Happy Cyber Monday! If you’re starting your holiday shopping, don’t forget radio-related gifts. Last year I wrote a handy guide outlining the most perfect radio-themed gifts for the different types of people on your list. That list is still a great starting point, so this time around I’m just going to add a few new additions. If you shop Amazon through Radio Survivor, we’ll also get a referral bonus, so you’ll be helping to support our mission here as well. Of course, don’t let that stop you from supporting your local, small businesses too.
Here are my suggestions of gifts for radio lovers-2010 style:
1. 2011 Tower Site Calendar: This is the 10th edition of this calendar, which features photographs of towers, including radio towers. Put together by Scott Fybush, an associate of the radio tower loving Garrett Wollman (our very first Radio Obsessive); this calendar would be a great gift for radio engineers and fans of radio architecture.
2. Areaware SSKMRS Magno Model 1 Sustainable Personal Radio
3. Gear from Your Favorite Local Non-commercial Radio Station: One of the best purchases that you can make is gear from your local non-commercial radio station. Whether it’s a cool T-shirt, compilation CD or LP, baseball cap, fly swatter, or a shot glass; supporting local radio is a very good thing. Might I suggest the brand new KFJC zip-up hoodie? Or you could send some funds to WFMU in order to get your name on a balloon attached to station manager Ken Freedman during their Lift-Off event next week. 
4. Fisher Price Build & Fix – Radio Repair Toy: I was excited to see an episode of the kids’ TV show Handy Mandy in which the protagonist heads over to a radio station to do some repairs. So, you can get your kids into the groove of understanding radio’s relavance by picking up this toy radio repair kit for them.
5. SportSyncRadio: Earlier this month I wrote about various radio options for sports fans who want to listen to a radio broadcast while watching a live event on television. This stand-alone radio is an all-in-one solution.
6. Another option for synchronizing radio with live sports is the Griffin Technology RadioShark AM / FM Desktop Radio with time-shift recording, which can also be used to record radio.
7. 40 Watts from Nowhere : A Journey into Pirate Radio: Every time a new pirate radio station appears on the scene, I’m reminded of this fascinating first-person account by Sue Carpenter. In this book she eloquently outlines the challenges of running a station based on anarchistic principles. You can read Matthew’s review of the book here.
8. Hello Kitty Boombox Wallet: I love that radio imagery is making its way into fashion and this Hello Kitty wallet adorned with a radio boombox is adorable.
9. Rhinestone Old School Boombox Gold Belt Buckle: This belt buckle is over-the-top, with its gilded boombox and is a great gift choice for radio fans who embrace hip hop culture and fashion or for anyone who wants to add a bit of glamor to their life.
10. Reality Radio: Telling True Stories in Sound: There are lots of great radio books out there, but “reality” radio doesn’t get much ink. Here’s a recent book full of essays written by documentary radio practitioners, from Ira Glass to audio performance artists.
