Quan comments, “For the engineer who has seen transistor amplifier analysis, this book will cover both small- and large-signal behavior, which also includes harmonic and intermodulation distortion.” He goes on to say, “Therefore, this book can be used as a complement to textbooks….” Better get in quick.Thanks to that original October 2011 blog, Rako helped him contact McGraw Hill, and his book on building radio circuits has been published and I have read it. “My next purchase will be a transistor radio and a proper torch,” she wrote. Another survivor, this time from the Hokianga, posted to Facebook that she’ll do just that. With power yet to be returned to some parts of the North Island, and cell services struggling along with them, it’s advice worth heeding. “It’s proper planning, right? We definitely get people who are organised because they are thinking about for days.” They know what’s coming … they understand what a cyclone is,” he says. “The smart elders who have been there, done that, they’ve lived through the Cyclone Bolas. So he listens to his customers who have been there before. As soon as you’ve got no comms whatsoever, what are you going to do next?” “You cannot count on a cellphone for more than eight hours without a charger. “A transistor radio is a lifesaver,” says Mike. Sometimes, he sells customers two: a designer model north of $1500, and a cheaper one for emergencies. Mike’s been selling everything from $69 pocket radios to $300 ones with antennae so powerful you’ll be able to tune in from the furthest reaches of Aotearoa. “We have seen a 79% increase in searches for transistor radios onsite so far this month when compared with the same period last year,” says Trade Me spokesperson Ruby Topzand. Suddenly, everyone – not just those attending retro dress-up parties as an 80s breakdancer – wants one. And so you go to a hardware store it’s sometimes difficult to find.” “It’s the sort of technology that when the power goes out it’s vital, but in peacetime, if you like, it’s not really used. “I also note that it’s actually not that easy to find these days,” he said. In the same interview, McAnulty admitted they’re also not the easiest things to get your hands on. “It’s certainly something that in the lead up to the cyclone, we’ve been encouraging people to have,” emergency management minister Kieran McAnulty told Stuff. During a natural disaster, a battery-powered radio is a crucial source of information ( as long as it’s not tuned into Newstalk ZB, apparently). ![]() That’s never more clear when disaster strikes. Some of the transistor radios on offer at AV World. Transistor radios – the delivery method – do as well. Despite the doomsayers, radio – the medium – keeps on trucking. First invented in 1954, the transistor radio was thought to have been made obsolete by Walkmans, then Discmans, then the iPod, then the iPhone. ![]() The comms issue is appalling.”Įnter, then, the humble transistor radio. We have no idea what’s happened to the rest of the country,” Jenene Crossan said. One Piha resident told The Spinoff the local volunteer fire service couldn’t even find out what was happening. Those in cut-off communities like Muriwai, Piha or Wairoa couldn’t listen to the radio from their phones, so news from the outside was hard to come by. Emergency numbers couldn’t be dialled, and those affected by slips and flooding couldn’t let loved ones know they were OK. That meant essential communications quickly disappeared. ![]() When the power went out, cellphone reception soon followed. When Cyclone Gabrielle arrived, it knocked out power stations around the North Island. They’re raving about this simple, ancient but essential piece of tech for a reason. I still have no power at my house, so no wifi.” You don’t have to look far to find new-found transistor radio fanatics. “We depended entirely on it,” one survivor posted to Facebook recently. “It was our lifeline,” said another. “Glad I have a hand-held one at home,” wrote a third. “I’m listening desperately for info on Wairoa. It’s the one thing everyone needed when the power went out during Cyclone Gabrielle.
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