Her Childhood Boombox Finally Died After Nearly 40 Years—and Strangers Think They Can Fix It
Depending on how old you are, it’s likely that you’ve said the words, “They don’t make them like they used to,” at least once in your life. That’s because many people of a certain age have watched common products and home appliances go from once-or-twice-in-a-lifetime purchases to things that need to be replaced every other year.
That’s likely why one woman’s post about her childhood boombox went viral on Threads this week after she posted a picture of her old radio. “Apparently my dad has been using the boombox I got for my birthday in like 6th grade (I’m about to turn 51) in his workshop and today it finally died,” Threads user @carol.banc wrote. “Hats off Toshiba! You made one hell of a radio in the 80s.”
The post went viral with more than 27,500 likes in less than 24 hours after it was shared. But it was the comments that really made for an interesting read, since so many shared how Carol could fix the radio, allowing her dad to enjoy its music for decades to come.
Now, she says she’s on a mission to figure out whether she should fix the radio or sell it to someone else, since it clearly has a lot of life left in it.
People Celebrated the Long-Running Radio With the Woman
View on Threads
Keeping a radio around for that long is an impressive feat, which is likely why so many people took the opportunity to congratulate the woman on the product’s impressive lifespan, including one person who had a theory as to why her dad held onto it for so long. “He used it to remind himself of you,” they wrote. “That was a connection to you.”
Then there were those who shared stories of their own old-school tech. “My Sanyo clock radio I’ve had since 1985,” one person captioned a picture of an old alarm clock.
“My Mitsubishi TV from 1979,” another person captioned a small television. “Just sold it to a teenager to play retro games. We knew nothing about Mitsubishi 47 years ago!”
Others Shared Suggestions on How to Fix It
A few people said that the radio could actually have some more life in it, depending on what’s gone wrong. “I’m betting one bad capacitor replaced and this thing is back in action for another 30+ years,” one person suggested.
“Either that or the transistor,” another added in the thread. “It has always been one of those two.”
“Yeah, I’d put $20 on it being just a bad cap,” yet a third person added.
The Threads user eventually came back to the comments to thank everyone for all of their support and suggestions. “I’ll hang on to it and investigate fixing or selling,” she wrote. “I never would have thought! Thanks, everyone!”
While it sounds like she’s more inclined to have her father fix it than sell it, it looks like anyone hoping to get their hands on a vintage Toshiba boombox may not have to look very far. Etsy is full of listings for various types of radios from this time period, including one that looks similar to the one in the Threads post that is listed for just $229.95. That being said, it sounds like the radio’s real value lies in the sentimental aspect, which may make it priceless to both the original poster and her dad.
