Broken radio? This man can fix it

  • | Thursday | 9th January, 2020

In India, we are the only repairing shop in the country, who can repair valve amplifier radio set. After that production of the valve amplifier stopped, but people still have valve radio sets and they bring their radio sets to us for repairing,” says Moinuddin. “This radio set was bought by my father,” Moinuddin says pointing to the radio. “We have a radio set of Radio Corporation of America(RCA) in our home. “I don’t understand the new technology, now the radio sets are made with computer software, earlier the radio sets were repaired and used but now a new radio set is just for one-time use,” says Moinuddin.

Sumit Kumar Jha By Express News Service HYDERABAD: Cld radio sets, monochrome televisions, spool tape recorder, audio player, record players and cassette decks lie scattered around the tiny room. Amidst all these sits Muhammad Moinuddin, one of the owners of Mehboob Radio Service. “I have been repairing radio for over the last 50 years. My Walid (Father) started this shop here in Chatta Bazar in 1948. My elder brother and I run this shop now,” he says while repairing the 1960 model Philips radio set. Muhammad Moinuddin, 72 and his brother Muhammad Mujeebddin, 80, live in Dabeerpura and his shop is in Chatta Bazar Road in Old Hyderabad. In 1948, Chatta Bazar, one of the busiest market places, in the city was taking shape. Shaikh Mahboob, father of Moinuddin and Mujeebddin, shifted his shop from Dabeerpura which he had started in 1930 to Chatta Bazar in 1948. He bought this two-storey shop for Rs 7,000. Shaikh Mahboob died in 1997, leaving the shop to his sons. “People from Saudi Arabia, Dubai, London, Kuwait, all bring their old radio sets for repairing. In India, we are the only repairing shop in the country, who can repair valve amplifier radio set. We have sets of 4-volt and 6-volt valves. The transistor came in the 1950s. After that production of the valve amplifier stopped, but people still have valve radio sets and they bring their radio sets to us for repairing,” says Moinuddin. In one corner of the shop lies a GEC radio which dates back to the early 1900s. “This radio set was bought by my father,” Moinuddin says pointing to the radio. “We have a radio set of Radio Corporation of America(RCA) in our home. RCA stopped their production in 1948.” Inside the shop, the radio sets are stacked one over the another and waiting to be repaired. The radios are manufactured by well-known vintage electronics companies such as Philps, Murphy, GEC, Johnson, Marconi, Telefunken, Grundig, Philco, HMV, Ecko, Normandy. “This is the early 60s, German-made Grundig TK46 portable 4 track reel to reel spool tape recorder. Mahendra from Pune came yesterday I request people to come personally and hand over the device so that devices won’t break in transit, Sheikhs from Dubai have come personally. "All India radio and Sri Lankan radio Ceylon still uses these spool tape recorders,” says Moinuddin. “People used to come with their old transistor and asking to add the FM button to it. My business surged because of it. I even started adding the FM button to Valve amplifier radios, but with the coming of the mobile phone, everything changed. I still listen to Short waves and Medium Waves station on my radio. I get the news from All India Radio, Hyderabad station,” says Moinuddin who never owned a mobile phone. Customers call him on the landline phone. “I don’t understand the new technology, now the radio sets are made with computer software, earlier the radio sets were repaired and used but now a new radio set is just for one-time use,” says Moinuddin.

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