Our radios and relationships

[Transistorized]

Owning a vintage boombox is a funny thing. It can be used for a romantic evening or lead to harsh and bitter feelings/words between others.

One of my neighbors came over to the fence on his side and cussed me up and down about my music and how disrespectful I was. Even having a few drinks down I remembered thinking, "Ok. The man shouting obscenities and using fowl language is accusing me of being rude, disrespectful and inconsiderate. Hmm".

You all would be proud of me though. I remained calm, told him I'd keep it low and walked away. That was his free pass so next time will be different if I don't feel like I deserve it. Dude has my cell. Why the heck he didn't call me anytime he was being bothered beats me. Somehow, I felt it would be uncool of me to kick a seniors a$$, so out of respect and attempt to keep the peace, I have moved my deal to the opposite side of the house to reduce noise. I am being respectful with the volume but I would hate for him to get his self hurt if he desides to come on to my property and start that stuff. Ah, his loss more than mine. Everyone relies on me to fix their stuff when it breaks. Looks like I have one less person to worry about.

So, this dude (me) is still pissing folks off with his vintage gear Ah, takes me back to the 80s when boombox signs were posted.

So, how has your box affected others and your relationships?

 

[Superduper]

I'm lucky to live in a rural area where I can blast as loud as I want, because I have the space. But the practical matter is that if you reside in an urban area, and people are almost on top of each other, it's going to be a lot harder to have the freedom to do whatever you want without affecting someone or other. The fact is that some people don't like music more than a whisper, some don't like music at all. If you like music, you probably have a preference of genre. Folks that like rap might not like heavy metal. And even if they do, they will probably cover their ears when they hear country. And of course then there is classical, hip hop, christian, gospel... the point is, living in a community where your neighbors can hear your radio is almost certain to cause tensions and problems because somewhere, someplace, somebody else is not going to like the music or volume level that suits you. If your neighbor is bothered enough that they come to speak with you about it, and you want to be civil and respectful, then the only solution is to turn it down. This is a huge downer if that cramps your style. I don't know what the perfect solution would be, as that's a hard one. As space becomes more cramped and people become ever more intolerant, this may be a simple fact of life in urban living. But I simply moved out to the country where space is plentiful. I've discovered that wide open spaces make for good neighbors.

 

[Reli]

Blasting radios outside makes sense, because there's other noise sources to compete with......But I don't see the point of blasting them inside your house at full volume, when presumably there's no other noise sources to compete with.

If you want to hear the music all throughout your house, put a different box in each room at low volume, using an FM transmitter to play the same music. That's better than blasting one box at full volume in one corner of the house right next to your neighbor.

Don't know what kind of home you have, but some are built rather cheap with thin walls. It's the same story with apartments. A lot of illegitimate real estate "professionals" buy up old stores and repair shops and gut them out, converting them into 8-10 unit apartment "complexes". They hire the cheapest contractors they can find to go in and install paper-thin walls, 2-prong electrical outlets, tiny toilets, crappy plumbing fixtures, and particle-board cabinets. OK I'm going off-topic now lol.

 

[Superduper]

Reli.... 2-prong outlets? haha, everything else you mentioned, maybe. Probably even. But 2-prong outlets wouldn't pass inspection. Besides, because they are so hard to find nowadays, standard (but cheap) 3-prong outlets are probably cheaper anyhow. Still, there's a significant difference in quality between the 0.29c electrical receptacles compared to the $3.99 ones. On the other hand, if you have 40 outlets to install, that's only $12 total for the cheap ones vs. $160 for the quality ones.

 

[Lasonic TRC-920]

Just a small observation here....Assuming you are roughly the same age as most on this site (late 30's through late 40's and more) and this gentleman is older than you, it's possible he has ingrained memories of the boombox from their hey day that are not as fond as ours. These damn radio's have been pissing people off for a very long time now and you may have just picked the scab off a bad memory.

Sounds like you are making an effort though, but even with that, this guy might here just a slight hint of music from a distance and still get all bitchy about it!

If that's the case, that sucks! Good luck bro

 

[blu_fuz]

He's lucky you didn't snap. Respect goes both ways so speak to others like you would want to be spoken to. Good for you man.


Our new neighborhood is a trip. We are like Craig's family in "Next Friday" that moved up from the hood after winning the lottery to the uppity rich cul-desac neighborhood.


We are the outcast. Our house was the first built in this section of town that the locals call "Snob Hill".


I'm outside in the hot tub in the middle of winter with my loudest radio blasting for 4 hours straight and beer cans littered the yard. Big ass fire burning in the fire pit every other day with the tunes at half-tilt. Building a shed with my tools roaring (probably empty beer cans laying around) and again my loudest radio screaming tunes.

The neighbors walk over wondering what they can do to help or over asking how things are going with my projects or what station I'm listening to. They are excited to see someone outside enjoying the space to the fullest. They appreciate my experience, ask for help on their projects, and even though I'm a lot younger than they are, they respect what I have to say as I do to them.

