´óÏó´«Ã½

Our original posting is here.

But it inspired a lot of people. Phil Hanman in Penzance for example: "So I'm not the only one. Here is my 1936 Desmet.

They were made at a factory near Lille and I bought this one near Arras. This radio has a history. It was hidden from the Germans during the war as there were severe penalties for listening to the ´óÏó´«Ã½. The Desmet factory itself was blown up by the Resistance in 1943, with more than a little help from London, because it was making radios for the Luftwaffe and electronic firing devices for the German artillery."

Fraser Speirs has been "enjoying the programme recently on a 1940's Marconi valve radio, while working in my loft. No stereo, no FM, but splendid reception and clear reproduction of the spoken word."

Bob Moore says "I often listen on a Philips 654A radiogramme, circa 1956. Always a solid signal, unlike the DAB in the kitchen, which I now only use as an MP3 player. With the Philips I can still walk around without the audio-kinesis effect!"

Stewart Orr has now discovered a Vidor VHF/FM battery 6valve portable, dating from 1957 or so (below). Used to belong to Dick Bagnall-Oakley, local naturalist and regular ´óÏó´«Ã½ East television contributor of about that time.

And get this from Sally Burgess:

"Thought you might like to see my beloved Selena, Vega Selena 215 is her name. Actually she is a SW radio but has all the bands on her & her FM is fine. She was manufactured in Soviet Russia, Siberia, to be precise & was bought by my father in the early 80's. Still working perfectly, I use her on a daily basis & I'm listening to PM on her right now.

I will be mortified when FM is turned off, of course because I won't be able to use Selena any more but also none of my other seven radios (I'm a single person with a two bedroom flat), not to mention the car. I'm a radio addict & totally against this mass digitisation, I think it's madness & I'm wondering how everyone will deal with replacing car radios, not cheap I'll wager. I've also wondered how emergency messages will be relayed if possibly half the population could be stuck with no radio in their cars, I thought the radio was one of the main sources of getting important information disseminated to the public at large, it's a rare car that has no radio."

Keith Saunders thinks the earlier old radio posting was "an impressive radio show or rather show of radios on the blogs. Bob the Gerbil's 1957 Ferranti Radiogram is the posher version of my 1955 model which, incidentally, sold for 59 guineas (remember them - they were pounds plus 5% - a sort of sales tax that went to the seller!).

I doubt if any of the pre-1954 radios shown in the blogs received VHF so I guess my 1955 model must rank with the most elderly."

Gervase Charmley updates us on a previous posting witha photo of the "Philips Stella
22RB212/22Z radio that I listen to PM on.

This radio was bought new for my grandmother, and has faithfully worked since the early 1970s. The sound quality is still excellent. What modern DAB digital radio will still be working after more than 35 years? Very few, I think!"

Nigel Tomlinson listens to PM on this

"mid-60s Clarke and Smith schools' radio. Beautiful tone and enough power to fill a hall. Also an effective room heater. I agree with other listeners' comments about DAB - the quality is inferior and the technology is already dated. Internet radio already serves those who want access to thousands of stations. So why is DAB being promoted so strongly by the ´óÏó´«Ã½ and others through radio 'amnesties' and the like? Sinister forces are at work."

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