Are you old enough to remember when expectations were non-existent on radios?

[Omega-TI]

Do you remember way back when... you bought a radio, the warranty expired and you were then on your own.

You had no unreal expectations of lifetime upgrades, because things like firmware modifications simply didn't exist...
... so you didn't get pissed about not getting new features for free.

If you had a problem, post warranty, pre-internet, you were basically screwed, because chances are you would never know someone with your exact radio that was knowledgeable.

 

[PACNWDude]

Working in the radio industry, I have found that many think that the purchase of any radio product must come with lifetime support in some way, shape, or form.

As an end user, I never expected anything from the manufacturer or seller for most of my consumer grade gear.

Commercial gear often comes with up 3 to 7 years of some kind of support, while dispatch products (old school Centracom Motorola and some Zetron products) then came with decades of support.

Even with cheap CB radios, there were often get-togethers in local parks to discuss problems and how to fix them though. Pre-Internet days of course.

 

[ladn]

If you had a problem, post warranty, pre-internet, you were basically screwed, because chances are you would never know someone with your exact radio that was knowledgeable.

Maybe, maybe not. I'm inclined to believe that "old school" radio equipment was more user serviceable because:

• It was less complex
• Used discrete components, not SMDs
• Basic parts like resistors and capacitors were easy to come by at local radio stores like Radio Shack
• Manufacturers offered better customer support
• The user demographic was more technically literate and had the basic skills of using a multimeter and soldering iron

 

[RFI-EMI-GUY]

Manufactures of anything with software seem to want to ship the hardware with semi-functional "beta" software. Then you , the user, must subscribe to, and in some cases pay for the "upgrades" to make the product "whole'. If the upgrades break something else, you are screwed, especially if the warranty expires.
To solve my problem of recording Peoples Court after I cancelled cable TV, I bought a digital TV receiver box that is supposed to record off the air DTV to a hard drive. The user interface to set it up to record was somewhat clunky, but documented in the manual. Playing back was another story altogether. It was as if the programmer quit mid design and the manual author also quit. You had to negotiate around various folders, find your file (which was named with simply date and time) and select it then click to play. There was no play back interface to catalog or keep track of what was played. It was frustrating to watch the same episodes over.

 

[rk911]

There was a Bearcat (and maybe other brands, too) repair 'depot' in or around Franklin Park, IL (west suburban Chicago). I recall taking my deaf Bearcat XXX scanner there for repair back in the 70's or 80's. When I walked in there were scanners piled everywhere with repair orders taped to them. Adjacent to that area was a smaller room where 3 or 4 techs were busy pulling and fhen replacing boards out of chassis'. As I recall my 'repair' took about a week and cost a reasonable flat fee.

 

[RFI-EMI-GUY]

I bought one of the first Sony Walkman Cassette players. One channel started to go out. It was under warranty but I really did not want to give it up figuring it was just a solder joint. I took it apart and found it was an IC. The only place to get the part was the Sony repair depot in Chicago, not far from me. I went over there and the manager was so impressed that I was fixing it myself that he gave me a spare set of headphones and the part.

 

[spongella]

Yes indeed. I remember having a few two-transistor AM portable radios in the early '60s, made in Japan, no real expectations other than it working hihi. Earphone and plastic case included.

 

[PACNWDude]

Yes indeed. I remember having a few two-transistor AM portable radios in the early '60s, made in Japan, no real expectations other than it working hihi. Earphone and plastic case included.

Still rocking a Zenith Royal 16 for listening to talk radio. Japan 506 built many decades ago now, and still works. (As does my Zenith Transoceanic 3000, but bought that last year off of an estate sale). Radios were built well back then.

 

[Omega-TI]

Still rocking a Zenith Royal 16 for listening to talk radio. Japan 506 built many decades ago now, and still works. (As does my Zenith Transoceanic 3000, but bought that last year off of an estate sale). Radios were built well back then.

Wow, truly a classic!

 

[zob-slantzero]

Still rocking a Zenith Royal 16 for listening to talk radio. Japan 506 built many decades ago now, and still works. (As does my Zenith Transoceanic 3000, but bought that last year off of an estate sale). Radios were built well back then.

Just took mine out of the box, put a couple of batteries in and still works. Scratchy but it works.

 

[PACNWDude]

A little DeoxIt helps if the "scratchy" is from the volume knob. Mine did that after sitting a while as well. I like the old radios, as they were just built better, and when no longer supported (often years later), you considered yourself happy to get the use out of that radio, before buying another one.