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Monday, October 20, 2014

Old radio hunters mark history



Forget vinyl. If you’re looking for unadulterated sounds from old-school technology, listen to a man who goes by the name Didi Radio talk about his collection.

“I think their designs are very artistic. Their sounds are also more natural, because they’re analog receivers and use tubes. Their resonance is far better than transistor and digital radios,” Didi Radio, whose real name is Didi Widianto, said.

He made his comments at the recent Layang Swara (Sound Messenger) exhibition, which displayed 60 vintage radios, some dating to the 1930s, at the Soedjatmoko Cultural Center in Surakarta, Central Java.

The radios came from the private collections of members of the Audio Radio Preservers of Yogyakarta (Padmaditya) in Yogyakarta and Magelang, Central Java. 

Although decades old, the receivers — mostly tube radios made by Philips, Erres, Blaupunkt, Robin and Telefunken — are well maintained and still working.

“We collect the radios for their historic value. In their times, these sets were so important for the dissemination of information. They were also a luxury,” said Didi Sumarsidi, another Padmaditya member. “In the 1960s, we had to crowd the subdistrict office to listen to the radio.” 

Additional story at: The Jakarta Post
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/10/17/old-radio-hunters-mark-history.html