I admit that with great pride that I am a techie. I am also an early adopter, (a person who acquires the newest technology as soon as it’s available). The result of my technophilia can almost be considered borderline hoarding. Periodically I rid myself of the accumulation of old radios, speakers, and music gadgetry by practically giving it away during occasional garage sales.
Today I live practically clutter free. I have tiny digital devices that gather my extensive music collection from something they call the cloud. All my media stuff is out there … in the air … somewhere. That is something that is hard to get used to. The cloud is so ethereal.
As I began to wander around the Ramada Plaza Convention Center, my attention was drawn to a row of old classic radios. It was a linear evolution of technology. Some of the sets were opened up, revealing large vacuum tubes. (The invention of the vacuum tube and the transistor, were giant leaps for mankind.)
Back in the day, in the long long ago, radios and record players were so much more than electrical appliances. They were often large, substantial pieces of art. The Voltage Expo honors these innovations with a display of lovingly restored and preserved radios, phonographs, and so much more.I have heard how families would gather around the radio and listen intently, staring at the illuminated radio band dial. They had to focus, because there wasn’t playback, or a thirty second skip feature. The radio itself was the center of attention.
The adjoining conference room had dozens of vendors, selling restored sound equipment and records. It was like going through a technology time line. Nostalgically walking past some tables displaying relics of my past. Stacks of amplifiers and fancy Bose speakers.
There were guitars, and other knickknacks that I know nothing about, which brings up a good point about the Expo: There are collectors and experts all over the place. I love that! The room was brimming knowledgeable expertise.Finding it impossible to resist, I began to go through old LP’s and 45’s. I came across an old record that I had when I was a kid, a rare LP of Flip Wilson's stand up act that my brother used to play over and over. I learned my first dirty joke from that record.
Remembering one of my dearest friends who is Tina Turner’s #1 fan, I began a quest for her early releases. Vying against other fanatical LP fans, I eventually came up with a handful of Ike and Tina classics.
On my way out, some people were gathered around a tall man in a white lab coat. His name was Richard Rew, representing the air and space museum called Wings Over The Rockies. Mr. Rew was terrific. He demonstrated scientific concepts like magnetic fields, frequency, and electrical current. His enthusiasm and teaching skills would be the envy of Mr. Wizard. I left the Denver Vintage Voltage Expo with an increased understanding of electromagnetic radiation AND five classic Ike and Tina records. How cool is that?! I tip my hat to Dana Cain Events, for recognizing the increasing popularity of classic tech.
