Growing up on the coast of Florida it seemed like every household had two things: an emergency generator and a Zenith TrandOceanic both in case of hurricane and I spent many hours BCBDXing late at night because those big Wavemagnets(c) really worked.

Later a big transistor model accompanied me on a tour in SEA. So late in the last century I set out to find out everything there was to know about them.

Today there are far better/smaller communications receivers around, I have a Roberts R809 I bought in the UK for travel but I still have at least one of every TO model amd a couple of companions. Kind of lost interest when my hearing declined and found other hobbies.

By that is why the fixation on TOs (and Hickoks). If tubes come back, I'm ready. Also steam engines...