View Full Version : My Adventure at the Electronics Stores: I Am Officially "Old"
Outlander Systems
03-06-10, 08:00
So, I'm working on turning my garage from a place to park the wife's car, into a place to park the wife's car/man-cave. I started stuffing all my cool-guy commando gear out there, and putting together a firearm workbench.
Whilst through this process, and doing my first task on my bench (routine cleaning/inspection), I thought, "It sure would be nice to have a little radio out here".
So, over the past week or so, I've been on a quest to drum up a simple AM/FM radio.
Wal*Mart - Nothin'
Best Buy - Nothin'
HH Greg - Nothin'
Brandsmart - Nothin'
Target - Nothin'
Big Lots - Nothin'
Frye's - Nothin'
Sure, I can order one off the internet, but that's absurd. I can order an 8-track player off the internet too. I'm stubborn, I'm not old, damnit! I won't order something that should be a dime-a-dozen off the internet.
Apparently, as I've now discovered, simple AM/FM radios are a thing of the past.
Since I don't own an I-Pod, I'm, as it is painfully evident, no longer a viable consumer.
The girl at Best Buy, quite literally, laughed at me when she asked if I needed help finding something. She proceeded to inform me that their Ghetto-Blaster 9000™ boomboxes have AM/FM radios, and their I-Pod docking stations have them as well.
WTF!?
I don't want a clock.
I don't want an I-Pod "docking station".
I don't want a CD player.
I don't want an automatic, self-luminous, nuclear-powered, high-definition, satellite, Wi-Fi enabled, subscription-service, 2160p resolution, multi-phased broadband .mp4 reverse flux-polarity indicator, with a triple sinewave generator.......I just want an AM/FM radio.
AM? Check!
FM? Check!
Sold.
Pitiful. I could probably buy some Coby branded one, or Haier, or Sansui, or some other brand I've never heard of. Does Panasonic, Sony, Magnavox, anybody reputable make radios anymore?!?!?!?!?
It doesn't help that consumer electronics bore the living shit out of me...bore me to tears. It was literally the first time I've stepped foot in a Best Buy in about three years.
It's now painfully obvious that I've been living in a cave.
Sorry for the rant; I turn 30 in 9 months...:eek:
Thomas M-4
03-06-10, 08:24
Dewalt makes a plain AM/FM radio as of last year so I will guess and say they still make one.
I am only a couple of months older than you and we are supposed to be young :confused: But yea feel your pain my 2 1/2 year old daughter can probably navigate through my wifes I-touch faster than I can.:(
Outlander Systems
03-06-10, 08:42
While the DeWalt is 100% pure awesome, it's way out of the budget.
I was thinking no more than $25. And that's what rolls my goat as well; Target has one at the store...for $72!!!!!
I may have to start garage sale shopping on the weekends...
target should have one per their website, but check lowes/home depot...
Radio is dying. I have been trying to convince my boss of this for a while now. iPods and satellite have pretty much replaced it.
Thomas M-4
03-06-10, 08:59
While the DeWalt is 100% pure awesome, it's way out of the budget.
I was thinking no more than $25. And that's what rolls my goat as well; Target has one at the store...for $72!!!!!
I may have to start garage sale shopping on the weekends...
Roger that might could try a CVS it seams that I remember they at one time carried am/fm radios. $72 bucks :rolleyes: either you pay out the a$$ or settle for something cheap:rolleyes: Hard to find a middle ground now days.
How about a solar/wind up powered radio? The following from Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Wind-Solar-Radio-Dynamo-Power/dp/B0007UVS0O
Actually, they are all over the place. I used to use one in my man cave, but power always seemed to die when I was particularly busy. But, if you keep on top of the potential power supply, it should work.
ETA: On nice days, just put it out in the sun.
Robb Jensen
03-06-10, 09:05
Check yard sales dude. People sell all kinds of stuff.
Outlander Systems
03-06-10, 09:09
Roger that might could try a CVS it seams that I remember they at one time carried am/fm radios. $72 bucks :rolleyes: either you pay out the a$$ or settle for something cheap:rolleyes: Hard to find a middle ground now days.
I didn't realise the DeWalt had a built-in charger.....:D. That makes the price more friendly.
Radio is dying. I have been trying to convince my boss of this for a while now. iPods and satellite have pretty much replaced it.
I realised this upon my shopping/searching.
My issue is that I don't want .mp3s and Satellite; I want to listen to some talk radio while I'm brushing chambers.
