I do; but have no idea how to post a picture of it.  It was and is a Westinghouse table radio that was my father's; but he saw how much I loved it that he gave it to me.  Still here in my home.  

I can't  recall the brand right now but I remember the radio very well. Listened to mostly CHUM on it but I think I heard CHUM FM for the first time on it and the song may have been Bluebird by Buffalo Springfield. I found one pic of the set.

Jody Thornton wrote:

Why do I want to guess at Hitachi?  Is that possible Fitz?
 

Perhaps Jody but I am not sure. I do remember my first stereo AM/FM receiver was a Realistic which I still had until about 10 years ago. 
 

I still have my second radio which was a Sony. I just got it out of the garage and shot this pic. Still works quite well after 47 or 48 years:

By sheer coincidence, this article appeared in an online newspaper on Tuesday.

I don’t just listen to the radio, I also find ancient receivers and take them apart

That doesn't look all that cheap to me. And wasn't Zenith supposed to be a good name? (Their TV slogan was "The quality goes in before the name goes on.") One of my favourite radios that WAS a cheap piece of junk was made by someone called Juliette. Anyone remember that brand? (Yep, still have that one, too.)

I loved it because it was a multi-band radio, back before the police band was scrambled. It also had Air Traffic Control and SW. 

But my all time favourite moment came when I accidentally tuned into what used to be called "Toronto Mobile." This was in the era long before cell phones, the very early days when people rich enough to have phones in their cars had to go through an operator to connect a call. The operator would then dial the number, she would presumably get off the line and the parties could talk to each other. This radio would pick those up when the motorists were in range. 

One day, I heard a guy call his wife and say he wouldn't be home for dinner and had to work late. He then placed a call to what I believe was his girlfriend and told her they were breaking up. She pleaded with him not to, but he refused to listen and after a few minutes of arguing, he hung up. 

That was interesting enough (and no, I really shouldn't have been monitoring it, but it WAS on unscrambled public airwaves) but what happened after that was incredibly instructive. At the end of each call, after a few moments of silence, the operator would come back on and ask, "Mobile, are you through? Are you through with your call?" and then the signal would disappear as she disconnected them. 

In this case, I heard two operators come on. One said, "what a horrible man." The other responded, "The wife has no idea what's going on." They'd been listening in while this guy was two timing his spouse! I was just a young teen when it happened, but I've never forgotten it.

This is a picture [from google images] of the 1st radio I cut my teeth on.

I think Mom & Dad got it for me for Christmas. I was about 11.
I went through the AM dial noting all the AM stations I could hear especially at night. Also tuned in many FM stations to. One day I was picking up skip from NYC. Wow.
Back in the day, there was hardly any interference on AM and there were very few FM stations around here [Peterborough].
The radio also came with an VHF band. As well as aircraft, I could listen to the police and fire dept. Both were analog-duplex back then.
I couldn't figure out though how to listen to shortwave stations. Later, did I learn, 'you need to have a shortwave band for that'. Little did I know.
I got about 20 years out of that set. I regret I did not keep it.

Last edited by andysradio (July 9, 2019 5:07 pm)

RA, your mobile phone story reminded of me of a tale Wally Crouter told years ago.

Gordon Sincalr had one in his Rolls Royce. Standard Broadcasting`s Radio president at the time was Don Hartford and he really, REALLY wanted a mobile phone too, but he couldn`t  justify the expense. (Ah, for the days of ethics!) However, eventually he got one somehow and one day he`s driving  up Yonge Street and he sees Sinclair heading south, so he gets the mobile operator to call  Sinclair and says, `Hi Sinc, it`s Don Hartford calling you from my car!!` Sinclair says, `Hold on a second Don. My other phone`s ringing!`

Last edited by potentiometer (July 9, 2019 5:39 pm)

@g121   That photograph brings back a flood of memories.  I received that model too,  for Christmas ('67 or '68?).  My dad threw the antenna line from my apartment bedroom to the balcony.  I had a few small "transistor" (as they were called back then) radios in my youth ,  but that Crystal was always special. 

Last edited by Media Observer (July 9, 2019 6:50 pm)

I have truly enjoyed reading all of the stories on people's first radios.  Here is my tale.
I don't remember a main radio in our home...late 1950s.  But one day my dad brought home a transistor (green) with a plastic case, from the canteen where he worked.
I was eight and borrowed it to listen to the Habs games in french.
My first radio was a handheld model that I wore out.
When I was about 12, I got a Sound Design multi-band radio that I used all the time.  Whether it was a ball game or keeping up with the latest tunes, this was great!!!
When cable came to our part of Ottawa in 1968, I used to take the cable off the TV and put it on the whip antenna to get CHOM from Montreal.
I spent evenings listening to WABC, WLS, WCFL, WPTR and WKBW.  I tried to get CHUM, but WHN in New York was also at 1050.
While I was trying to do homework, I must admit I was a failure in psychology, but an A - plus student in Rockology.
I have always loved radio.  While I spent most of my career in television, radio was, and is my first love.  When this post came out, I began to count the number of radios in my home and stopped at 15.  My grandmother from Cape Breton game me an Addison 1937 model that still works!!!
Long live Rock!!!  and long, live Radio!!!