old school

In addition to bikes, I have a thing for cameras and to a lesser extent, old radios. In the days before Ebay, finding old cameras, parts for old radios and other arcane bits often meant some sort of mini adventure. I restored a mid fifties 45rpm record player as a gift and I had so much fun popping into odd little shops finding parts. Most of these places were run by the folks that started them, back when fixing things like stereo equipment could be a viable business. I literally bought all the parts I needed for that little RCA from one guy who had a basement warehouse in the middle of a pretty sizable town. I remember thinking as I decended the stairs from street level, following the owner, that I was either going to find bunch of cool stuff or wind up dead in the corner under a pile of boxes. Fortunately, the former, not the latter turned out to be the case.





So, it's with a little bit of hope that I look forward to a little side trip next week. Going to be in Montreal on vacation and I am hoping to get some parts for my Grundig from Radio Hovsep. I made a point of not trying to email them simply to preserve the adventure. I can't wait to see what this place looks like inside.....I sure hope it's still there.

Edit - 8/20/08

Total score...just as I'd hoped, it turned out to be run by two of the coolest people you could meet. Started the business together in 1960 as a recently married couple. Still, happy, still in business and they had the stuff I was looking for. Including, some new old stock knobs for my model 4570/U Grundig desktop stereo. I bought three.....

I'll post a little more detail when we get home with an interior shot or two.