FIXED AND WAITING Technician Kenny Meinzinger surveys shelves of turntables, receivers, tape decks and other music making gear prior to Radio Catskill’s Labor Day music sale. Meinzinger repairs gear donated to the station by listeners to raise funding for the public broadcaster. Duncan Hutchison photo
Radio Catskill’s stereo wizard
Meet Kenny Meinzinger, refurbisher of tired gear
By Ethan Sprouse | Manor Ink
MAKING MUSIC Meinzinger learned about electronics by building his own sound synthesizers. Duncan Hutchison photo
If you have an interest in vintage audio equipment, or have any you would like to donate, meet Kenny Meinzinger who’s been working on repairing many different kinds of old stereo components to raise money for Radio Catskill, the region’s public radio station located in Liberty.
Manor Ink recently met with Meinzinger and spoke with him to learn a little more about what he does. As a volunteer for the station, he explained that he receives donations of old, often non-functional audio equipment and fixes them up to resell, raising funds for WJFF at the station’s music sales events.
Back in 2025, radio stations around the nation lost Corporation for Public Broadcasting funding due to the Trump administration’s cancellation of the agency’s government support. Now, as a result, smaller nonprofit stations like WJFF need to turn to other methods of raising money, such as fundraising through selling donated and restored items.
Meinzinger recounted how he got into doing these repairs. It was quite simple – someone at WJFF had given him an item and asked him if he could fix it, because he makes modular synthesizers for fun and is good with electronics. He decided to take a crack at it and, ever since, he has been doing his best to repair everything from turntables, cassette decks, amplifiers and receivers to vintage reel-to-reel tape recorders.
MAKING A SALE Meinzinger demonstrates a child’s record player for a customer. Duncan Hutchison photo
Kenny explained how he repairs the items and mentioned the parts that are commonly broken, usually something like a rubber cord being run thin or wiring getting corroded from age. He buys most of his repair equipment and parts in bulk, and is mostly self-taught.
To donate any equipment, you can take it to the WJFF station on Rte. 52 in Liberty during regular business hours and simply drop it off. Vintage equipment like record players, amps, stereos and mixers are welcome, or musical instruments and LPs and CDs are especially appreciated.
WJFF music sales take place three times a year. The station’s next sale (and its largest) takes place on Nov. 28, the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Buying anything from these sales helps fund the county’s public radio station and is a great way to help out in your local community.