Mum and Dad won a Sobell portable transistor in a dress-dance in Dundalk circa. 1964, which was cutting-edge cool at the time. It replaced Dad’s old 1940s Pye wireless (except it didn’t really, he still used both). It was called “The Luxembourg” because there was an extra-wide band for Radio Luxembourg, which was marked on the dial.
Still have it, it’s a bit knackered now and crackly but workable, with those big batteries you have to plug 2 leads into at the top.
My gawd! The Luxembourg! I spent my entire first decade with that radio, bakelite handle and all. Never even registered the “Sobell” name with it until now, but I do recall the GE logo somewhere. That radio was wonderful — used to help me sleep each and every night, listening to Emperor Rosko and Stuart Henry on 208. It lasted until the day around 1981 when I thought one of the screws that held the back on (openable with a 2p coin) would fit nicely into the hole at the tuning plates. It did, and then the radio stopped playing Dave Fanning. Gawd be with the days of the PP9 batteries … I miss that radio so much! Three glorious knobs … and what the hell was “Band Spread” anyway?
Ok, only 5 years later, here’s a picture from adverts.ie – not of the one I still have at home, but it’s the identical model, even down to the colour.
Being well before the big BBC changes in 1967 it still has “Third”, as in “Third Programme” for what became Radio 3, at about 470MW, and “Light”, as in “Light Programme”, for what became Radio 2 at 1500 LW. “R.Eir” is of course RTE, at about 525 MW.
Metassus, as far as I remember, in those days when radio-tuning was a bit of an art, “band spread” was a way of fine-tuning to get the station right. It didn’t really work, as far as I remember. We used to try to use it for Beeb radio 1 but it was pretty hit and miss, even with the Beeb relay station outside Belfast ( and we were in Dundalk!). A lot depended on atmospherics, with Radio Moscow (USSR version) sometimes taking over the whole bandwith, or so it seemed. After midnight, Beeb World Service was really strong. “Radio Newsreel” and all that. Memories.
Earlier this year, I posted 10 ‘then and now’ photos from Temple Bar, Dublin. I used photographs from 1985. These were featured in the Irish Architectural Archive’s Temple Bar 15 […]
Joe Walsh, a Co Down native, founded Joe Walsh Tours (JWT) in 1961 in a tiny Nassau Street office in Dublin. JWT started with religious pilgrimages to the likes of […]
The metal shell of the Gasometer on South Lotts Rd, Ringsend, Dublin 4. Photo taken in 1988 by Maureen Devitt RIP. The Gasometer dates back to 1885. Now known as […]
In October 2006, the Temple Bar Cultural Trust and the Irish Architectural Archive produced an exhibiton and catalogue called Temple Bar 15 to celebrate the fifteenth anniversary of the architectural […]
From 30 years ago, here are 3 ads for 2 different alcopop brands sold in Ireland. These ads appeared in Irish style magazine d Side in 1996 and were digitised […]
Christmas in Ireland was published in 1985 by World Book Encyclopedia Inc. from Chicago, USA. We’ve digitised a selection of photos by Bob Willoughby, Fionnbar Callanan, Mary Rowley and a […]
The Brand New Retro book is 10 years old this week — which means it’s officially vintage too. 😎 brandnewretro.ie10m The Brand New Retro book turns 10 this week! Back […]
Brand New Retro 
Mum and Dad won a Sobell portable transistor in a dress-dance in Dundalk circa. 1964, which was cutting-edge cool at the time. It replaced Dad’s old 1940s Pye wireless (except it didn’t really, he still used both). It was called “The Luxembourg” because there was an extra-wide band for Radio Luxembourg, which was marked on the dial.
Still have it, it’s a bit knackered now and crackly but workable, with those big batteries you have to plug 2 leads into at the top.
LikeLike
Amazed at how much first hand knowledge you have of these products, Jay Kay. Fascinating! Thanks, Doug.
LikeLike
Let me take a pic of it and send to you! It still looks ok actually, 48 years later. Which I cant really pay about myself.
LikeLike
Haha! Yeah, That’d be good. Thanks. Sent from my iPod
LikeLike
My gawd! The Luxembourg! I spent my entire first decade with that radio, bakelite handle and all. Never even registered the “Sobell” name with it until now, but I do recall the GE logo somewhere. That radio was wonderful — used to help me sleep each and every night, listening to Emperor Rosko and Stuart Henry on 208. It lasted until the day around 1981 when I thought one of the screws that held the back on (openable with a 2p coin) would fit nicely into the hole at the tuning plates. It did, and then the radio stopped playing Dave Fanning. Gawd be with the days of the PP9 batteries … I miss that radio so much! Three glorious knobs … and what the hell was “Band Spread” anyway?
LikeLike
Ok, only 5 years later, here’s a picture from adverts.ie – not of the one I still have at home, but it’s the identical model, even down to the colour.
Being well before the big BBC changes in 1967 it still has “Third”, as in “Third Programme” for what became Radio 3, at about 470MW, and “Light”, as in “Light Programme”, for what became Radio 2 at 1500 LW. “R.Eir” is of course RTE, at about 525 MW.
http://www.adverts.ie/home-audio/vintage-sobell-luxembourg-transistor-radio-mid-1960s/11415613
Sorry for the delay :)_
LikeLike
Metassus, as far as I remember, in those days when radio-tuning was a bit of an art, “band spread” was a way of fine-tuning to get the station right. It didn’t really work, as far as I remember. We used to try to use it for Beeb radio 1 but it was pretty hit and miss, even with the Beeb relay station outside Belfast ( and we were in Dundalk!). A lot depended on atmospherics, with Radio Moscow (USSR version) sometimes taking over the whole bandwith, or so it seemed. After midnight, Beeb World Service was really strong. “Radio Newsreel” and all that. Memories.
LikeLiked by 1 person