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Items that have faded away

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Do you remember kits to make primitive radios? The H.A.C (Hear all continents) one valve short wave radio was a simple kit using a 90 volt battery and an aerial as long as Livery Street. It was magical to tune into some distant radio station - listening through your ex-army headphones bought from the fishing tackle shop by the Gate. (does anyone remember the name?). Now I can use my PC to do the same - but the magic has gone!


https://www.wftw.nl/hac.html

I also made a one transistor radio. The price of the transistor, about 17/-, was the same cost as the soldering iron I bought to do the job. Now there are 2000 transistors in my wrist watch - for a tenner.
 
coerl21 said:
Do you remember kits to make primitive radios? The H.A.C (Hear all continents) one valve short wave radio was a simple kit using a 90 volt battery and an aerial as long as Livery Street. It was magical to tune into some distant radio station - listening through your ex-army headphones bought from the fishing tackle shop by the Gate. (does anyone remember the name?). Now I can use my PC to do the same - but the magic has gone!

https://www.wftw.nl/hac.html

I also made a one transistor radio. The price of the transistor, about 17/-, was the same cost as the soldering iron I bought to do the job. Now there are 2000 transistors in my wrist watch - for a tenner.
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Could the shop be Chaplins (Chaplains) or something like that? Had a branch near the Pelham, too.
 
Yes it was Chaplains - they did have a shop at the Pelham. An interesting item they sold was a "fisherman's knife" - which was actually a flick knife!
 
coerl21 said:
Do you remember kits to make primitive radios? The H.A.C (Hear all continents) one valve short wave radio was a simple kit using a 90 volt battery and an aerial as long as Livery Street. It was magical to tune into some distant radio station -
Click to expand...
I use to frequent the radio shops in Hurst Street, click/here to see some forum comments even about 'cat's whiskers'. I bought a kit from a shop in Worcester and built and used it to listen most nights and remember when I first discovered SSB transmissions. Like you say the magic has gone....
 
"as long as Livery Street", haven't heard that one for a very long time, very common as lad growing up in Brum though.paul
 
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I bought a war surplus transmitter/receiver from a Hurst St shop and when I transmitted I noticed looking out my bedroom window that a television screen in a house across the road went blank and the bloke in the house got up from his seat and thumped the top of his television, I quickly switched off and his picture came back on !
It was a well known fact in the old days that a picture fault could often be cured with a well aimed thump on the top of a telly....:friendly_wink:
 
I had a crystal set. I had to run an aerial wire along the washing line and run another wire to earth in the back garden both from my bedroom window but I got good reception of the BBC Light Programme on 1500 metres lying in bed at night with my old earphones..
 
Does anyone remember Will's Whiffs? Little cigars made by the Will's Company. I used to buy them for my Father mostly at Christmastime. I was
having a look at an old menu from RAF Hartland Point on Christmas Day back in 1955. The menu was wonderful for three meals and the actual Christmas Dinner
menu lists Whiffs which reminded me of these cigars.
 
DavidGrain said:
I had a crystal set. I had to run an aerial wire along the washing line and run another wire to earth in the back garden both from my bedroom window but I got good reception of the BBC Light Programme on 1500 metres lying in bed at night with my old earphones..
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I was given a crystal set once, all encased in a little Bakelite cabinet and very posh. I put the headset on one morning and couldn't understand why it was that all I could hear was the tolling of a bell. It turned out that Queen Mary had died. I can't imagine The Meejah shutting down in such a way nowadays.
 
maypolebaz said:
I was given a crystal set once, all encased in a little Bakelite cabinet and very posh. I put the headset on one morning and couldn't understand why it was that all I could hear was the tolling of a bell. It turned out that Queen Mary had died. I can't imagine The Meejah shutting down in such a way nowadays.
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As recently as the day that Diana died, I switched on my radio for the 8.00am news and instead of the normal Radio 2 music I heard more solemn music, then the announcer said "This is the BBC, London" and I said to my family "Listen, something has happened".
 
jennyann, I used to buy them for Dad at Christmas too! He was pipe-smoker but enjoyed his "Whiffs", then he would put the remains in his pipe!! Mannikin used to be sold in a red and white tin, (useful for storing sewing needles), I think they were more expensive. He always wanted one of those green ones they had on American films, but we asked at the specialist tobacconist in Temple Row and they hadn't any.
The smell of cigars always reminds me of those Happy Christmas times.
rosie.
 
My parents went out for a drink, leaving me struggling for a decent reception on my cat's whisker. I eventually cured it by tapping into the old radio aerial. On her return from the pub I handed over the headphones for Mom to witness what a clever boy I was. As soon as she ducked into them she leaped about six feet in the air and landed with her hair on end. After an inspection of my work my older and much more qualified brother declared 'Yer silly sod, I ain't surprised the reception is good when you're using the whole of the nation grid as an aerial!' - (Wrong plug!)
 
Do you remember the game of Solitaire. It used to be in a round red container with the pegs inside. I can remember very useful when going on the charabanc on a long trip to the seaside.
 
The solitaire I remember was in a round, plastic container, like a makeup compact which opened in the same way. Haven't seen one of those in a very long time. Viv.
 
Someone mentioned a mincer recently. I saw one yesterday in a charity shop in Harborne priced at £19.95, probably at least 5 times what it would have cost new.
 
Not a product as such, but a tradition. Does anyone get churched now after they have had a baby. This was always done, in fact, you were not supposed to enter anyone's house before you had been churched, but I dont hear of it these days.
 
We were talking about this subject recently, and how some of the older woman just wouldn't let mothers who hadn't been Churched into their house. bit different nowadays 80% of mothers haven't bothered to get married. :courage:
 
I remember being churched after the birth of my children, it took place at St Pauls in the jewellery qtr. Gosh a lot of people don't even have their children christened anymore, let alone get churched.
 
A lot of products that have faded away are missed but these earlier types of Raw Plugs are definitely not missed!

Rawlplugs (Trade name) - A fibrous wall plug that were a little basic - now replaced by plastic ones.

The hole for the Rawlplugs were made by using a Rawlplug tool -(If you didn't own a Electric Drill) Plenty of hammering just to get a decent hole.

Rawlplug Ad from 1968

Rawlplastic - if the hole didn't quite turn out as planned.
 

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Yup, I remember them. They'd disappear into the hole and you'd never find them again! :black_eyed: Er.. and I think there's summat wrong with the attachments above. :chargrined:
 
Remember before Elf 'n Safety? These were common place on Batchelor's Farm rec in the 50s....anyone remember the name of, I think, the manufacturer's, which was outlined in print on one oof the steps as you climbed to the top?


Slides.jpg
 
Dennis Williams said:
Remember before Elf 'n Safety? These were common place on Batchelor's Farm rec in the 50s....anyone remember the name of, I think, the manufacturer's, which was outlined in print on one oof the steps as you climbed to the top?


View attachment 87447
Click to expand...
Think it was wicksteeds of kettering.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2130923/Historians-discover-worlds-childrens-slide-built-90-years-ago-plank-wood.html

[URL]https://www.abccopywriting.com/blog/2011/06/20/brands-arent-made-of-branding[/URL]
 
A slide, very similar to that one, has only recently been taken out of the playground at Birmingham Botanical Gardens, much to the disappointment of my grandkids.
 
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My old company used to sell hard felt pads to Wicksteed's so kids didn't wear out their togs going down the slide. Unfortunately Wicksteed's discovered that foam pads were just as good and a lot cheaper. I think there might still be a Wicksteed slide in the playground at Leigh's Wood Park in Aldridge. Anyone know if Wicksteed's are still in business?

G
 
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