![\"Chocolate](\"https:\/\/www.radiosurvivor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/185_radiosurvivor.jpg\")
<\/a>Chocolate FM radio. Photo: J. Waits\/Radio Survivor<\/p><\/div>\n
2. WVKR’s Dolphin Shower Radio<\/h3>\n
After seeing the cute dolphin shaped shower radio<\/a> posted on social media by WVKR<\/a> (Vassar College), I was even more motivated to schedule a station visit<\/a>. Lucky for me, there were still some of these promotional items on hand when I stopped by and I plopped down my donation so that I could have my very own dolphin shower radio. Although it’s tricky for me to get fantastic indoor reception on a shower radio in San Francisco, the adorable quotient makes me willing to put up with some static.<\/p>\n WVKR’s dolphin shower radio. Photo: J. Waits\/Radio Survivor<\/p><\/div>\n John Schneider<\/a> puts together annual calendars<\/a> featuring spectacular vintage photographs. The latest one includes “colorized photographs of field reporters transmitting from outside their broadcast studio.” A few older editions of the calendar are also available, with images of vintage radio buildings and studios.<\/p>\n Calendar and radio buffs will also enjoy Scott Fybush’s 2019 Tower Site Calendar<\/a>. This will be the 18th edition of this wonderfully geeky foray into radio tower sites.<\/p>\n I’ve experimented with a few radio-making kits<\/a> over the years, with varying levels of success. The 1970s-style radio design pictured on the box for the Haynes Retro Radio Kit<\/a> piqued my interest; so I picked this up for a future radio-making foray. Unlike some of the other radios that I’ve made, that were all solely FM or AM, this one results in a combination AM\/FM radio. A similar item, the Haynes Build your own FM Radio Calendar Kit<\/a> is styled like an Advent calendar and features 24 daily experiments.<\/p>\n Haynes Retro Radio kit. Photo: J. Waits\/Radio Survivor<\/p><\/div>\n I’m in the midst of reading the Tom Lewis book Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio<\/a>, which casts inventor Lee de Forest as a bit of a scallywag. The well-read tome and resulting Ken Burns documentary Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio\u00a0<\/a>has influenced popular perceptions of de Forest. In his extensive and well-researched biography of de Forest, Lee de Forest: King of Radio, Television, and Film<\/a>,\u00a0Mike Adams points that out and works to complicate the story of Lee de Forest, highlighting his profound influence on radio, television and film.<\/p>\n In March, the inventor of the Freeplay hand-crank radio, Trevor Baylis, died at the age of 80. In 1991 he came up with the concept for a wind-up radio. The New York Times<\/a> writes, “…he saw a television program that mentioned one obstacle in the growing AIDS crisis in Africa: Reliable information was not reaching many people, because electricity was scarce or nonexistent and batteries were prohibitively expensive. A radio that ran on muscle power, Mr. Baylis reasoned, would give everyone an opportunity to hear the news, not to mention listen to music.”<\/p>\n His hand-crank radio Freeplay Radio<\/a> has been recognized for both its function and design and is even part of the collection at the Cooper-Hewitt Museum<\/a>.<\/p>\n On episode 168<\/a> of the Radio Survivor show\/podcast, we had a fascinating discussion with Thomas Witherspoon about how one can create a radio time machine by making radio spectrum recordings using a software-defined-radio (SDR). Essentially, it’s possible to capture everything on a given radio spectrum using that tool, so that you can, for example, save a glimpse of the AM radio dial in your community on a specific point in time. I’d be hard-pressed to recommend a specific SDR, so I’ll direct you to Witherspoon’s three-part primer on SDRs<\/a> on his SWLing Post site.<\/p>\n OK. It’s not a radio, but I think of Walkman cassette players as radio-adjacent. This wooden purse<\/a> is imprinted to look like an old school Sony Walkman and I think it’s just adorable. It comes in red, white, or baby blue.<\/p>\n Again. Not a radio, but vintage-leaning audio lovers might dig this petite “wood acoustic amplifier for smartphones\/mobile devices<\/a>,” which features an antique phonograph horn design. At the bargain price of $15.99, this is on my Cyber Monday wish list (hint hint).<\/p>\n Our conversation with Thomas Witherspoon on last week’s Radio Survivor show\/podcast<\/a> reignited my interest in exploring shortwave radio. So, it’s likely the perfect time to take a look at this cool little portable radio that my colleague Paul reviewed earlier this year: the Tivdio V-115<\/a>. It not only gets AM and FM radio, but also shortwave. A serious bonus is that it also has recording capabilities so that you can capture air checks of interesting radio that you encounter. Another option that Paul mentions in a follow-up review<\/a> is the Kaito KA29<\/a>, which also gets a variety of radio bands and has recording capabilities.<\/p>\n My final suggestion this year is to gift your radio enthusiast pals with a membership to an organization that is working to preserve radio history. A few ideas include the California Historical Radio Society<\/a> (which is building a museum in Alameda, California), the Maritime Radio Historical Society<\/a>, the Antique Wireless Association<\/a>, the Pavek Museum of Broadcasting<\/a>, and the Spark Museum of Electrical Invention<\/a>.<\/p>\n For other suggestions, see the radio clubs links<\/a> on the Antique Wireless Association website.<\/p>\n For even more suggestions, see the previous guides that we’ve put together over the years:<\/p>\n 5 Funky Last Minute Gifts for Radio Fanatics<\/a> (2016)<\/p>\n 2014 Holiday Gift Guide for Radio Fanatics \u2013 From Radio in a Jar to Bike Radios<\/a> (2014)<\/p>\n Holiday Gifts for Easy and Enjoyable Radio Listening<\/a> (2014)<\/p>\n Ten Essential Radio Movies for the Holidays<\/a> (2014)<\/p>\n Eclectic Gifts for the Radio, Podcast and Streaming Music Fan (or Nerd)<\/a> (2013)<\/p>\n Holiday Gift Guide for Radio-Lovin’ Fashion Mavens<\/a> (2013)<\/p>\n Happy Holidays: Here’s an Emergency Radio<\/a> (2012)<\/p>\n Holiday Gift Guide for Radio Listeners and Budding Podcasters<\/a> (2012)<\/p>\n 2012 Holiday Gift Guide for Radio Fans<\/a> (2012)<\/p>\n Holiday Gifts for the Radio Survivor: Paul’s Recommended Gear<\/a> (2011)<\/p>\n Great Radio History Books for the Holidays<\/a> (2011)<\/p>\n 2011 Holiday Gift Guide for Radio Fans<\/a> (2011)<\/p>\n Paul\u2019s Recommended Radios for Holiday Gifty Time<\/a> (2010)<\/p>\n![\"WVKR's](\"https:\/\/www.radiosurvivor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/181_radiosurvivor-1024x526.jpg\")
<\/a>3. The Radio Historian’s 2019 Calendar of Early Radio Remote Broadcasts<\/h3>\n
4. Haynes Retro Radio Kit<\/a><\/h3>\n
![\"Haynes](\"https:\/\/www.radiosurvivor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/184_radiosurvivor.jpg\")
<\/a>5. Lee de Forest: King of Radio, Television, and Film<\/a><\/h3>\n
6. Freeplay Encore Buddy Self-Powered Radio<\/a><\/h3>\n
7. Software-defined-Radio<\/h3>\n
8. Wooden Walkman Clutch<\/a><\/h3>\n
9. Wooden Phone Amplifier<\/a><\/h3>\n
10. Portable Shortwave Radio with Built-in Recorder<\/a><\/h3>\n
11. Membership in a Historical Radio Society or Radio Museum<\/h3>\n
More Gift Ideas<\/h2>\n