Weekend Bleg

Posted on November 4, 2007 by andrewleigh

When I was a kid, every bicycle store and department store used to sell AM/FM radios that could be mounted on bicycle handlebars. Since I have a half-hour cycle to and fro work each day, I’d rather like to be able to listen to the news. But for some reason I can’t quite fathom, bicycle radios seem to have fallen out of favour over the last few decades. Does anyone know of an Australian store that stocks them?

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11 Responses to Weekend Bleg

  1. Mikel says:
    November 4, 2007 at 1:38 pm

    Have you tried Amazon? There’s one for $25 US. http://www.amazon.com/Pyramid-Deluxe-Bicycle-Handlebar-Headlight/dp/B000AO5IQ2/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-1373307-6481526?ie=UTF8&s=sporting-goods&qid=1194147310&sr=8-1

    I think the US uses a 10 kHz step between stations rather than 9 kHz, but if it’s a manual tuner (like that one is), then it shouldn’t be an issue.

    Other than that, I bought a little Teac PR-06 pocket radio a few years back. You could just get one of those and velcro or tape it to the frame.

  2. Kevin Cox says:
    November 4, 2007 at 3:02 pm

    Get a blue tooth mobile phone with radio receiver. You can then listen to the radio and podcasts of your favourite ABC shows.

    You could, but I suggest you don’t, take skype conference calls, or dictate to your office computer your next blog entry.

  3. Sinclair Davidson says:
    November 4, 2007 at 3:20 pm

    I bought a little radio that fits into my pocket (with ear phones) that I use on the train from K-Mart for about $10 or so. It’s even smaller than a mobile phone. I imagine those chunky bike radios have become a victim of creative destruction after ipods and the like came on the market.

  4. Leon says:
    November 4, 2007 at 3:46 pm

    I have a question about amazon.com for the tax-minded: I have made purchases from that and other US-based online stores. How does one declare/pay GST on such items (I’m guessing one is supposed to)? I haven’t paid tax before because I haven’t worked regularly yet (student).

  5. Patrick says:
    November 4, 2007 at 4:09 pm

    You aren’t registered, so you don’t care.

  6. Patrick says:
    November 4, 2007 at 4:17 pm

    Sorry, that was a bit too glib. The first point is that GST has nothing to do with ‘paying tax’ in the sense you mean.

    The second is that the ATO doesn’t really care about that kind of import. You have tax-free thresholds for various goods which I believe this would come under (the electronic goods or something else threshold).

    The third is that GST is really a tax on consumers, effected by businesses. So if you aren’t a business, or at least selling things; you can pretty much just forget about it.

  7. Leon says:
    November 4, 2007 at 7:16 pm

    Thanks; sorry it’s a little off-topic. I’ll check out those thresholds.

  8. Patrick says:
    November 5, 2007 at 8:20 am

    Actually, for postal importations the threshold is a universal one – no GST or customs if the combined tax would be less than $50 (ie a $500 purchase).

    If you are purchasing something worth more you should get it delivered to the US and have a friend mail it to you. In that case it is gift and not subject to GST since you haven’t given anything for it. That is what we do from France, although not for the tax benefit since we are rarely importing something worth more than $500. It is just cheaper to get free domestic delivery and then send an international parcel, from Amazon.fr in any case.

  9. Leon says:
    November 5, 2007 at 8:44 am

    Nah, it’s just CDs. 😛

  10. Patrick says:
    November 5, 2007 at 10:48 am

    They should give you a medal for actually paying for albums – the ‘living in the past and supporting the illusion of the continued possibility of perpetuating the clearly consumer-unfriendly monopsonistic price-fixing ridiculously-justified-by-spurious-arguments-as-to-‘artist’-welfare cartel‘ medal 😉

  11. Bruce Bradbury says:
    November 5, 2007 at 2:28 pm

    Patrick, the rules have changed.

    Now “all goods (except for tobacco and alcoholic beverages) may be imported duty and tax free if the value of the goods is A$1000 or less”.

    See http://www.customs.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=5653#e1762

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