![]() “We have seen a 79% increase in searches for transistor radios onsite so far this month when compared with the same period last year,” says Trade Me spokesperson Ruby Topzand. Suddenly, everyone – not just those attending retro dress-up parties as an 80s breakdancer – wants one. And so you go to a hardware store it’s sometimes difficult to find.” “It’s the sort of technology that when the power goes out it’s vital, but in peacetime, if you like, it’s not really used. “I also note that it’s actually not that easy to find these days,” he said. In the same interview, McAnulty admitted they’re also not the easiest things to get your hands on. “It’s certainly something that in the lead up to the cyclone, we’ve been encouraging people to have,” emergency management minister Kieran McAnulty told Stuff. During a natural disaster, a battery-powered radio is a crucial source of information ( as long as it’s not tuned into Newstalk ZB, apparently). That’s never more clear when disaster strikes. Some of the transistor radios on offer at AV World. Transistor radios – the delivery method – do as well. Despite the doomsayers, radio – the medium – keeps on trucking. First invented in 1954, the transistor radio was thought to have been made obsolete by Walkmans, then Discmans, then the iPod, then the iPhone. The comms issue is appalling.”Įnter, then, the humble transistor radio. We have no idea what’s happened to the rest of the country,” Jenene Crossan said. One Piha resident told The Spinoff the local volunteer fire service couldn’t even find out what was happening. Those in cut-off communities like Muriwai, Piha or Wairoa couldn’t listen to the radio from their phones, so news from the outside was hard to come by. Emergency numbers couldn’t be dialled, and those affected by slips and flooding couldn’t let loved ones know they were OK. That meant essential communications quickly disappeared. When the power went out, cellphone reception soon followed. ![]() When Cyclone Gabrielle arrived, it knocked out power stations around the North Island. They’re raving about this simple, ancient but essential piece of tech for a reason. I still have no power at my house, so no wifi.” You don’t have to look far to find new-found transistor radio fanatics. “We depended entirely on it,” one survivor posted to Facebook recently. “It was our lifeline,” said another. “Glad I have a hand-held one at home,” wrote a third. “I’m listening desperately for info on Wairoa. It’s the one thing everyone needed when the power went out during Cyclone Gabrielle.
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