A lifelong career in electronics has afforded me a wealth of practical knowledge. The bulk of it self-taught and some of it the result of mistakes I’ve made along the way and corrected.

Too cool for school, I left after grade 10 and spent a couple of years stripping and refinishing antiques, staining and spraying lacquer (without a mask) at a furniture factory. I transitioned into consumer electronic repairs following a childhood interest in all things technical.

At 18, I was repairing console television sets in people’s Livingroom’s as well as ‘everything electronic’ back at the shop. Over the next 3+ decades, my career has evolved with experience in electronic test and measurement equipment repair and calibration, broadcast and industrial products and supporting gear used in the film industry.

At the same time, and I’m told since a toddler, I was always fascinated with vintage electronics. The more tubes the better. Being weird, to this day I love the way a tube radio, stereo or phonograph sounds. The way a tube anything smells as the dust heats up is the best! I have been known to sit and stare at the lit filaments...

A long departed grandfather would always have an all American five radio or some record player waiting for me as a gift at family visits. I couldn’t have known how important his simple kindness was as it certainly set me on A specific path career and hobby wise.

I have a small collection of vintage cars as well. Nothing Barret-Jackson worthy but well kept. I enjoy them immensely and two of the five of them have tubes in their radios – can’t get any better than that. After a tough week in the real world, there’s just nothing like grabbing a coffee, sitting down in a chrome laden tail finned car and listening to its tube radio…