I've never owned an .mp3 player, and I'm sure as hell not going to pay a subscription fee to listen to the radio.
I listen to two types of music, Country and Western. I dabble in talk radio from time-to-time. I've never shopped from the i-Tunes store.
I pretty much feel like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jum7DsNZqO0
"Back when a radio was a radio"
Despite not wanting an iPod, I think it might fit the bill. I use my iPhone over wifi at work to catch radio and I get better sound than FM, streaming on the PC, and AM.
Otherwise, you might be stuck to portable or survival type radios, as the ones I see when I sift through the internet seem to be crap.
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_158ICCDK50/Sony-ICF-CDK50.html?tp=208
ignore the ipod cabability
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_718IC600/iLive-IC600.html?tp=208
very cool features:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/614438-REG/Acoustic_Research_ARIR_200_Infinite_Radio_.html
Here is a list from B&H
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?ci=5033&N=4289366929&Ns=p_PRICE_2|0
Outlander Systems
03-06-10, 09:28
What boggles my mind is that some of the AM/FM radios are so pricey, I might as well get a shortwave receiver.
:confused:
A buddy on Facebook just suggested checking...Radio Shack...:rolleyes:
It's worth a shot, I'm ashamed I didn't think of that.
landrvrnut22
03-06-10, 09:35
Thrift stores, yard sales, Craigslist or flea markets are your best bet. Otherwise, pull up your boot straps, and settle for an alarm clock radio for $10 from your favorite retailer.
I know, it sucks. Sometimes I think the Amish have the right idea.
Had one of these on my toolbox in the garage... took a beating, I left it with the guys when I was done with college...
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2293201
It was never one of these though:
http://microblog.routed.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/ghetto-blaster.jpg
Thomas M-4
03-06-10, 09:38
What boggles my mind is that some of the AM/FM radios are so pricey, I might as well get a shortwave receiver.
:confused:
A buddy on Facebook just suggested checking...Radio Shack...:rolleyes:
It's worth a shot, I'm ashamed I didn't think of that.
Radio Shack still around:confused: :o Yea they should have it.
But if they didn't it would make a good rant how a company named radio shack doesn't have a plain old radio:D:D:p
Try a Goodwill or Salvation Army store. They typically have "old" radios available for pennies. Pawn shops are also a great source for out of date electronics. That's where I go to get all of my stolen shit back.....;-)
Outlander Systems
03-06-10, 09:56
Try a Goodwill or Salvation Army store. They typically have "old" radios available for pennies. Pawn shops are also a great source for out of date electronics. That's where I go to get all of my stolen shit back.....;-)
This!!! I may swing by the GW this afternoon!
On a side-note, my sister lives in a ritzy area of Saint Louis. The GW there is, I shit you not, "The GW Boutique". :rolleyes:
You think Goodwill Boutique is bad, I live in Kalifornia where we have such things as Jacques a la Carton' (Jack in the Box)....
Outlander Systems
03-06-10, 10:12
You think Goodwill Boutique is bad, I live in Kalifornia where we have such things as Jacques a la Carton' (Jack in the Box)....
Lord Almighty...
:rolleyes:
thopkins22
03-06-10, 10:44
I go to a very ritzy resale store called Bluebird here. If you go once in a while you'll find true gold. I bought two Burberry suits and two Brooks Brothers suits that still had the original tags on them for twenty dollars each...sure I had to have them taken in, but it was well worth it.
Check with your local CVS/Walgreens/Whatever...they often have small basic radios.
00leland00
03-06-10, 10:51
Suck it up, junior. I turn 32 tomorrow. Home Depot should have one like the DeWalt made by Ryobi for around $20.
I have a little Grundig similar to this one:
http://www.grundig.de/en/produkte/audio/world-receivers/wr-5401/pid/289.html
in my office. It was given to me as a gift and it is hands down my favorite radio. It does shortwave bands and weather from all over and pulls down AM/FM really well. It is probably a bit more than your budget but it is a really nice little radio. It has been on a fair number of trips with me.
Outlander Systems
03-06-10, 11:04
I am way more likely to utilise the shortwave feature than I am i-Pods and all the other newfangled nonsense every radio seems to have on it.
Dude. Talk about making a mountain out of a molehill. What's it hurt if it does have a CD player or clock on the front? I see lots of CD-clock-radios out there for not much dough.
