THE RADIO
If licence can have a place for discussion, certainly the Radio
does have one, in its own right. The radio that takes the centre stage here,
was far different from what we witness
to-day in some homes. Yes, no longer the radio is an item in the hall;
the place has long been usurped by another electronic gadget the Television.
The radios of yester decades were finely crafted, wooden shells hiding the
essential electric circuit housing the critical components- the Valves. Yes, I
am recalling the era of Electric gadgets that were displaced by electronic
items. A number of observations help us to recall the glories of the then
equipment –the radio. The foremost is – the then radios were in low numbers in
houses and buildings put together then. The impact of a visual medium like TV
cannot be met or matched by many other gadgets- least of all by radios, So,the
two items cannot stand a comparison, far they share nothing in common, except
they cater to domestic needs of news/ entertainment. By every reckoning the two
are far removed by technology, though they have a place of pride as daily
utility for essential news or home entertainment. The two represent a dichotomy of slow
responding electrical gadget and the quick responding electronic device.
The then radios were sets operating on valves while, their
counterparts [electronic ones] operate on transistors. The latter are ‘quick’
to respond and so they do not wait to warm up ; in valve sets, a certain level
of ‘warming up’ was essential; till then
the radio set would almost stay quiet with an occasional sound of some spark
like crackling. The problem would be quickly settled when the radio station
starts sending out signals. Another un-friendly attitude of the then radios was
an abrupt tonal scream as brrrrrrrrrrrr when an important message or news was
being read out. Literally, it would effortlessly, demolish the advantage of a
personal possession. Yet, there was an untold bond between the radio and its
owner who would simply wind up its live status after the news hour. All those
valve radios had an incurable disorder of “warm up” time lasting from 4 -6
minutes , meaning that the set should be left ‘on’ for a certain length of time
, so as to receive the complete message .
Eager waiting before the radio was no different from that of people watching
the TV screen, even before the telecast begins.
The then radios had generally 3 wave bands as MW, SW1 and SW2
–for Medium and Short waves. Obviously, MW stations could reach short distances
as against those of SW. SW bands could rapidly send signals over a wide
territory and housed most overseas stations. MW stations used to serve over a
narrow region; so most local stations were served by MW. Curiously such valve
radios were provided with extra back up facility for receiving signals by an
antenna or indoor aerial in the form of a long 30feet wire mesh mounted within
the building or on open space of a house territory especially the open terrace;
it was better than the internal antenna for receiving clear signals. All these
have faded into insignificance with the arrival of transistors and the visual
medium-the TV. There are quite a few die-hard fans of radio who affirm that the
audio quality of radios was superior to that of the present audio speakers in
TVs. Possibly, their audio quality was
more pleasant than the vibrations of speakers under a plastic or fibre
hood. For persons raised in the habit
of listening to radio [ear-brain perception], a certain level of inferential
grasp was perceptible and those who have had visual appraisal from TVs,
[eye-brain interaction] such inferential skills and visualizing ideas has
witnessed a progressive decline; even children find it hard to solve arithmetic
tangles unless backed by gadgets like calculator. The then All India Radio used
to open their programmes after ‘airing’ their Signature tune composed by Mr.
Walter Kauffman- a Jewish composer. The note played, laid a pleasant grip over
a large population of listeners. The piece is given under with the link
A venerable item was Radio, though now of only historic presence till about three
decades ago. Technology too kills tradition in its own way.
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Nice writing on Radio of yesteryear.
ReplyDeleteIt has a unique credit of giving us all excellent music ears !!
Real nostalgia. Thanks. RK
ReplyDelete