Followers of thesnailofhappiness will have read about our wind-up radio and know that I have, over the years tried to keep it going as it succumbs to the ravages of entropy (that is, it falls apart).
Some while ago, it became apparent that the solar cell mounted on the top didn’t seem to be charging the batteries, now brazenly displayed for all to see on the side. As the daily routine of winding it up for a minute was a joy rather than a chore, I never worried about that particular oddity. However, tuning the radio was becoming increasingly difficult. The tuning dial seemed to jam right near where we wanted it to go.
Thing is, we never untune the radio from the station it is on – BBC Radio 2 is our companion, mostly for the Popmaster quiz at 10:30 every morning. Nevertheless, the tuning does has a habit, much like myself, of drifting from time to time. I think it was moving the radio that was the culprit – the dial seemed capable of turning with little provocation.
And so it was, last weekend, when I returned from my other life, that there was a task awaiting my attention. First, the patient had to be prepped for surgery – that is, taken apart:
Then, the solar cell was removed for testing. Turns out, the previous surgery had left the solar cell connected the wrong way round – good job I’m not an actual surgeon, eh? No really, I faint at the thought of bloo… ooh, feeling woozy, I’ll just have some wine (for medicinal purposes, of course). That’s better. Then I reconnected the speaker wire that falls off every time I open the radio up.
Finally, I could fix the real issue here – the tuning dial. A bit of string wrapped around other plastic bits and – well, it’s better out than in. Problem then was how to tweak the tuning if it drifts again. Answer – remove a bit of the plastic casing to allow a nimble (and thin) finger to reach the tuning wheel inside the radio. It’s not pretty, but it’ll do the job. Right, who said “Like Mr Snail?”
Voila! One fixed radio, solar cell connected the right way round(possibly) and with a sun roof that lifts up to harness the, er, well the sun. And all in time for National Recycle Week.
And so our wind-up radio lives for another day!
oOo
Well done Doctor. The patient may never play the piano again but at least he lives to feel the beat another day.
Hugs
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I bow to this comment Mr David Prosser. It’s what I would have said if I had any kind of talent with the vernacular 🙂
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I bow before your kindness of my poor efforts . I didn’t even realise my vernacular were on show. I shall be more careful how I dress in the future.
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Let them all hang out David Prosser, a good set of vernacular are a beautiful sight indeed 😉
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Well, he couldn’t play the piano before either so it’s all for the best! 🙂
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Oh the indignity of old age Mr Snail. Having your leaky battery terminals exposed for the entire world to see…I see. The reason why this unfortunate situation occurred in the first place is down to a dodgy surgeon eh? A media cover-up in the first place, pointing the finger at the victim and then a bodgy fixity job? Consider me a whistle-blower Mr Snail. I am calling an internal investigation into what shall forever more be known as “Palletgate”!
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I guess all that is left is for me to gather up my bones and go in live in deepest Siberia – or Wales as it is sometimes called. Please don’t blow your whistle in proximity to Palletgate though – it won’t stand up to the air pressure!
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😉
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Having read Mrs Snail’s posts on recycling this last few days, Mr Owl and I were discussing getting a radio (our last one died a death 2 years ago), and we wanted to buy something that wasn’t reliant on batteries or electricity – and so were almost decided on getting a wind-up/solar-powered one – and now that I’ve seen your post, it’s definitely decided me on getting one 🙂
If your radio can survive two lots of surgery {ouch!} and has still kept right on going, then it’s totally worth us getting one, too, especially as we do prefer whatever we buy to have a very long shelf life – and I think even Mr Owl could manage to keep one going for a long time (plus the winding will be good exercise for him! Lol)
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