Short Grammar Questions (Part 1)

Can someone help with なの, it’s driving me nuts.

I know that 無線がONなの忘れてた means “I forgot the radio was ON”, and I know from Hinative that なの means であること, but what does that mean? Why not just say で or something? It’s not like I don’t understand the sentence, I’m just lost on this grammar. Any help much appreciated!