Some sad news guys.... Around ten days ago, Reno (Radio Raheem) was found unresponsive in his home. After being rushed to hospital he died soon after arriving & never ragained conciesness - I know only minimal details at the moment! Communication is difficult as I have only 2 contact numbers, one for his downstairs neighbour & the other for the guy that used to do his shopping & collect his meds etc. Reno was a difficult character at times, understanding him even on the phone was often a challenge......I never gave up on him despite getting frustrated at times, thankfully not that often though! He was a voice on the phone for ten years, we spoke often about nothing, he needed company & barely got any, partly due to his lifestyle choices & lack of determination to improve his life. Lately though, he sank into a deep period of depression over the last 3 weeks or so, often proclaiming he wanted to die & was very steadfast about not wanting to carry on! Hard to know what to say really! I really wish he had pushed harder for help....the story about that is really not a good one & I won't discuss that area of what has ended up with a very sad ending. Something was worrying me continuously over the last 3 weeks....I'm used to him shutting down from everyone, I just had a bad feeling so decided to contact folk that knew & saw him down there in Cardigan! Not been looking forward to writing this, finding the right words is not easy I guess! I never got to meet Reno, wish I had driven there to do just that but it's a long long way from here & too far for me as my health isn't great as many of you know. Just a very familiar voice on the phone that I won't hear anymore. As Reno would say: God bless you lad, talk soon! RIP Lad....
I knew him as well. We even traded emails long time ago. I will miss him. Rest in boombox heaven Reno.
That is very sad news and it bothers me reading about such things. I read his posts here with great interest due to the vast experience he accumulated. Having no doubt spent large sums acquiring so many models in order to compare and experience them. I stumbled on so many good posts he made over the years and some made me laugh. It was because of his old posts here on stereo2go that got me looking at Panasonic RX series "cobra head" or "eggs". And I was searching for them and ended up getting one as a result. And it does sound very impressive. Thanks for that Radio Raheem. I wanted him to start up discussions again on that, I referenced him in one or two of my postings a couple months back on my Panasonic RX DT707 hoping to get his attention, but nothing was forthcoming. So sorry to read this news. Rest in peace Reno.
So sad news , he mentioned from time to time his health problems yet he was always good hearted , he knew and enjoyed his stuff , rest in peace Reno.
I am speechless for this news...I didn't know him well enough but I have read and seen his posts many times and reading this now is really sad..... Ciao Reno
Very sad, he was on here forever, not sure when he first started posting but he was always active going back to the 2000's. I figured something was wrong since he wasn't on since early July and my not have posted going back to May. Always a huge supporter of the forum, he would reply, when I was sitting at my desk at 1 AM posting anything, with his great insight into the boombox world and he kept encouraging me to post more. It's going to be quiet around here without him. Some of us LADS will remember his famous quips about Mickey Mouse Equipment and all things Technics. Back on the other versions of the forum he'd post some pretty amazing photos of multiple units stacked up so we knew he wasn't just talk, he had some great audio go through his hands over the years. Thanks for reaching out nickeccles, we would never have known otherwise, unfortunately too many members disappear over the years.
Very sad and tragic news. It's a great loss for Stereo2Go, he was one of the core members. I only knew him through this forum, I'm going to miss his messages full of knowledge and humour. R.I.P. Reno/Radio Raheem
Rest in Peace, mate, rest in peace, Reno also known as Radio Raheem... Who knows maybe we all sometime somewhere meet in another Universe..
That is very sad news. Reno was an asset to several forums. On this version of Stereo2Go he had 1961 posts and 1593 likes. Name the high end box and he had had several. Who else remembers his "M90s are my world" tagline before he discovered JDM market Cobras. A couple of times he mentioned he was going blind. That might have explained his obsession with audio gear. A few memories of him from this forum: Him regularly buying some £1000+ piece of audio gear then saying how many weeks he would be living on Beans and Toast as a result. I once posted some Panasonic carrying bag for a Cobra on the "Cool stuff for sale" thread. I thought it was expensive but minutes later Reno posted back thanking me for pointing it out and saying he had just bought it. His ideas about having three graphic equalisers in series in his HiFi stack to get his desired level of bass. I sometimes thought I wouldn't want to be his neighbour. Did anyone here know him better? I recall tales of "the shed". There might be a couple of M90s awaiting a rebelt there. I hope they don't get thrown out by the council. Blast in Bass Reno
He has been my Phone Buddy for a long long time. we met when stereo2go started in 2002/03. we used to chat, did a deal on a Jvc Dc33, he shipped it to me.. then he called me on the phone and we was friends ever since.. he has been calling me on the phone every week for the past 20 years.. when he was sick he was calling me on the phone every day saying he wasn't well, i kept telling him to go to the doctor but he wouldn't, he said it was too far.. last time he called me was 4th july, i never heard from him after that, then i checked Stereo2go and Boomboxery and he last logged in 4th july, so i think it was then the problem started.. i knew something wasn't right, but i left it thinking he would just turn up, or i thought he would just ring me up and say he was better, but he didn't.. so last week i message his neighbour on facebook but i got no reply, so i messaged Nick Eccles on Facebook, Nick rang me and we spoke for a couple of hours, nick said he will message Reno's friend to find out what's going on.. I'm So Glad he did, Thanks Nick, You're a Star mate.. i know it's not good news but least we know now.. Reno.. i can only show you love from a distance, but i will forever smile of your existence.. RIP My Man,, I will never Forget You Bro... No More Phone Calls.. Sad.. Big_Paul Aka Ghettoman
I just got a message from Paul telling me this, it is just terrible, he was a message buddy of mine, I often wrote messages never to be answered, I know he had poor health, but not this bad, rest in Peace Tim/Reno I always think fondly about you!!
