I’ve dragged out Dad’s radio. An old beast. Single speaker job, pre-stereo. It used to sit on his desk. He was proud of that new FM thing.

I have plenty of gadgets in the office. TV. Computer. But no radio.

And I needed a radio. The OSU Cowboys are playing football on TV. So I need a radio.

Sometimes when you hear someone talk, you just wish they wouldn’t. Maybe if they’d change the subject, it would be more bearable. Maybe if ESPN’s Rod Gilmore talked about tree pruning or gourmet cooking I could listen.

Football?

Sorry, Rodney. I would listen if you were giving me legal advice, I promise.

He’s a practicing attorney in San Francisco, in addition to his television broadcasting chores. A bright guy. Stanford graduate. Howard Cosell was a lawyer, too. Couldn’t listen to him either – but I don’t think it’s the attorney thing.

The Oklahoma State Cowboys radio network is carried by radio stations all over Oklahoma and I tried a list of them that stream their programs on the internet. There must be some sort of legal angle that prohibits the games from being streamed over the internet. Rod could probably tell me.

The TV and the game were on. While I was cringing at his commentary, I glanced over and spotted Dad’s blue-tube stashed on a shelf.

Plugged it in – and it works!

Well, it works as well as the technology from that era should be expected to work. It’s a Philco model 926 from 1962. Sold for about twenty bucks brand new. The technology was different back then – what they called “vacuum tubes.” Those were replaced by transistors, which allowed radios to be produced in much smaller – and portable – versions.

On the back are a couple of posts sticking out that allow a wire to be attached. Amazingly, I just happen to have a radio antenna loop here in the office, which pulled in the FM stations. Turns out the game is carried on KFAQ – an AM station – which didn’t need the antenna.

KFAQ’s radio frequency is 1170, but you can see in the second image that the old radio doesn’t believe it for a second. The analog dial indicator is sitting midway between the 10 and the 11. Doesn’t matter to me.

I get to listen to the home town announcers, and more importantly, I don’t have to listen to Rod Gilmore while watching the TV coverage.
Nothing like going old school. Watching the game remembering my dad and his FM Muzak, symphonic versions of the Beatles. I hope his radio holds up long enough to get through the fourth quarter and the Cowboys hold up long enough to win the game.

PISTOLS FIRING! (a radio announcer touchdown thing…)

Come visit!

McHuston

Booksellers & Irish Bistro
Rose District
122 South Main Street, Broken Arrow OK!