Scratchy AM Radios

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I Love Scratchy, Crackly, AM-Band Transistor Radios!

My Fishing Radio

Yes, it's kooky. I've so much good audio around me these days, what with phones, iPods, tablets... why go backwards to A.M. radio?

Sub-woofing thumps are nice but they're intense, overpowering. Sometimes I just want a little background music - in the damn background!

Maybe I'm getting old. Industrial sized bumps and crashes aren't always needed. I don't want my body penetrated by sound - don't mind the sound of a pathetically tuned, low resolution pocket AM radio - especially when fishing.

So I've found myself browsing E-Bay for old radios. 

And I have a few - one adorns my workshop, another I keep in the boat and there's another for when I move around the house.

Yes, we also have a lovely home stereo system for those times we want the fullest musical experience... but there's nothing like the comforting sound of AM radio when I'm writing or working on some homey project.

Workshop Radio
FM is a bit too pure for me too. It's crystal clear. There's a fantastic tonal range and separation in FM stereo. So why do I keep going back to AM when I lose so much in it?

I think the answer lies right there.

AM strips the music down. It's monophonic with just a few middle-tones to hold what's left  together. It's get just enough of it without it being offensive. As I said, there are times when I want my music to form a background, not dominate the foreground.
Perfect and Portable

My karaoke and theatre singing treats music in these ways, so I don't mind pushing it away to the secondary soundspaces during my downtimes.

I like the simplicity of a basic receiver with basic sound.

That's what Scratchy AM radio does for me.

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