[seventysixersfan]

Hmm... okay, I'll probably try to stop by later in the week to see if it's available in the store. Can't hurt to see if it's there and what they're asking for. If $20 and under, I might buy it. Otherwise, I might just let it go...

[MarkJerling]

Luckily my wife never throws anything away without checking with me first! Also, the 1935, 1936, 1937 and 1938 HMV radios are too big and heavy to throw out easily!
Hope you get your radio back.

[seventysixersfan]

Luckily my wife never throws anything away without checking with me first! Also, the 1935, 1936, 1937 and 1938 HMV radios are too big and heavy to throw out easily!
Hope you get your radio back.

I have a feeling my wife will think twice in the future before throwing/donating anything away that was originally mine (that is, property that I acquired before meeting her).

OK, I finally have closure to this matter. I went to the Goodwill store earlier today and searched the shelves extensively but found no sign of my radio. Must have either already been purchased by some lucky buyer or perhaps the store employees sold it on eBay. In any case, it is time for me to move on in my life. Maybe I'll have to buy some new camera equipment to ease my sorrows...

[ChrisPlatt]

Your new Sangean WR-22 probably sounds as good as the old Proton.
FWIW we have the simpler Sangean RCR-5 on my wife's side of the bed.

Chris

[seventysixersfan]

Your new Sangean WR-22 probably sounds as good as the old Proton.
FWIW we have the simpler Sangean RCR-5 on my wife's side of the bed.

Thanks, Chris. I bought a Sangean WR-5 last year and it works great. I also have a Sangean waterproof shower radio that is terrific. So I'm looking forward to adding the Sangean WR-22 to my collection. I wasn't aware of the RCR-5; it looks like a decent, inexpensive option that I might look into getting someday.

[MarkJerling]

I have a feeling my wife will think twice in the future before throwing/donating anything away that was originally mine (that is, property that I acquired before meeting her).

OK, I finally have closure to this matter. I went to the Goodwill store earlier today and searched the shelves extensively but found no sign of my radio. Must have either already been purchased by some lucky buyer or perhaps the store employees sold it on eBay. In any case, it is time for me to move on in my life. Maybe I'll have to buy some new camera equipment to ease my sorrows...

Time to feed that LBA!

[jeroboambramblejam]

To my great dismay, I discovered yesterday that my wife had "accidentally" donated my Proton 320 clock radio to Goodwill. I was really heartbroken! For those of you who are not audiophiles or radio-addicts, the Proton 320 is a classic radio produced in the early 1980s and was one of the very first "high end" table/bedside radios on the market. It had terrific sound quality and outstanding reception capability. Plus it looked sleek and futuristic (for a clock radio at the time, that is). It originally cost $100, which was a lot compared to the crappy Sony dream-machines that were selling for $25. Even now, you can find them for sale on eBay for upwards of $50-70, so these are definitely sought-after collector-items that have retained their value even after two decades. I've heard it referred to as the "Cadillac" of alarm clock radios of its day.

The sentimental value of this radio for me is enormous. I have owned the Proton 320 since I was in high school, which was 25 years ago. It's served me really well, and I only stopped using it on a daily basis a few years ago when I got an iPhone-dock Sony radio for the sake of my wife, who wanted to listen to her iPhone music on it in our bedroom. After I got the Sony, I moved the Proton to our guest room, where it was barely ever turned on. When my daughter moved into the guest room recently, I unplugged the Proton and put it in our basement storage area "for safe keeping"-- thinking that I might either sell it someday or set it up in another room that needs a radio.

Anyway, long story (sorry!) short, my wife saw it sitting there unplugged in the basement, near the pile of old clothes and books that we were planning on donating to charity, and assumed I meant to donate the radio as well. I went looking for it yesterday and couldn't find it anywhere in the house, and I then--my suspicions aroused-- I looked at the recent donation inventory form that she had filled out, and the very first item she had written there was "clock radio." Damn!! Somebody at our local goodwill may stumble upon a real diamond in the rough. They might not even fully appreciate this radio's history and value.

So I have thought about going to the Goodwill location to try to find it and buy it back, but I think I'll just let it go and say good-bye to that old electronics gear that was part of my past. I'm now moving on, thinking about getting a new Sangean WR-22 clock radio that has bluetooth capability! But I'll always feel sad about the way in which my Proton met its fate. (I tried not to get too upset at my wife, as it was an honest mistake. But she thinks I'm a big packrat and has not been happy with my keeping things that we don't use or need, so perhaps there was a little more motivation to her "mistake" in giving away the radio...)

Has this ever happened to you?? I thought this episode reminded me of when we hear of stories of estate sales where people are selling old camera lenses for ridiculously low prices because they don't know anything about their true market value. Like someone selling the FA 43mm limited lens for $250 or something like that. Or people that find amazing deals at thrift stores, where a nice copy of the F 35-70mm or F 28mm is attached to an old film camera that is selling for $15. Etc.

Oh well, c'est la vie. Thanks for reading. This concludes my 5-step coping process in dealing with my grief over losing this radio-- the "acceptance" stage. Good-bye, old friend!

Just bought a 320 from a southern Maryland Goodwill for $4.99! This one was quite dirty (perhaps never cleaned since "June 1987), and has a small chip by the 'off' switch button, but it cleaned up nicely. If it is the one your sweety sacrificed, it would have to have floated around Goodwill for a few years, or been bought and re-donated. I will cherish it for you.

[seventysixersfan]

Hope you enjoy it. I have since moved on to the Sangean WR-22 which sounds terrific and has bluetooth connectivity. It pairs nicely with my new Amazon Echo Dot as well. But a 320 for $5! what a diamond in the rough you have found. congrats!

[monochrome]

My wife threw out a stack of Guitar Player magazines. She thought I didn't need them anymore. Ha.

Lost a specific set of out-of-print Kalmbach model railroad track plan books that way. They get really defensive when they know they screwed up.

[SpecialK]

I had about 200 classic-rock vinyls that were probably worth more before my mom put my initials on every cover with a big black felt pen. I traded them for a used tennis racket.

[35mmfilmfan]

I had about 200 classic-rock vinyls that were probably worth more before my mom put my initials on every cover with a big black felt pen

At least it was only on the cover. One of my many ex's used to write on the label as well !

[gaweidert]

........... and she doesn't touch my stuff anymore!

Regards!

Rupert, you have left yourself wide open for comments here. But you are smiling so I guess your okay with the situation.

[ChrisPlatt]

We now share the bedside radio. My wife and I prefer different stations, so the old analog tuning Proton 320 was no longer suitable.
The Proton digital models did not hold up nor sound as good so I tried a Nakamichi TM-1. It sounds good and has proved reliable.

Maybe in the new place if the Mets start playing better I will look for a nice restored Philco Hippo to listen to the ballgame on...

Chris

[monochrome]

I have an elderly Bose Wave Radio that sounds quite good and does the basic jobs. The controls are digital but that's OK - and it has RCA inputs to connect other elderly electronics.

[Rupert]

Rupert, you have left yourself wide open for comments here. But you are smiling so I guess your okay with the situation.

Hey .....I'm OK with most situations! I forgot all about this old thread........but I still don't have to worry about my stuff, Mrs Rupert leaves it alone!

Regards!