Oh, this is a shame. Reno was quite a character for sure, & I for one will miss his contributions here. Getting the help you need in the UK can be difficult. We all need people looking out for us when times are tough. Rest in peace Reno, lad, building your dream mickey-mouse system with improbable amounts of bass!
Whilst I never met him or chatted to him, I always enjoyed his content, his banter and his knowledge. Rest in peace fellow Boombox brother........
Absolutely correct mate.. he did try to get help, a few months ago the social services saw the state of his flat, they moved him out to temporary assisted accommodation, Nick Eccles used to Phone him Every Day to try to cheer him up.. while he was in there, the council went round and cleared some of his flat out, when he came out he phoned me and was mad because they threw about 30 radios to the tip/dump, he mentioned being mad most about some Jvc Pc5's, i think one was a Boxed Sony FH that he got from Dave Bush, Some original boxes to some radios, some Kabooms, some hifi speakers, he said a lot of radio's was gone when he got home.. But believe me Paul, he rang me every week, at least twice, 3 times, some weeks every day, for 20 years.. and i told him time and time again to just clean the flat, paint the walls, get cleaned up and try and go for a walk, i told him that i was saying that as a friend, not to mock him or ridicule him. and i said he didn't need to be embarrassed about it with me, i told him i understand that he was struggling, i even told him that if i lived near him i would fix the frigging place up for him myself, but i live too far away. but every time i advised him he just went on the defensive and made up excuses, The last week we spoke, i kept telling him to go to the doctors but he just wouldn't go, he rang me for the final time on 4th July he sounded quite bad, it sounded like he had tonsillitis or something because he couldn't speak very well, i thought he was making it out to be more than it was because he was like that sometimes. we only spoke for a couple of minutes then just hung up on me and i never heard from him again.. i'm just saying this to give more information of his life and of his final days.. he should have gone and got checked out, if he did they probably would have found what was wrong with him and admitted him to hospital for treatment.. but there was no way he would go and i live too far away or i would have dragged him there myself. he needed someone to kick his ass and make him improve himself. just a sad ending to his life, yes i know most people hated him, he got on my nerves a lot too but i knew how to handle him. just sad that i will never get his phone calls no more.. he only had a couple of friends, His friend in the flat below, but he was an alcoholic, his other friend down the road that did his shopping for him, then Floyd and a couple of others on here, and Nick Eccles And Myself as phone friends. his family abandoned him years ago..
It’s a shame it ended up like this, yes he was a bit eccentric and the worst friend to himself. Whenever we communicated, we always got on, but I guess we only communicated on a superficial level. I will miss the banter on the forum. RIP Reno, he has gone to join the other Radio Raheem (Bill Nunn). We talked about Bill Nunn when he died. Sounds like a few of you guys tried to help him, at the end of the day you can only help someone who wants to help themselves.
What terrible news. The one who knew everything about the best boomboxes and the one who was a huge source of inspiration for me is no longer there. I'm currently thinking back to all the fun we had on the old version of the forum. I miss him. Rest in peace Reno.
I didn't know him well but it feels like I did. This is a tragedy but not a total surprise. I think we all got the impression that Tim lived slightly on the edge. There was a predictable and sometimes quite humerous volatility to his character. As a Mod I did feel like I was having to parent him slightly to get him to tow the line. I loved his logic that a certain boombox could 'smoke' another. I tried time after time to understand how this worked exaclty, volume, shiny-ness, weight, most knobs, smoothest eject??? How?? But it didn't matter, his boomboxes would beat all of ours in one big gang fight I suppose. Always sad when we lose one of old guard.
Very sad to hear this Reno was a character for sure he could drive you up the wall at times and then make you laugh . His knowledge about all boomboxes is legendary also his love for hi fi and massive speakers I bet the neighbours loved him . It's a shame he couldn't get the help he needed R.I.P Reno lad.
