable transistor. Bought, I think, in about 1976 or 1977 it is still in daily use (to listen to your goodselves in the evening and your colleagues on Today in the morning). No problems or breakdowns in that time and apart from smelling somewhat of bacon (too many years sitting on a shelf in the kitchen while I listen during breakfast and dinner) it is as good now as it was when new."
John Archer (above): This old(ish) portable "wireless" was bought by my father in the mid 1950s to use in his car, never a success as radio suppression was not part of the make up of his 1930's Chevrolet. I have had the radio in constant use since he gave me it (the radio, sadly not the car) in 1973. Several similar and smaller models were made over the years - in different colours - ours was, I believe, an "EverReady" - but the little logo tag got lost many years ago.
Howard Williams tunes in "on a 1936 Ekco AC97. Back then it was in the shops at £13 and 13 shillings, and boasted the new-fangled "Mystic Eye" atop it's tall glossy black Bakelite case. This glows an eerrie green when tuning is spot-on."
Above it's Duncan Kirkwood's "Eddystone Statesman EB35 Mk III circa 1975 and made in Birmingham ... whilst not the oldest at a mere 35 years young it is one of the finest and most durable FM receivers and was installed in ocean liner cabins for passenger use. This is in full working order and is tuned into Radio 4. "
Bryan McAlley says "you'll be hard pressed to beat my 55 year old Pye FenMan - named to emphasise that it really was designed for FM reception when it was first sold in 1955.
As you can see from the owner's manual, (below) Pye described this set as "offering a completely new standard of faithful radio reproduction with much greater freedom from interference". One of 3 FenMen which I have restored, this one has pride of place in our home - it is, as you can see, as good to look at as it is to listen to and no DAB radio I have seen can touch it for the warmth of its tone.."
Stuart Orr: "Please find below a photo of my Quad (Acoustical) valve system. The VHF/FM tuner is the second unit down in the panel. It was purchased when I was a teenager in 1963, which makes it some 47 years old. Later the stereo decoder was added. This is a bolt-on addition on the back of the tuner.
Also in the photo are the two massive loudspeaker power amplifiers with their "Bottle" valves, and at the top of the panel the separate pre-amplifier control unit. The lowest unit is an AM radio receiver, with long, medium and short wave capability. Not in the picture, but suspended from the ceiling (I live in a small barn!) are the two electrostatic speakers - a 21st birthday present from my mother and grandmother in 1966.
We got this from Gordon Craig: "Mine is 52 years old, from the time when FM was called VHF and Radio 4 was the Home Service. It's still working well, although I did repair it a few years ago."
Keith Saunders: "I have a Ferranti radiogram model 355 of 1955, given to me by a friend many years ago. Aged 55 and still operating on FM (I've just tried it on The Moral Maze) this beats your 48 year-old reported today. I still have its accompanying leaflet describing Model 355 as a 6 valve superhet. 'With FM' it says 'there is a new standard of clarity - no interference whatever, no buzzing, no crackling, no 'sea shell noises'. Reception is crystal clear'. It is, still, pretty good."
Catherine Lamb: "my mother and father (Malcolm and Mary Berry) have a VHF only Ekco Valve Radio in a wooden cabinet which they bought in 1957. It is still in working order and has a lovely tone enabling the listener to enjoy broadcasts on the Light Programme, the Home Service and Third Network!"
The two snaps above are from Phil Harris. "I am a vintage wireless enthusiast and regularly restore old valve radios to working order. I owned an Ekco U243/1, made in April 1955, but after I restored it I gave it away to a colleague who was ill, to help cheer him up, so I don't expect to get the radio back. The earliest VHF sets you are likely to find will date from 1954, and were released ready for the start of official ´óÏó´«Ã½ FM broadcasting on 2nd May 1955 from Wrotham in Kent."
Phil also points us to the "thriving vintage radio restoration and collection movement in the UK, and you can find more about it from the .
The Rev. Gervase Charmley is worried the switch off would "silence the Philips Stella 22RB212/22Z radio that I listen to PM on."
Les Ewing regularly listens "on a Bush VHF61 from 1956ish, probably not the oldest set though. Viva FM!"
Eric Stubbes listens to PM "on my Leak Troughline II mono tuner (valve) made in August 1963, serial NO.379. The Leak tuner without a 'plug- in' decoder delivers wonderful FM mono."
Thomas Chippendale: "Oldest FM radio? I have my stepfather's Ultra AM/FM radiogram which he bought in 1951. Its still working. FM radio was fitted but not yet transmitting at that time. A whip aerial on the roof completed the outfit. Its all valve and produces the best sound reproduction of any other set in the house."
Below - Mike Merchant's "Roberts Radio, bought second hand in St Andrews in 1964, with which I am still known to listen to PM when it's on long wave. It (the radio) has a wooden box and a lovely oval speaker."
And we had the photo below from Ken Gill: "Thought you would like to see a couple of my radios - the large one (Telefunken Concertino 7) was made in 1956 - 54yrs old and the much newer (Hacker Sovereign 2) dates from 1972 both used on a daily basis and tuned to Radio4 especially between 5pm and 6pm.The sound quality is execpitional and yes I did have a Roberts DAB it worked reasonably well when I was in the loft otherwise sporadic reception and quality down here on the south coast in Bournemouth."
We got this from Paul Schimmel: "Ok, so it's not FM, but I genuinely heard your appeal for the oldest FM radio whilst eating dinner yesterday listening to you on AM using my 1933 Ultra Tiger!!" See below:
Jonnie says: "Here are two lovely sets, The Sony Captain has been with me for 34 years - very sensitive FM tuner and great on SW. It was confiscated by the DTI or equivalent in 1976 when I contravened the Wireless telegraphy act. The Roberts on the left was circa 1984 but a nice little set that is still used.." - see below:
Barrie White writes: "Our Bang & Olufsen Beomaster 900 is still in daily use after 42 years. It cost about £53. I even remember buying and fitting a stereo decoder when Wenvoe started stereo transmissions. DAB? No thank you. Audio quality is poor and reception is inferior to FM"
Adrian has "a working Bush VHF 54 valve FM set dating from around 1954/55, used almost daily."
Stephen Perkins sent this: "We moved to Bournemouth in 1955, and soon after that my father bought this radio. We took it to Australia from 1966 to 1968; no FM there then! It is now owned by my brother and has been in continuous use since then. My grandfather had an identical set. It was not used for some years after his death, but I restored it about seven years ago and still use it now. With any luck both will still be serviceable at the end of FM broadcasting."
Bob Anderson has a "Murphy valve radio in working condition that receives FM, long and medium wave and I estimate its age to be 55 to 60 years old. It is of course not in stereo but otherwise has a clear sound."
Edward Bean thinks he has "the only example of the earliest battery-powered, UK manufactured, FM radio - the Ever Ready Sky Monarch AM/FM of January 1955. This was released some months prior to the official commencement of FM broadcasting in the UK. This radio is still in working order with excellent sound reproduction. Despite being battery powered, it is a valve radio, in a large tabletop walnut cabinet, with no less than ten 'low consumption' valves including a 'magic-eye' tuning indicator."
Peter Kwan points you to his "51 year old radio still in working condition is a 1959 valve radio. A Murphy U512 which apparently cost £16 5s. 6d in May that year. It is still working but I use DAB now because that has a pause and rewind feature".
David Dunk's brother "has a Bush valve 'wireless', which we know to be at least 65 years old. It is used everday in his joinery workshop and visitors often comment on the quality of the sound."