One thing I make sure while playing outside for the public to hear is that I play NO VULGAR music and generally no rap. That will piss most people off real quick. As much as I like hip hop/rap and some ass-n-tittays blasting, it just isn't appropriate for all ears.

 

[Superduper]

25 years ago, I was the youngest new neighbor in my neighborhood. Everyone else were in their 50’s -60’s & they all welcomed us and treated us well. Fast forward twenty years later, all my neighbors died one by one & I was among the oldest in my neighborhood as new young neighbors moved in. Crime started going through the roof as that was and is the trend in CA. So I’ve moved out & the cycle starts anew.

 

[trippy1313]

Haha, Joe, I thought you were going the other way with that, after starting out saying you're the outcast on Snob Hill. That's awesome you actually seem to be welcome in your new neighborhood.

I was worried about blasting my radios when I moved into our place on 5 acres just because I have not met ANY of my neighbors. But I realized that on 5 acres the sound might faintly travel far, but the loud factor seems to be gone after even 50 feet away on my property. Could be the trees, or buildings, but I love it!

 

[blu_fuz]

Yeah, they are adjusting to us LOL.

 

[Reli]

Reli.... 2-prong outlets? haha, everything else you mentioned, maybe. Probably even. But 2-prong outlets wouldn't pass inspection. Besides, because they are so hard to find nowadays, standard (but cheap) 3-prong outlets are probably cheaper anyhow. Still, there's a significant difference in quality between the 0.29c electrical receptacles compared to the $3.99 ones. On the other hand, if you have 40 outlets to install, that's only $12 total for the cheap ones vs. $160 for the quality ones.

I am serious, I saw a couple "apartments" with 2-prong outlets here when I first moved to the bay area in 2009. I remember specifically a couple of the outlets weren't even mounted straight. Then I heard someone going into the unit upstairs, and I could make out almost every word they said. I was like, I'm out of here lol. The place looked like a converted Motel 6 anyway.

 

[Superduper]

Reli.... 2-prong outlets?

I am serious, I saw a couple "apartments" with 2-prong outlets here when I first moved to the bay area in 2009.....

Ok, on any project, existing stuff can be left that way but anything new must be up to code. So this must mean that those receptacles are already grandfathered from when the property was built, which I suspect is from the ‘70s or earlier when it was “to code” at the time 2-prongs were common or normal. I guess “renovated” then amounts to a new coat of paint, haha. Nowadays, any project that exceeds a certain dollar amount (and it’s not much) requires updating certain other things to code including adding hardwired smoke/co detectors etc.

 

[Transistorized]

I can't tell you guys how long it has been since I have seen the lights on my C100 flicker.....sad day

This individual is on meds and has diabetes (no excuses but) sometimes he mixes these (I'm told) with alcohol. He was feeling 10ft tall and on cloud 9 that day for sure. I could've knocked him off of his cloud but chose to be polite and walk away. I guess someone has to be the bigger man.

Good news is I have a great relationship with my other neighbors and truth be told, there were a few times where the Bumpboxx was out. I can definitely see where that was too loud. The man could've at least been civil about it but it appeared to me that he was not in the right frame of mind for that.

That day when he came over I had my C100 out and was at a volume you could talk over so I'm sure something else must've been at play.

Anyeay, yeah. I have since tried to remain respectful by avoiding the man and going to the opposite side of the house which works for me because it's the driveway side with my side door. A comfortable and private spot.

However, if he goes outside and listens he's going to hear faint music at any level but then again he's going to hear birds tweeting in the trees and folks mowing their lawns as well. When you go outside your home your going to hear noises.

Personally I think this dude hears noises/voices in his head if you know what I mean.

I'm not breaking any laws but it's unfortunate he has decided to act the way he did.

I'm some ways I feel proud of my C100. It's little vintage heart still driving the boombox hating generation up the wall...lol

 

[Ken]

I've been through what Norm described. Twenty-five years ago when we bought our home, our 1.25 acres was the largest on the street. Add in a 7 ft tall x 5 ft deep by 400 ft long laurel hedge all around the lot, and I blasted anytime I wanted to. We were the new kids. When we left, we were the old folks.
Now our condo is on the top floor, I keep the speakers on stands, and the boomers, except for a few, are in storage. I kinda like getting old.

When did Joe's beard turn grey?

 

[blu_fuz]

When did Joe's beard turn grey?

When I had kids.

 

[floyd]

When did Joe's beard turn grey?

When I had kids.

Lol.

 

[blu_fuz]

B4 kids, about 9 years ago:

 

[Ken]

Damn, was it that long ago?

9+...oh, say...6, maybe...for 15...

Time to buy a shotgun, dude. I recommend pump action.

...and work on your scowl, lmaooooo....

 

[Transistorized]

This is my new area which I like better because I used to sit right out front where all the traffic and everyone could see me. Now I'm tucked away in my driveway in my cozy corner.

 

[Reli]

You're a Ford Probe collector?

 

[Transistorized]

You're a Ford Probe collector?

Yes. I've always enjoyed them. I have a GT and a SE. They're extinct around here

This was my HS car. Has 316,827 miles on it now but I have overhauled everything that makes it move so it should be good for another 200,000 miles