My Vintage Radio Collection

[KilroyCD]

Kim, that's quite the collection of radios you have there. Is the portable you bring to events a '37 as well? My only Philco is a '46 (a model 46-1226). I have a very nice '41 Zenith 10-tube model that I would love to get working soon. The radio came with the original bill of sale showing that the purchaser placed it on layaway on August 10, 1941 and paid it off (and picked it up) on November 10, 1941. I can imagine that the owner listened to the reports of the attack on Pearl Harbor on this radio. I need to take a good photo of it as I haven't yet, but here's a photo of our own delightful "Retrogirl1941" (Samantha) leaning on it during a pinup photo shoot.

 

[dhermann1]

I've got the exactly same model . . . errr . . . of radio, that is! Zenith 41-567.
I had it restored and recapped, and got myself an AMT -3000 AM transmitter. I listen to my Swing CD's, internet radio (www.wfuv.org's "The Big Broadcast" being my favorite). I love it! I hope you get yours fixed up soon. You'll enjoy it, it has great sound. Here's mine:

BTW, among other neat items in the background of you pic, I like the duck decoy boot scraper! There are thousands in New York in neighborhoods like Greenwich Village and Brooklyn Heights.

 

[Flivver]

Mr. Bowers: Nice Philco collection! I'm a big fan of Philco in the 1930s because I feel they most consistently offered the best blend of great cabinet design, high performance and value. And in my opinion, Philco performance reached its peak in 1937. The high fidelity models like the 37-690 sound great even by today's standards.

And I really like your radio map! Is there a date on it? I have one from 1925 that I got years ago. But it's folded up and I can't remember where I put it.

When I was in high school, I created one by tracing a map of the U.S. onto some extra wallpaper we had hanging around. Every time I got a new station I logged it onto the map. I believe I logged over 700 AM stations using a 1938 RCA-Victor 813K with a long wire antenna.

 

[Mr. K.L.Bowers]

Kilroy: The Zenith black dials were great radios. They have the true classic 30’s, 40’s look to them.
The portable ,(it’s on the top shelf in the 3rd photo) is a 41. Philco wasn’t making portables in 37 or I would be using one. The 41 works well for the shows though. I know what you mean about the people sitting around these radios listening to the news reports of the day, Hitler’s and Churchill’s speeches on short wave, US news reports on the Standard Broadcast Band (AM today) and the radio shows…… It really doesn’t take much imagination to picture it.

So that photo shoot with Sam was done at your place……..


Flivver: There is no date on the map, but I place it in the very early 30’s as our local station, WJEJ is not on it, and they went on the air in 1932. I have compared some of the stations on the map to radio station guides I have and narrowed it down to 1930 to early 1932.
You are right about the 690. That is not one of the models I own, but I do have the 37- 116 (below), which is a close 2nd. It holds the place of honor in our living room. It has been recapped, a couple of resistors replaced and all the weak tubes replaced and the sound is outstanding.
I had a long wire stretched across my back yard for my radios until June when lighting came in on it and caused some damage to our home. I had the aerial grounded but the lighting jumped to the spouting around the home and entered through the gutter heaters. Very strange thing lighting. However NONE of the radios were damaged.

 

[The Reno Kid]

I've posted this before, but...

1936 Fairbanks-Morse

I also have a couple of Fairbanks-Morse tabletops, a zentih and a Silvertone--all late 30s.

 

[Mr. K.L.Bowers]

I've posted this before, but...

1936 Fairbanks-Morse

I also have a couple of Fairbanks-Morse tabletops, a zentih and a Silvertone--all late 30s.

NICE!

 

[Johnny B]

I only have one radio, but I think it's pretty neat. It's an Admiral 7X20 or something to that degree:

However, I gutted the rotted insides and replaced it with speakers and an MP3 player so I can listen to vintage radio broadcasts like Amos and Andy on it. The knobs are wired into the speaker's volume and power (it's a pushbutton now) so the radio actually "works". Here's what it looks like with the back off:

I really like old radios. I wish I could fit a console in my apartment

 

[RetroToday]

I only have one radio, but I think it's pretty neat. It's an Admiral 7X20 or something to that degree:

However, I gutted the rotted insides and replaced it with speakers and an MP3 player so I can listen to vintage radio broadcasts like Amos and Andy on it. The knobs are wired into the speaker's volume and power (it's a pushbutton now) so the radio actually "works".

I really like old radios. I wish I could fit a console in my apartment

Eeek! What you've done is sacrilege in the world of antique radio purists!!!
I hope you kept the old guts in storage, then you are redeemed in their eyes.


I have exactly the same model of Admiral radio in my collection but it's the Canadian model 7T10.(Guts Intact).
Mine should be a creme yellow colour. Note: The last letter on the model number is the colour of the case. 7T10E = Ebony.

Mine was given to me as a birthday present, it came from a junk shop for $12. Somebody painted mine over in the past to match the colour of their walls. It was latex paint so all I had to do was soak it in water (a long time) to remove the paint. It's almost restored, but I got a little sidetracked with other things.

before I stripped the green latex paint, even the white plastic knobs were painted over!

