[ha1156w]

Funny how we all were fascinated by those little glowing glass vials as children. Myself included! Does anyone get "hooked" like that with transistorized equipment exclusively?

I have ALWAYS been the type to tear things apart, from the moment I could hold a screwdriver. As a toddler, my parents had to put pins in the sliding lid of their Magnavox console (Harwick cabinet, 1967) or else I'd stick my hand in there and start fiddling with everything as it played. I literally cut my teeth on the edge of that cabinet peering over the top to watch the records spin 'round. My dad still has that console, and I just recapped an identical spare R204-20 chassis for it to extend its life and bring back the absent treble of the original. He's about 6 hrs away so pulling the original chassis for a restoration wasn't an option for me. I had a fascination with that stereo that persists to this day in all things Magnavox (go figure). Well, at least "original" Magnavox in the mixed-case letters, pre-Philips takeover.

In 5th grade, my mother took me to a local museum where there was a guy exhibiting jukeboxes victrolas and antique radios. I remember he had a Seeburg C, and AMI "A", and a Seeburg trashcan. Collecting them had never occurred to me since my parents were very "minimalist" types who didn't believe in carrying "junk" through life. Oh boy there's another monster that got unleashed.....it started a 30 years (and counting) fascination with antique radios and jukeboxes!

My first "tube" radio was a gift from a family friend. We were visiting her dad's workshop and I saw the AM/FM Silvertone Catalog #20 (182.something chassis). She observed how I lit up looking at it and arranged to acquire it from her dad. Yep, I've still got it today! The school's maintenance man was a former TV tech, and I learned a ton from him. From there it has spread into 30+ radios, 9 jukeboxes, and 9 tube TVs. I have to wonder the whole collecting thing isn't some form of OCD. To some it's hoarding. To me, it's collecting.