This is kind of like being upset that you can't find a single-shot breakover .22 at any of your local stores but they have Ruger 10/22s for about the same price you expected to pay.
A plain AM/FM radio is such a non-item in todays market that sourcing, stocking, and inventorying one costs more than you can sell it for. And electronics are so darn cheap, you can put a clock and a CD player on it and sell it for practically the same amount. Walmart has a bunch of more simple radios on their website, but they're online only because its not worth hauling the things around and putting them in stores.
Sorry gramps. You're going to have to build your own (http://www.crystalradio.net/crystalplans/xximages/nbs121.pdf).
Have any Craftsman power tools? There's a radio powered by their 19.2 Diehard battery if you already have them. My wife got me the AM/FM radio to go with the drill powered by the same battery. It was really good, but I'm 28 and have an MP3 player with a built in AM/FM that I play through a 15 year old home entertainment system in my garage, which also has an AM/FM receiver. I'd give it to ya, but my father-in-law already found a use for it.
Preferred User
03-06-10, 13:28
I am cleaning the basement this weekend and have a Realistic SCR-3 that is yours if you pay shipping. (It does have a cassette so that may push it out of your technology range :D )
Looks similar THIS (http://www.vuvox.com/collage/detail/0160470d1f) but not cracked on the end.
I remember the first portable transistor radio I ever saw. I was about a sophmore at a boys' boarding school at the time, about 1958. You could actually walk around with it in your hand and it would play music! We were all astonished at the very idea, like primitives encountering their first Polaroid cameras and having their spirits captured by it. Big Ju-Ju magic!
Of course, those were also the days when we could hitchhike all over the countryside safely, and some of us had pistols in our desks and lockers and no one thought anything of it...
As Jeff Cooper said, "The past is a different country; they do things differently there."
Jay Cunningham
03-06-10, 13:38
Dude. Talk about making a mountain out of a molehill. What's it hurt if it does have a CD player or clock on the front? I see lots of CD-clock-radios out there for not much dough.
This is kind of like being upset that you can't find a single-shot breakover .22 at any of your local stores but they have Ruger 10/22s for about the same price you expected to pay.
A plain AM/FM radio is such a non-item in todays market that sourcing, stocking, and inventorying one costs more than you can sell it for. And electronics are so darn cheap, you can put a clock and a CD player on it and sell it for practically the same amount. Walmart has a bunch of more simple radios on their website, but they're online only because its not worth hauling the things around and putting them in stores.
lol... I sort of agree here.
Look, it's 2010. It may not make you happy, but there it is. I'm sure buggy whips started to get real hard to find for cheap in 1912, but that didn't mean that cars were wrong.
Iraq Ninja
03-06-10, 13:38
NC,
You may want to explore podcasts. I find them just as interesting as talk shows. I get tired of radio commercials.
As for getting old, I doubt you are older than me. As a birthday present, I normally try and buy myself a gun based on its caliber matching my age. I got another 1911 about five years ago, but just can't afford a Barrett rifle later this month...
Dude, get a simple AM/FM alarm clock and be done with it. Walmart or Target should have one for less than $20.
I still have a Sony Walkman in my garage, but no cassette tapes.
lol... I sort of agree here.
Look, it's 2010. It may not make you happy, but there it is. I'm sure buggy whips started to get real hard to find for cheap in 1912, but that didn't mean that cars were wrong.
Exactly. I enjoy raging against modern society as much as the next guy, but let's admit, cool/useful gadgetry is one of the few upsides of riding the porcelain funnel into societal oblivion.
Outlander Systems
03-06-10, 16:26
lol... I sort of agree here.
Look, it's 2010. It may not make you happy, but there it is. I'm sure buggy whips started to get real hard to find for cheap in 1912, but that didn't mean that cars were wrong.
Yeah, but paying for a CD player and I-Pod hookup I'll never use would be like paying for 4 wheel drive and a lift kit on a sedan, because that's all they come with.
;)
NC,
You may want to explore podcasts. I find them just as interesting as talk shows. I get tired of radio commercials.
As for getting old, I doubt you are older than me. As a birthday present, I normally try and buy myself a gun based on its caliber matching my age. I got another 1911 about five years ago, but just can't afford a Barrett rifle later this month...
How do I get podcasts on a radio!? I'm sorry guys, but I'm old-school. I didn't have a cell phone until a month ago.