Vintage advertisment I tracked down a while ago

 

[panamag8or]

If you live in Seattle, go to "that guy's" list, and there is a great console radio that I would nab if I lived up there. Here are a few random keywords to search:
1940's Silvertone console radio

 

[Johnny B]

Eeek! What you've done is sacrilege in the world of antique radio purists!!!
I hope you kept the old guts in storage, then you are redeemed in their eyes.

I made it better

 

[Mr. K.L.Bowers]

I did something similar to this 41 Philco portable that Kilroy mentioned earlier. I use this when were are doing our Homefront recreations. Only I left the original cassis in the cabinet so it can be returned to it’s natural state at any time. I just plug in into a Sony Walkman, which fits in the battery compartment quite nicely.

 

[RetroToday]

I did something similar to this 41 Philco portable that Kilroy mentioned earlier. I use this when were are doing our Homefront recreations. Only I left the original cassis in the cabinet so it can be returned to it’s natural state at any time. I just plug in into a Sony Walkman, which fits in the battery compartment quite nicely.

KL, that's a very sweet looking radio! (wish I had one of those too) and you've treated it well. :eusa_clap

A few of the console radios I have around the house have RCA jacks where record players could be plugged in. I hook up my mp3 player to them, works just fine! Helps a lot if the big band radio station in town isn't playing big band when I want to show the radio off.

Cool. Thanks for showing that one.

 

[dhermann1]

Phono input

That's great that you can use the Phono input, but I believe there is one problem with that. Phonographic records are recorded with a boost to the high frequencies and a reduction in the low frequencues, so that the needle doesn't actually bounce out of the grooves (or vice versa, I'm never quite sure). All amplifiers are designed to reverse that, by boosting or reducing the signal accordingly. The result will be a somewhat distorted sound output if you use an unbiased input. If you're OK with that, no problem. There must be simple ways of getting around that, with bass and treble controls.

 

[Mr. K.L.Bowers]

The PT87 is a fairly common radio. You find them on eBay often. I was just fortunate to find one that had not been exposed to too much sun. Philco had a problem with their plastics in 41 and 42. The plastic escutcheons on the majority of the Philcos you find from those years have shrunk due to an excessive amount of moisture in the process, (or so I am told). If they were in the sun it can shrink by as much as 20%. I keep treating it with AarmorAll to keep it more flexible.
The Phono jack sounds good to me. Philco used a turntable with a transmitter built in and you adjusted the radio to a certain frequency, so I have never tried Phono input. Dhermann1 may have a point, but I can not confirm or deny it.

 

[KilroyCD]

I've got the exactly same model . . . errr . . . of radio, that is! Zenith 41-567.
I had it restored and recapped, and got myself an AMT -3000 AM transmitter. I listen to my Swing CD's, internet radio (www.wfuv.org's "The Big Broadcast" being my favorite). I love it! I hope you get yours fixed up soon. You'll enjoy it, it has great sound. Here's mine:

BTW, among other neat items in the background of you pic, I like the duck decoy boot scraper! There are thousands in New York in neighborhoods like Greenwich Village and Brooklyn Heights.

I've finally taken a proper shot of my Zenith 41-567. I hope to get it going again before too long, but even if I don't I like it because of its art-deco design. I've moved it since the pin-up shot was taken. This way it's not next to the front door when my Springer Spaniel comes in wet from the rain and shakes the moisture off his coat. That happened once and only once. It was moved promptly!

 

[dhermann1]

my Zenith

I'm listening to mine as I type, computer to amplifier to AMT 3000 to radio. I have Chas's podcast show on, actually. Great stuff!
I made the mistake of putting plastic strapping tape on the plastic escutcheon of my Zenith, and when I removed the tape, the gold paint came off with it. Note to self: Don't do that again!
BTW, this pic is pre restoration. I have new grill cloth now, and it looks much sharper (except for the above mentioned STUPID mistake.)

 

[KilroyCD]

I'm listening to mine as I type, computer to amplifier to AMT 3000 to radio. I have Chas's podcast show on, actually. Great stuff!
I made the mistake of putting plastic strapping tape on the plastic escutcheon of my Zenith, and when I removed the tape, the gold paint came off with it. Note to self: Don't do that again!
BTW, this pic is pre restoration. I have new grill cloth now, and it looks much sharper (except for the above mentioned STUPID mistake.)

What did you use for the grill fabric? Were you able to find an exact or near match? As you can see in the photo of mine, I'll need to replace mine as well.

 

[dhermann1]

I got it from an online vendor. If I can find the info I'll send it to you. But just Google the topic of radio restoration, etc., and you'll find it. Do you know Ron Ramirez? He's THE MAN when it comes to Philcos, and I'm sure he'll be able to direct you. http://www.philcoradio.com/

 

[Mr. K.L.Bowers]

Mr. Philco

Ron actually had taken a hiatus from the radio scene the last time I spoke to him. I have noticed the gallery of photos is now closed on his web site also. I had corresponded with him quite often in the past and he was planning on using photos of some of my radios in the Philco Radio 2.0 he was writing. Something happened which he would or could not explain to me and then he was gone. I hope he is back , you are right he is (was) truly “Mr. Philco”

 

[alphy27]

Very impressive radios all. Any one have an interest in European vintage radios? I've got one Emud from the 50's. Love the style of the old German Radios like Grundig, Telefunken and Blaupunkt. Bush radios from Great Britain were pretty nifty too.