Mine was a small transistor radio kit my Dad made - as a kit - for a Christmas present when I was in my teens.
He made the plywood case and supplied with it all the electronic components plus the circuit-diagram - I was already familiar with soldering including the precautions to take with transistors to avoid burning the poor little things out. The design had been published in Radio Constructor, a popular magazine for electronics hobbyists of the time - the hobby seems to have died out, sadly, maybe because it relies on practical skill as well as technical knowledge.
It was not very powerful but would pick up the two BBC radio channels to which I listened (the Home Service and the Light Programme, now called Radios Four and Two respectively) and possibly Radio Luxembourg. I think it would have found the BBC Third Programme (now Radio Three) but this was many years before I discovered what I now listen to frequently.
Sadly the radio disappeared very mysteriously, only a few years ago, when our family was clearing our late parents' home. I knew where it had been stored, but there it wasn't any more, and no-one else seemed to know. Its monetary value was negligible but it was of much personal value.
I built a computer desktop from copying an old one that I gutted out. Every piece I took out of the old one, I replaced with a new on into another bare boned machine. When I was done, it worked great. I used it for 5 years then gave it to my daughter. She still has it .