I like your birthday present idea, but I'm not keen on stuff in the .30 range. ;) You could always get a Desert Eagle. Or a muzzleloader! (I'd rather have the ML)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I guess I'm tripping because this is intended for sticking in my garage to rock out to some tunes to, so I:
A) Don't want to spend big bucks
B) Don't want to pay for extra stuff I'll never use
C) Am shocked that something I thought was as easy as going out and scoring some chewing gum, has gone the way of the 486 computer.
It basically made me feel like a fogey, and as if I'm the only human on earth who just wants some basic radio action.
Suck it up, junior. I turn 32 tomorrow. Home Depot should have one like the DeWalt made by Ryobi for around $20.
Young whipper snapper. I turned 44 in Jan. I listen to the radio in the car. That is it. (and then it is talk radio). Otherwise I listen to my CDs I have ripped or one of the 5 songs I have bought on iTunes.
But a lot of the talk radio stations seem to stream their broadcasts as well so you may be able to do better with something like an iPod touch streaming over wifi and then you can also use it for all sorts of other goodness (my iPhone has replaced 30% of my internet use).
Ridge_Runner_5
03-06-10, 20:43
Had one of these on my toolbox in the garage... took a beating, I left it with the guys when I was done with college...
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2293201
It was never one of these though:
http://microblog.routed.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/ghetto-blaster.jpg
I think John Connor used one of those to lure a Moto-Terminator in the last movie...
Yeah, but paying for a CD player and I-Pod hookup I'll never use would be like paying for 4 wheel drive and a lift kit on a sedan, because that's all they come with.
honestly I think its like buying a car and getting air bags and antilock brakes ! its just part of the package anymore
:)
but on the age front !!!! 30 !! YIKES hang it up old man you are done worthless to the society heheheh
I remember turning 30 about 16 years ago :) but its getting fuzzy these days :) hehehehehe
your next gripe in your mid 40s will be !
where can I find a radio without these teeny tiny numbers on them !!!! hehehhehehe
Radio Shack still around:confused: :o Yea they should have it.
But if they didn't it would make a good rant how a company named radio shack doesn't have a plain old radio:D:D:p
Guess what Radio Shack DOESN'T have?
Yeah. All they got is cellphones, GPS units, a few toys, and a handful of actual ELECTRONIC stuff, as in stuff you can't get at Walmart. Some stores are lucky enough to have a dusty CB or two in stock, and maybe a couple of those shortwave/AM/FM radio types in stock. Maybe.
The closest thing Radioshack had to a simple radio is one of those little Grundig FR200s. I have one (well, used to have one. Dad claimed it as his own). The Ratshack wants $40 for it.
Sorry about the little rant about the Ratshack there. I'm an amateur radio guy, and it's frustrating as hell to not be able to easily get stuff for projects or buy radios local (unless you live in one of the towns near an HRO). Everything's order off the internet now. And hell, I'm not old, I'm only 21...but damn do I sound like a grumpy old man.
People still listen to the radio?
Don't you guys get tired of the horrible music? :p
In my SUV I either listen to my CDs or satellite radio. I hardly ever listen to AM or FM now. The of course there is my dual band mobile rig as I am an amateur radio operator.
I turned 40 in January, so it's probably less of a matter of being old so much as it is being almost a Luddite. :D
I know folks in my family that, I swear, are so technologically backwards that I half expect them to call out fire as a work of da devil.
I just sat in on a class for a new optic, and the thing is so complex and does so much crap (excuse me, it's "feature-rich" :rolleyes:), I was half-serious when I quipped about being surprised it doesn't include a damned cappuccino machine
Outlander Systems
03-07-10, 10:36
...I was half-serious when I quipped about being surprised it doesn't include a damned cappuccino machine
This...pretty much sums up my frustration about this issue.
It would be like looking for a new pistol light, and, NO you may NOT get a simple light, your option consists of this or the highway:
http://www.sigsauerguns.com/wp-content/uploads/wpsc/product_images/STL-900L-detail.jpg
:eek:
;)
MarshallDodge
03-07-10, 13:15
Check yard sales dude. People sell all kinds of stuff.
That's where I bought a pretty nice one a few years ago for $3.
Donbeeler49
03-07-10, 14:22
I'm older than dirt so I just had my old fogey daughter(25) hook me up with a radio that get's Satellite Radio. I already had it in my truck so it didn't take much to get it set up. By the way, I truely do feel your pain!
5thprofession47
03-07-10, 14:53
Radio Shack
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2145774
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2634485
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2348228
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