The old valve radio sits up on a shelf, more or less in a corner.
When I found it, it had seen better days, the case had been left off it and the case and the insides were covered in dust and grime.
About 30 years of accumulated dust and grime.
I spent hours cleaning it, and"fixed it up" as well as I could, with some help from the internet.
The first "test", to see if it would go involved a long extension lead, with it sitting in the middle of the driveway.
I figured if it was going to catch fire, or explode or do anything spectacular then it was better that it did it outside, where, if nothing else, it would amuse the neighbours, ha ha.
But no, no dramas, nothing but a little brown Bakelite box that sat, humming to itself, happily.
Much as I tried twiddling the dials and moving the tuning wheels, inside the case, I could ever pick up a station.
"Aerial", I said to myself, in a knowing tone, knowing also that I had no idea where an aerial might plug in, nor, how complicated an aerial it might have to be.
I didn't really like the idea of stringing up something that looks like a wire box kite, above the roof, the length of the house.
Been there, done that, not a lot of fun, ha ha.
It's good for increasing your AM radio reception, but unless you're into repetitive "Hits of the 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's and 90's! All day, Every day! And night! We never stop! Please, please, make it stop!!", you might not want to venture down that path, ha ha.
So the radio came inside and onto a shelf - somewhere I can see it, but it's not in the way.
For the sake of amusement I took the case off; after all, the insides are much more amusing to look at than the brown box shell, ha ha.
It sits, on a shelf, more or less in the corner in the workshop.
Some days I'll step into the workshop without turning the light on and it'll be sitting there in the dark, valves glowing softly, chuckling and murmuring to itself, quite happily.
I thought it was a bit strange the first time I saw it doing that, after all, it's not plugged in, it hasn't been, not since that first test, many years back.
Ooh, Spooky!
Mwah ha ha ha ha ha ha!
😉
