Abe's radio¶
Abe's radio is a small receive-only AM/FM Circuit City radio on the windowsill of Abelforth Whateley's preserved bedroom, tuned to the same late-night station as the Pay n' Stay clerk's Art Bell show.
| Type | Item (consumer electronics) |
| Aliases | Circuit City radio; the AM/FM radio |
| Holder | Left in place at the Whateley house |
| First appearance | Radford Horror 02 |
Description¶
The radio is a small, receive-only AM/FM set from Circuit City with dead batteries, sitting on the sill of Abe's room. The room has been left more or less as it was since Abe vanished three years earlier, with shuttle posters, a UFO painting and shelves of space books (Radford Horror 02).
Properties¶
It can only receive and cannot transmit. With AA batteries borrowed from his walkie-talkie, the Biz plays it and finds it tuned to the same station that the Pay n' Stay clerk listens to, which carries Art Bell later at night. He notes the frequency and puts the original batteries back (Radford Horror 02).
History¶
- Pay n' Stay link. In Radford Horror 01 the clerk, Rutherford, has UFO posters, an abduction book and Art Bell playing on the radio (Radford Horror 01). In Radford Horror 02, Abe's father, Yobiah, says Abe talked to "that weirdo down at the Pay n' Stay" and wanted Usenet; he calls Usenet "probably perverts." Together with the radio, this points to Abe having shared his UFO interest with the motel clerk (Radford Horror 02).
- What the team concludes. After finding about $130 hidden in a hollowed-out copy of Where the Sidewalk Ends, the Biz briefs Andrew on the money, the radio and the radio station. Andrew concludes that Abe's robbery was probably not for money. The gear Abe took in the robbery (lightweight modems, a cellular phone and other portable items) was communications equipment (Radford Horror 02).
- Open thread. The Biz writes down the frequency, but it is never stated aloud, and the radio does not come up again in later episodes.
Trivia¶
- The Biz returns the batteries to his walkie-talkie, leaving the radio as he found it (Radford Horror 02).
- Art Bell and Usenet are among the early-1990s period references in Radford Horror 02.