Like many teens I was interested in electronics even in the ancient days of the 1960s. Vacuum tube radios were still being built as well as tube amplifiers. Poring over an electronics catalog, I found an entry for a build-it-yourself amplifier--in all probability it was a Knight kit. I ordered the amplifier and awaited its arrival with anticipation. Subsequently, over several days I assembled it at the kitchen breakfast table. It was an amplifier with tubes and the task was to connect the numerous wires beneath to the various components (there was no printed circuitry). I will never forget the satisfaction I enjoyed when it actually worked (and did not explode in a cloud of smoke). I went on from there and built a console to house the amplifier as well as a record player. Further, I purchased a large 12 inch speaker and enclosed it in a speaker box which I also built. I think my parents were proud too, as these items were kept in the living room even after their retirement. Eventually when mother downsized and moved into a retirement community, it was necessary to give up these items. But the memory is more important than the machinery, for it represented a concrete accomplishment when as a young man I needed self-confidence.
Print Page
