41 Years of Service

Yamaki

Not For Hire
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On Thursday October 6, 1977 I decided to treat myself for my birthday that was coming up on Friday. I decided on a little bit of musical entertainment.

It had to be a little bit of music as I was a poor college student, paying for school on the GI Bill and working 50 hours per week at a service station (remember those?) to pay the rest of the bills. I didn't have a lot of money for some of the nicer things in life. I had lost my military PX system to a light fingered roomie while I was deployed. Hell, that rat bastid even took my milk crate vinyl organization system! :( I was without music and I just couldn't let that stand.

So I went to a small Mom & Pop radio shop in my small home town. They sold new gear, had a repair shop in the back and had some used stuff scattered here and there amongst boxes of tubes, old console chassis' and other assorted odds and ends. There was no rhyme or reason to how things were displayed and that, for me, was one of reasons it appealed to me. It was just an honest place.

On a shelf above the sales counter was a nice looking Sony table top radio. AM/FM, loudness switch, nicely veneered cabinet, vertical dial and silky smooth controls that moved with a slight twist. So I purchased it for $39.95 - a princely sum in those days for a poor veteran - but I knew a little music would go a long way in keeping me sane and helping me work my way through the college bookwork and writing those papers.

And that is just what it did. In addition to a guitar and some military memorabilia, this is one of the few possessions I have today that has traveled with me over the years to various places, through numerous jobs, quite a few moves and it has survived life's twists and turns. It is still in good working order, having been cleaned several times over the years, and it still has those silky smooth controls.

It now resides in the wife's glass studio where she uses it to provide background music as she pursues her glass art. I've asked her to be gentle with it but to enjoy it as well.

Honestly, I have no idea how it survived for so long but here it is, my Sony ICF-9550W, when it resided in the library some years ago.

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Great story, thanks for sharing!

I was explaining "service stations" to a millennial just the other day.
 
Those Sonys were built to last. I know of three others, owned by friends and family, and all three are still going strong, getting daily use, even to this day.
 
Those Sonys were built to last.
It was made with many names, a few different knob sets and such but great units it seems for any of that kind from Sony or the other branded units.

I picked one up a dozen years ago and it worked great. I have tunes in the garage but a friend didn't. Gave it away and he wasn't so sure until he started enjoying tunes in the garage (we both work on cars at times). Now it has moved to Chicago, again a large enough market to find something on the radio but these table radios really can reach out and find a station. They sound very nice, too.
 
My dad had a AM-FM-SW RCA table top radio that he bought in 28. I used it until I graduated from college in 1970. The loudspeaker with the electro magnets had to be replaced in 63 while I was in High school along with a few tubes and caps. But that was the only maintenance I know about.
 
Somebody in my family had if not exactly that radio something awfully close. i don't remember who. Grandfather maybe? Anyhow thanks for the story and your service.:thumbsup:
 
Yes. The attendant fueled your vehicle, checked the oil, cleaned the front and rear windows and, if requested, checked the air in your tires.

Pure lunacy, right?? :rflmao:

Don't mean to wax nostalgic, but just today my bank card crapped out on me, and my bank isn't open again until Monday (when I work 50 miles away) so I'm screwed for cash until....hell, whenever I can get away and reconcile this.

I do miss some of the ways things used to be, like service stations, being able to be untethered from cellphones, I could go on and on.
 
Those have a decent size following. I have bought and sold several of them. All of the ones I have had actually had a Pioneer speaker in them.
 
Hey my wife of 31 years had one of those when we first met! About 5 or 8 years ago we sent it to the thrift store, it still worked fine had replaced it with an Advent model 300. Those Sonys last forever.
 
Delightful story and I hope your body remains as maintenance free as the Sony. Happy Birthday, Michael :beerchug:
 
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